Literary Devices

Credits to Mr. Honeyman, 8th grade Language Arts teacher at West Hills Middle School

1. Imagery - when the author uses vivid language so that we "can see" what they're describing in our mind, described in terms of all five senses
   
2. Setting - when and where the story takes place
   
3. Flashback - an interruption in a story to present events that took place at an earlier time in a character's life
   
4. Theme - the message or moral or lesson of the story
   
5. Symbolism - when a person, place, object, or action in a story is used to represent something else
   
6. Static character - a character who does not experience a change in attitude or perspective throughout the story
   
7. Dynamic character - a character who does experience a change in attitude or perspective (They have an epiphany)
   
8. Mood - the emotional atmosphere in a story
   
9. Foreshadowing - when the author provides hints about what will happen later in the story
   
10. Simile - a comparison of 2 things using "like" or "as"
    
11. Metaphor - a comparison of 2 things without "like" or "as"
    
12. Personification - giving non-human things human qualities
    
13. Alliteration - a series of word that all start with the same letter (or sound)
    

Plot Structure

1. Exposition (introduction) - "exposes" us to the main characters and setting and sets up the rest of the story
   
2. Rising Action - starts with the first conflict and the tension continues to increase until you reach the climax
   
3. Climax - the moment of highest emotional intensity; turning point
   
4. Falling Action - when the story starts to wind down but there are still unanswered questions and unresolved conflicts
   
5. Denouement (resolution) - where all the questions have been answered and all conflicts resolved (pronounced day noo ma)
   

Point of View - the perspective from which a story is told

• 1st person - a character in the story is telling the story
  
• 3rd person limited - a person outside of the story tells it, and revolves around one character only
  
• 3rd person omniscient - a narrator outside of the story and details are provided about multiple characters' attitudes and actions
  

Irony

• Situational - when something unexpected or surprising happens
  
• Dramatic - when the reader knows more than the character in the story
  
• Verbal - when you say something but mean the opposite
  

Conflict

• Human vs Human - when a character faces a problem caused by another human
  
• Human vs Self - when a character faces a difficult choice or decision and is ambivalent about it
  
• Human vs Environment - when a character faces a problem caused by something outside of themselves that isn't human
  

Story Patterns

1. Quest - revolves around someone who is doing a great feat
   
2. Choice - the main character because of the things around them they have to make a big decision at the climax
   
3. Reversal - An unexpected change in flow near the end, there's a twist on their opinions
   
4. Epiphany - At the climax the character experiences an epiphany, gets a good idea