literary elements and techniques

• Plot

  The logical sequence of events that develops a story
• Setting


  The time and place in which a story takes place
• Protagonist


  The main character of a story, novel or play (e.g. Hamlet in the play Hamlet)
• Antagonist


  The character in conflict with the Protagonist (e.g. Claudius in the play Hamlet)
• Narrator


  A person who tells the story
• Narrative method


  The manner in which a narrative is presented comprising plot and setting
• Dialogue

  Where characters of a narrative speak to one another
• Conflict


  An issue in a narrative around which the whole story revolves
• Mood


  A general atmosphere of a narrative
• Theme

  The central idea or concept of a story
• Point-of-view

  The identity of the narrative voice; the person or entity through whom the reader experiences the story. May be third-person (no narrator; omniscient or limited) or first-person (narrated by a character in the story who either merely observes or directly participates)
• Tragic hero/tragic figure

  A protagonist who comes to a bad end as a result of his own behavior, usually caused by a specific personality disorder or character flaw
• Tragic flaw

  The single characteristic (usually negative) or personality disorder that causes the downfall of the protagonist
• Imagery

  The use of figurative language to create visual representations of actions, objects and ideas in our mind in such a way that they appeal to our physical senses
• Simile and Metaphor

  Both compare two distinct objects and draws similarity between them. The difference is that Simile uses "as" or "like" and Metaphor does not
• Hyperbole

  Deliberate exaggeration of actions and ideas for the sake of emphasis
• Personification

  Giving a thing, an idea or animal human qualities
• Alliteration

  The same consonant sounds in words coming together
• Allegory

  A literary technique in which an abstract idea is given a form of characters, actions or events
• Irony

  The use of words in such a way in which the intended meaning is completely opposite to their literal meaning
• Anthropomorphism

  Where animals or inanimate objects are portrayed in a story as people, such as by walking, talking, or being given arms, legs and/or facial features
• Blank verse

  Non-rhyming poetry, usually written in iambic pentameter
• Creative license

  Exaggeration or alteration of objective facts or reality to enhance meaning in a fictional context
• Dialogue

  Where characters speak to one another; may often be used to substitute for exposition
• Dramatic irony

  Where the audience or reader is aware of something important, of which the characters in the story are not aware
• Exposition

  Where an author interrupts a story in order to explain something, usually to provide important background information
• Figurative language

  Any use of language where the intended meaning differs from the actual literal meaning of the words themselves
• Foreshadowing

  Where future events in a story, or perhaps the outcome, are suggested by the author before they happen
• Iambic pentameter

  Poetry written with each line containing ten syllables, in five repetitions of a two-syllable pattern wherein the pronunciation emphasis is on the second syllable
• Irony (a.k.a. Situational irony)


  Where an event occurs which is unexpected, and which is in absurd or mocking opposition to what is expected or appropriate
• Onomatopoeia


  Where sounds are spelled out as words; or, when words describing sounds actually sound like the sounds they describe
• Oxymoron


  A contradiction in terms
• Paradox


  A seemingly self-contradictory statement which can be proven to be true
• Parallelism


  Use of similar or identical language, structures, events, or ideas in different parts of a text
• Repetition


  Where a specific word, phrase, or structure is repeated several times, to emphasize a particular idea
• Symbolism


  The use of specific objects or images to represent abstract ideas
• Verbal irony


  Where the meaning is intended to be the exact opposite of what the words actually mean