Literary Terms

Parts of a Short Story Exposition: Presents the characters and the

situation Rising Action: Building up the drama with plot

parts Climax: Highest Point or the turning point in

the story Falling Action: Events that start to wrap up the

story Resolution: The part of the story when the

problems are worked out

Setting Up the StoryProtagonist: The Main Character of the

storyAntagonist: The person or thing fighting

the main characterSetting: Time and Place if the story’s

actionCharacterization: The act of developing

a characterPlot: Sequence of events that make up a

story

ConflictConflict: Source of tension in

the story (struggling between opposing forces)

Internal Conflict: Character vs. Self

External Conflict: Character vs. Character or Character vs. Nature

Point of View (POV) 1st Person – Perspective of one of the

characters – tells the story using “I, Me, We” 3rd Person Limited – The story is told by an

outside narrator who knows the thoughts and feelings of only one character

Omniscient – ALL KNOWING 3rd Person Omniscient – The story is told by

an outside narrator who knows EVERYONE’S thoughts and feelings

Literary DevicesForeshadowing: Hints about what is

going to happen next Imagery: Language that appeals to the

sensesSymbolism: Object, person, or event

that represents a deeper meaningMood: The feeling the story creates in

the READERTheme: The life lesson of the story