Online Glossary:
Scroll down to expand your literary vocabulary.
Character: a person or animal who takes part in the action of a
literary work.
Main Character: protagonist who is the most important individual in
the story, the focus of the reader's attention
Round Character: full developed with both good and bad traits revealed
and background is revealed
Flat Character: posseses only one or two traits
Dynamic Character: changes during the story
Static Character: does not change during the story
Climax: the highest point of interest or suspense
Conflict: a struggle between opposing forces
External Conflict: character struggles against some outside person or
force
Internal Conflict: struggle takes place within the protagonist's mind
to reach some new understanding or decision
Drama: a story written to be performed by actors
Fiction: prose writing that tells about imaginary characters and
events
Flashback: a section of a literary work that interrupts the sequence
of events to relate an event from an earlier time.
Foreshadowing: clues that suggest events that have yet to occur, what
may happen next, creates suspense
Irony: techniques that involve surprising, interesting, or amusing
contradictions
Plot: sequence of events that contains conflicts, climax, and
resolution