Narrative/point of view/character/plot

Objective narration

A style in which the narrator reports neutrally on the outward behavior of the characters but offers no interpretation of their actions or their inner states.

Falling action

Also called the denouement - this is the latter part of the narrative, during which the protagonist responds to the events of the climax and the various plot elements introduced in the rising action are resolved.

Resolution

An ending that satisfactorily answers all the questions raised over the course of the plot.

Plot

Arrangement of the events in a stor including the sequence in which they are told, the relative emphasis they are given and the causal conections between events.

Static

Characters do not undergo SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN WAYS THAT INFLUENCE OR RELATE TO THE NOVEL'S PRIMARY PLOT.

1st person narration

Narrative in which the narrator tells the story from his own point of view and refers to himself as "I" The narrator can be an active participant of the story or just an observer.

3rd person narration

Narrator remains outside the story and describes the characters in the story using proper names and the 3rd person pronouns "he, she, it, they"

Tone

Narrators attitude or emotions that convey how he or she feels about the subject.

Reversal

Sometimes called peripeteia - a sudden shift that sends the protagonist's fortunes from good to bad or vice versa.

Conflict

The central struggle that moves the plot forwrd. The conflict can be the protagonist's struggle against fate, nature, society or another person.

Rising action

The early part of the narrative, which builds momentum and develops the narrative's major conflict

Climax

The moment of highest tensio at whih the conflict comes to a head.

Free indirect discourse

The narrator conveys a character's inner thoughts while staying in the third person. i.e."Sometimes she thought that these were after all the best days of her life, the honeymoon, so-called."

Stream of consciousness narration

The narrator conveys a subject's thought, impressions, and perceptions exactly as they occur, often in disjointed fashion and w/o logic and grammar of typical speech and writing. Usually in 1st person.

Unreliable narration

The narrator is revealed over time to be an untrustworthy source of information.

Omniscient narration

The narrator knows all of the actions, feelings, and motivations of all of the characters.

Limited omniscient narration

The narrator knows the actions, feelings, and motivations of only one or a handful of characters. i.e. Alice in "Alice in Wonderland"

antagonist

The primary character that acts to frustrate the goals of the protagonist. He is typically a acharacter but may also be a nonhuman force.

Anticlimax

When the plot builds up to an expected climax only to tease the reader with a frustrating non-event.

Foil

a character who illuminates the qualities of another character by means of contrast. i.e. "Ode to a nightingale" the swiftly traveling nightingale serves as a foil to Keats's sleepy, opium laden narrator.

character

a person, animal or thing with a personality that appears in a story.

Round characters

characters that are full of details and are presented as having strengths and weaknesses, good/bad qualities, and other contrasting attributes.

Stock character (archetype)

commom character type that recurs throughout literature.i.e. witty servant, scheming villain, femme fatale, trusty sidekick, old miser and so on.

motifs

elements that often occur throughout the story and often help to expose or develop the theme

Horatian satire

gentle as opposed to harsh

protagonist

main character around whom the story revolves. If he is admirable he is often called a hero. If not admirable or challenges our notions of what should be considered admirable he is called an antihero.

Allegorical characters

provide metaphorical representations of certain ideas or attributes - are not meant to be taken literally.

Initiation

story exposes the transformation the protagonist undergoes from childhood or teenager to adulthood, which is often the product of a key decision or event or a sequence of experience.

Point of view

the perspective that a narrative takes toward the events if describes

Dynamic characters

undergo change that signifcantly influence or relate to the course of a novel's plot

juvenalian satire

uses harsh methods to convey a certain attitude or purpose.