Literature Vocabulary

These vocabulary words are words students will see when studying short stories and novels. 

antagonist

The person or force that fights against the hero or protagonist in a story.

action

The events in a story.

camera (objective) view

Point of view when the narrator shares no thoughts or feelings of the character.

characterization

The ways in which a writer makes a character seem real. (sharing thoughts, speech, actions—describing appearance and showing what others think)

climax

The most exciting or important part in a story.  It is often called the turning point.

conflict

A problem or struggle between two opposing forces in a story.

exposition

The beginning of a story, when the setting, characters and conflict are introduced.

falling action

The part of a story that leads to the ending, or resolution.

first person

Point of view where one of the characters tells the story.

main character

The most important character in a story, novel or play.

minor character

The less important character(s) in a story, novel or play.

mood

The feeling a reader gets from a story.

narrator

The person telling the story.

person against fate (God)

Type of conflict where the character struggles with a problems that seems out of his her control.

person against nature

Type of conflict where the character struggles against an element of nature such as a tornado, blizzard etc.

person against person

Type of conflict where one character has a problem with another character(s).

person against self

Type of conflict where a character struggles with him or herself.

person against society

Type of conflict where the character has a problem with society, rules, laws, or tradition.

point of view

The angle from which a story is told, which depends upon who is telling it. 

protagonist

The main character in a story, novel or play and is often the hero or good character.

resolution

The end part of a story, when the problem is solved.

rising action

The main part of a story, when the main character tries to solve his or her problem.

setting

The time and place of a story.

theme

A message about life or human nature that the writer shares with the reader.  The reader must usually figure it out  since it is not directly stated.

third person

Point of view where someone on the outside is telling the story.

third person limited omniscient

Point of view when the narrator is able to tell about the thoughts and feelings on one character only.

third person omniscient

Point of view where the narrator is able to tell about the thoughts and feelings of all the characters in the story.