FICTIO

N

VOCABU

LARY

FICTIONStories that come from a writer’s imagination.

PLOT

The main events in the story – the “sequence of events.”

MAIN CHARACTER the “protagonist” – or the most important character in the story.

MINOR CHARACTERS The less important characters in the story which help accentuate the main character and push the plot along.

MAIN IDEAS The most important or prominent ideas or details of a paragraph or piece of writing.

EXPOSITION Establishes the setting, introduces the characters, and gives the reader important background information

CONFLICT

The problem of the story – the struggle between opposing forces.

RISING ACTION The events in a story that move the plot forward. It involves the conflict and complications, and usually builds toward a climax or turning point.

CLIMAXThe turning point and the point of greatest interest in the story. At this point of the story, the outcome becomes clear to the reader.

FALLING ACTION Occurs after the climax, and during this part of the story, conflicts are resolved and any loose ends are tied up.

RESOLUTION

The end of the story

THEME

The meaning or moral of the story.

SETTINGThe time and place of the action of the story.

CHARACTERSThe people, animals, or imaginary creatures who take part in the action of the story.

CHARACTER TRAITS

The qualities or elements that make up a character.

ELA VOCABULARY (CORALINE)

ALLEGORY

A story or poem which has a double meaning – its surface meaning and an underlying, symbolic meaning.

FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE

Language that is not meant literally.

IDIOM -

a saying or phrase that does not literally mean what it says; usually particular to a region or group – it makes no sense if you take that saying literally. (“It’s raining cats and dogs.” “Break a leg.” )

METAPHORa comparison of two things not using like or as – saying something is something else. (He is a bear)

SIMILE

a comparison of two things using like or as. (She is pretty as a picture)

PERSONIFICATION

The giving of human qualities to a non-human thing.

SYMBOL –Something (word, picture, sculpture…) that stands for something else.

ONOMATOPOEIA

sound words (MOOO, BOOM…)

MOOD / TONE

the feeling you get from a piece of writing.

FORESHADOWINGHints in a piece of writing that help the reader predict what will happen in the future.

FLASHBACKa break in the plot of the story in which the writer presents what happened at an earlier time.

CORALINE VOCABULARY 2

PROTAGONIST

The main character – the good guy

ANTAGONISTThe opposing character – the bad guy

ALLEGORYA story or poem which has a double meaning – its surface meaning and an underlying, symbolic meaning.

NOVELa form of fiction which is longer and more complicated – it has sub-plots or chapters.

DYNAMIC (ROUND) CHARACTERa character in a literary work that changes or grows significantly during the course of events.

STATIC (FLAT) CHARACTERa character who stays the same throughout the course of events in a literary work.

CONNOTATIONrefers to the ideas or feelings associated with a word.

DENOTATION

the dictionary meaning of a word.

AUTHOR’S PURPOSE

the author’s reason for creating a particular work (to entertain, to inform, to express an opinion, to persuade readers to believe or do something).

CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT(usually main characters) characters who change go through this process of changing traits.