Reading: Literature - Fiction - High School

Here's a novel idea: Get book smart by learning this list of terms related to reading fiction. Review the major features of fictional texts, different types of narration, and literary devices like irony and symbolism.
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. allusion
    passing reference or indirect mention
  2. characterization
    a vivid verbal description
  3. characterize
    describe or portray the qualities or peculiarities of
  4. climax
    the decisive moment in a novel or play
  5. complication
    a development that makes a situation more challenging
  6. conflict
    opposition in a work of fiction between characters or forces
  7. denouement
    the resolution of the main complication of a literary work
  8. dialogue
    the lines spoken by characters in drama or fiction
  9. diction
    the manner in which something is expressed in words
  10. dystopia
    state in which the conditions of life are extremely bad
  11. epilogue
    a short section at the end of a literary work
  12. epiphany
    a usually sudden insight, perception, or understanding of something
  13. exposition
    an account that sets forth the intent of a story
  14. fantasy
    fiction with a large amount of imagination in it
  15. flashback
    a transition in a story to an earlier event or scene
  16. foreshadow
    indicate by signs
  17. foreshadowing
    the act of providing vague advance indications
  18. gothic
    characterized by gloom and mystery and the grotesque
  19. irony
    incongruity between what is expected and what occurs
  20. magic realism
    a literary or artistic genre in which realistic narrative or meticulously realistic painting are combined with surreal elements of fantasy or dreams
  21. mood
    the prevailing psychological state
  22. motif
    a recurrent element in a literary or artistic work
  23. motivation
    psychological feature arousing action toward a desired goal
  24. mystery
    a story about a crime presented as a novel or play or movie
  25. narration
    a telling of a story in writing, drama, or cinema
  26. narrator
    someone who tells a story
  27. novel
    an extended fictional work in prose
  28. novella
    a short novel
  29. omniscient
    knowing, seeing, or understanding everything
  30. perspective
    a way of regarding situations or topics
  31. plot
    the story that is told, as in a novel, play, movie, etc.
  32. point of view
    a mental position from which things are perceived
  33. protagonist
    the principal character in a work of fiction
  34. science fiction
    genre involving the imagined impact of technology on society
  35. setting
    the context and environment in which something is situated
  36. stream of consciousness
    a literary genre using long speeches to develop characters
  37. suspense
    excited anticipation of an approaching climax
  38. symbol
    something visible that represents something invisible
  39. symbolism
    the practice of investing things with arbitrary meaning
  40. syntax
    the grammatical arrangement of words in sentences
  41. tall tale
    an improbable (unusual or incredible or fanciful) story
  42. theme
    a unifying idea that is a recurrent element in literary work
  43. tone
    a quality that reveals the attitudes of the author
  44. utopia
    a work of fiction describing an ideal state
Created on Wed Jan 18 11:42:36 EST 2017 (updated Wed Mar 29 15:34:11 EDT 2017)

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