Fiction - Plot and Theme

Terms Related to Fiction - Plot and Theme

Action –

the events that occur in the piece of literature

Antagonist –

the forces against the protagonist; could be another character, a force of nature, or an organization, or other entity or situation which creates opposition to the protagonist.

Arrangement of events –

how the events are structured in a plot; may be chronological, start in the middle of things (in medias res), or as flashbacks

Carpe diem –

Latin for seize the day; sometimes, a theme in a fiction or poem

Chronological order –

the presentation of events in the order they occurred in time

Cliché –

worn-out phrase purporting to tell some general truth which no longer has meaning because of his overuse

Climax –

the highest point of conflict; the point at which the action begins to fall to resolution (denouement)

Conflict –

the friction between the goals of the protagonist (the main character – doesn’t have to be the “good” character) and the forces against the protagonist, called the antagonist

Deus ex machina –

a plot contrivance to unexpectedly save a character from a seemingly inescapable, problematic situation often associated with a divine intervention; first used in Ancient Greek and Roman theatre where mechanical devices were used, such as a pulley to lower a god or goddess onto the set to take the character back into the heavens.

Epiphany –

the sudden insight a character has about him or herself, another character, or the situation

Exposition –

a part of the fiction (or drama or poem) which introduces the characters, settings, and conflict

Falling action –

the action following the climax ending in resolution (denouement)

Fiction –

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

Fictionalize –

to create a fiction from an actual event

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.

Foreshadowing –

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

In medias res –

Latin expression meaning in the middle of things; an arrangement of events where the story starts somewhere in the middle of the action and then goes forward giving information about what happened before through narration, dialogue, or flashbacks.

Initiation theme –

a theme about being initiated into something new

Ironic title –

a title which contains irony often helping to reveal the theme

Moral –

a lesson learned as a result of actions that occurred in a story

Plot –

the sequence of events in the main action in a piece of literature

Protagonist –

the main character, not necessarily the “good” character

Resolution (denouement) –

the end; the result of the conflict, sometimes left for the reader to interpret

Rising action –

the building of conflict and suspense prior to the climax

Storytelling –

the communication of a series of events which may take different forms such as anecdotes, myths, fables, tall tales, legends and fairy tales

Subject –

the person, object, or topic of focus in literature

Subplot –  

the sequence of events in a subordinate storyline in piece of literature

Suspense –

the emotional reaction to the conflict in anticipation of future action, climax, and resolution

Symbolic title –

a title which contains a symbol often helping to reveal theme

Tension –

the result of the friction between the protagonist and antagonist

Theme –

the central idea in a story

Title –

what a story is called; often includes symbolism or irony