Literary Terms: F - G

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Fables –

a short tale used for teaching a lesson which uses animals, objects, or nature

Facts –

the truth; information based on evidence

Fairy tales –

stories that include supernatural creatures such as fairies or magicians

Falling action –

the action following the climax ending in resolution (denouement)

Falling meter –

movement from stressed to unstressed meter

Fantasy –

a fiction which includes some aspect or situation that does not fall into the understood rules of physics, scientific possibility, or reality

Farce –

a form of literature which uses a situation more than characters to create humor; usually involve slapstick – an exaggerated action such as falling over a chair or a long-played effort at what should be simple such as placing a carton on a shelf; silly, light-hearted, not cynical or satiric.

Fiction –

a created series of characters and events that has not actually happened

Fictionalize –

to create a fiction from an actual event

Figurative language –

language that is used to mean some other or something more than it says; language that is used in a non-literal way

Figurative level –

the non-literal level; the place where the story behind the story is told

Figures of speech –

various ways speech is used figuratively

First-person narrator (first-person point of view) – 

a story told from the viewpoint of the author of the story as a character in the story using the word I to tell the story; may be omniscient (all knowing) or limited (knows only information from that character’s perspective).

Flash fiction –

a type of short story less than 1000 words

Flashbacks –

a technique used to show events that previous occurred by interrupting the present action and going back to previous events; generally used when a story starts in medias res (in the middle of things) such as where a scene opens during a trial and then some of the previous action leading up to the trial is told.

Flat character –

a character described with only one or two personality traits; a superficial character

Foil –

a character created as a contrast to another character as a way of focusing attention on the traits of that other character such as a character taking an unethical approach in order to focus attention on another character taking the ethical approach.

Folk tales –

stories or legends that are about or from a culture or group of people (folk)

Foreshadowing –

a literary device that gives a hint about what is going to occur

Form (poetic form) –

poetry has two forms: narrative which tells a story and lyric which expression an emotion or idea

Formal diction –

the use of words following rules of grammar and Standard English

General words –

non-specific words

Genre –

categories of literature: fiction, poetry and drama

Geographical setting –

the town, state, country, or other geographical place

Globe Playhouse –

an elaborate theater built in 1599 which includes various sections: hell, heaven, rear stage, music gallery, and huts

Groundlings –

the commoners who stood and watched the plays in the courtyard presentations

Gustatory imagery –

the creation of an image of taste