Literary Terms and Definitions
Drama (many of these terms are applicable to both drama and fiction)
Antagonist- The “Villain” of a story. Doesn’t have to be human but works against the Protagonist.
Protagonist- The “hero” or good guy of a story. Also does not have to be human but opposes the antagonist.
Aside-A remark made by a character in a play that the audience will hear, but is not intended for the other characters.
Catharsis- The releasing of emotions.
Dynamic Character- A character that changes ad evolves throughout the story.
Flat Character- A minor character in a story that stays two dimensional.
Static Character- A character in a story who undergoes no significant change.
Round Character- The opposite of a flat character, this is a character who undergoes substantial change throughout a story.
Stock Character- A character the audiences easily recognize due to stereotypical nature. This type of character appears frequently in literature.
Climax- The culmination of a stories events, the most exciting point.
Comedy- Type of entertainment, intended to make the reader or audience laugh.
Comic relief- Comic section in a work, usually offsets a more serious section.
Conflict-Struggle that literary character faces.
Crisis-Section of intense difficulty.
Denouement- The solution of the crisis or conflict in a literary work.
Deus ex Machina- An unrealistic character or concept is introduced into a story for the sole purpose of resolving the conflict.
Epilogue- A comment at the end of a literacy work that talks about the conclusion.
Exposition- The introduction of a story.
Falling action- The events that take place after the climax.
Farce- Work that includes horseplay, crude characterization, and improbable situations.
Foil- A foil is a character that is opposite in his/her traits to another character. This is done to bring out or highlight the traits.
Hamartia- Like a tragic flaw this is what causes the downfall of protagonist....