Literary Terms

Forms of Prose Fiction

• Novel- a book length fictional prose narrated
• Novella- a written fictional prose narrative longer than a novellette but shorter than a novel
• Short Stories- a brief fictional narrative in prose

Elements of Prose Fiction

• Narrative Techniques- a collection of events that tell a story which may be true or not. It's place in a particular order. A method involved in telling a story
• Point of View- the relationship of the narrator or story teller to the story
• Characterisation- the methods of a writer used to reveal the personality of a character
• Setting- the time and place in which the events of either a story, novel or play took place
• Theme- the central or main point of a story, poem, novel or play that the readers can apply to life
• Plot- the sequence of events in a narrative work
• Style- the way in which the author arranges his or her words and sentences in a literary work

Literary Devices

• Imagery- the "word pictures" that writers create to help evoke an emotional response
• Symbol- an object, person, place or experience that means more than what it is
• Irony- a contrast between appearance and reality, or between what is expected to happen and what actually happens
• Satire- writing that exposes the foolish actions of people or societies
• Allusion- a reference in a work of literature to a character, place or situation from history or from another work of literature, music or art

Structual Devices

• Stream of Consciousness- individual conscious experience regarded as a continuous series of occurances rather than as seperate disconnected events
• Interior Monologue- a narrative technique or passage which suggests a character's stream of consciousness
• Flashback- an account of an event that happened before a story began
• Foreshadowing- the use of clues by the author to prepare readers for events that will happen later in the story
• Timeframe- a given interval of time in relation to a particular event
• Motif- a significant word, description, idea or image that is repeated throughout a literary work as is related to its theme
• Juxtaposition- to put side by side or close together

Literary Context

• Social- having to do with human beings living together as a group in a situation in which their dealings with one another affect their common wellfare
• Political- concerned with government, the state or politics
• Intellectual- the ability to reason or understand
• Historical- of or concerned with history as a science
• Religious- of, relating to, or concerned with religion
• Ethnic- a population subgroup having a common cultural heritage as distinguished by customs, characteristics, language, common heritage etc.
• Moral- a practical lesson about right and wrong conduct
• Cultural- of or relating to a culture

Types of Fiction (8)

• (Fiction- invented stories with imaginary characters and events, it's false and reads like a story)
• Fantasy- a story that could never really happen, not realistic
• Realistic Fiction- a story that could happen, it seems real
• Historical Fiction- a story that seems real and took place in the past. It may include actual people or events from the past, but some of the story came from the author's imagination
• Traditional- folktales, fairytales, myths and legends, passed down orally throughout history, magical
• Mystery- a story about something that needs to be solved
• Science Fiction- tells about supernatural events, based on science
• Humor- a funny story written to make you laugh
• Adult Fiction- written specifically for adults