Short Story Literary Terms
IDEA
1. Characterization (Direct/Indirect)
the process of revealing the personality of a character
"the boy turned around, wondering what next. The door was open. He would make a dash for it down the hall. He would run, run, run!" (Hughes)
2. Protagonist
3. Antagonist
the person or thing that gets in the way of the main character
4. Flat Character
a simple character who does not display internal conflicts
5. Round Character
a complex character who displays internal conflicts
6. Static Character
a character who stays the same throughout a story
7. Dynamic Character
a character who changes throughout a story
8. Internal Conflict
a struggle that takes place within a character’s mind
9. External Conflict
a struggle that takes place outside of a character
10. Diction
word choice
11. Denotation
the dictionary definition of a word (non- debatable)
12. Connotation
all of the emotional associations and societal assumptions connected with a word
13. First Person POV
the vantage point from which a story is told by one character – uses “I”
14. Third Person Limited POV
a story is told by a narrator who reveals thoughts of one character
15. Third Person Omniscient POV
the vantage point from which a story is told by an all-knowing narrator
16. Situational Irony
when you expect one thing to happen and the opposite happens
17. Verbal Irony
when you say one thing but mean the opposite
18. Dramatic Irony
when the reader or audience knows something a character doesn’t know
19. Symbol
something that represents more than just itself