Literary Terms

The sequence of events in a story

• Main Idea

• Summary

• Plot

• Outline

The introduction of a story which introduces the characters, setting, and basic situation

• Introduction

• Preface

• Inciting Incident

• Exposition

Events which lead up to the climax of a story

• Development in Rising Action

• Development in Falling Action

• Conflict

• Exposition

The high point of action in the plot

• Climax

• Apex

• Peak

• Inciting Incident

Events that occur as a result of the climax and lead to the resolution

• Development in Rising Action

• Development in Falling Action

• Downward Slope

• Upward Slope

The outcome of the conflict in a plot

• Resolution

• Outcome

• Ending

• Happily Ever After

The main conflict in a story which causes the events leading to the climax

• Conflict

• Inciting Incident

• Exposition

• Introductory Conflict

The time and place of the action in a story

• Climate

• Situational Irony

• Setting

• Exposition

A central message, concern, or purpose in a literary work

• Theme

• Main Idea

• Moral

• Lesson

The main character in a literary work

• Protagonist

• Antagonist

• Characterization

• Secondary Character