Glossary 英语文学词汇表

Short Story Terminology

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This section defines common short story terms.

antagonist – one that opposes protagonist and could be anything including another character

or the environment even the protagonist himself/herself, depending on what type of conflict it is. Contrast with protagonist.

e.g. In the film called The Silence of the Lambs which is a horror film, one character called

Buffalo Bill could be considered as the antagonist in the film because this character is a serial killer who strips the skin of the deceased after he tortured the victim. This character opposed to the protagonist of this film who is an FBI detective and responsible for unraveling these serial killings.

chronological order – a method of organization in which actions or events are presented as they

occur (or occurred) in time/the actual sequence of the events arranged by their occurrence in time. Contrast withflashback. e.g. In the film called The Silence of the Lambs, the chronological order is: An FBI trainee called Clarice Starling was assigned to interview a former psychiatrist and incarcerated cannibalistic serial killer - Hannibal in a prison in order to learn the criminal mind of the serial killer-Buffalo Bill. →the trainee got some clues from the previous cases done by Buffalo Bill, especially the special cocoon placed in every victim’s throat. At the same time, the U.S. Senator’s daughter was abducted by Buffalo Bill, so the trainee had to save the daughter →Clarice found one person called Jame Gumb perfectly matched with the clues since he once bought a huge box of sphinx moth → Clarice finally found the basement of Buffalo Bill and shot him to death. The Senator’s daughter was successfully saved by Clarice.

climax – the turning point in the action and/or the highest point of interest or excitement.

Here, the reader may find out what happens to the conflict, or the resolution of the

conflict so that the readers could understand the tendency of the story.

e.g. In William Shakespeare’s play “Romeo and Juliet”, the story reaches its climax in Act

3 which is a scene that Romeo killed his

wife

’s cousin- Tybalt and the audience

becomes to wonder about how Romeo could get out of this terrible situation.

It qualifies as a climax because after this act all the prior conflicts start to be resolved and

mysteries unfold themselves and thus the story moves toward its logical conclusion

during the coming scenes.

dialogue – a verbal exchange between two or more people which occurs when two or more speakers

have a conversation.

e.g. Annina: Monsieur Rick, what kind of a man is Captain Renault?

Rick: Oh, he's just like any other man, only more so.

This is a dialogue done by Joy Page and Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca , 1942 in

order to reveal the character ’s thoughts about another character called Captain

Renault.

direct presentation/characterization – the author ’s direct descriptions of what a

character is like. Contrast with indirect presentation/characterization.

e.g. In the novel called Rip Van Winkle by Washington Irving, the author described the

old man as “He was a simple, good-natured man; he was more over a kind neighbor and an obedient, henpecked husband.”

dramatic irony –the words and actions of the characters have a different meaning for the reader than they do for the characters which means only the readers “get the point”.

e.g. In the play Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, Romeo thinks Juliet is dead and the audience knows she is not. This qualifies because only the audience realized what exactly happened in the story while the character did not.

dynamic character – a major character who encounters conflict and is changed by it/the plot events. Dynamic characters tend to be more fully developed and described thanstaticcharacters. Contrast with static character.

E.g. In the Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling,

Harry could be considered as a dynamic character because he

perceives that he shares some abilities similar to Tom Riddle, who

becomes evil Lord Voldemort, and this makes him worried that he

might also turn out to be an evil character.

Dumbledore taught Harry the lesson about the importance of the choices

one makes. It resolves around his inner conflict, making him a good

example of a dynamic character.

denouncement –the event or events following the climax; the resolution or clarification of the plot

and provides the readers with the last pieces of information. Also see the definition of resolution. e.g. “They ’re a rotten crowd,” I shouted across the lawn. “You ’re worth the whole damn bunch put together„.. ”

The denouement in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald happens when Nick decides to go back to Minnesota to get away from the rich people who are engaged in all those things which Nick thinks are part of the moral worthlessness in Gatsby’s life. All the people in Gatsby’s circle were unfaithful.

exposition – a statement or type of composition intended to give information about (or an explanation of) an issue, subject, method, or idea.Also see the definition of introduction . e.g. In the movie series of Star Wars, the exposition is the opening title sequence that

gives information about the past events to the viewers. The crawling text on the

screen at the beginning of each part gives the audience every piece of information

they need to understand the upcoming events in the film.

The opening lines usually begin like this: “A long time ago in a galaxy far away, far away…”

external conflict – the conflict that isoutside a character in a short story/ the hardship faced by the

character during the plot. Contrast with internal conflict.

e.g. In William Golding’s novel The Lord of the Flies for example, Ralph (the leader of the “good

guys”) steadily comes into conflict with Jack (a bully who later forms a “tribe” of hunters). Jack and his “tribe” give in to their savage instinct and make attempts to hunt or kill the civilized batch of boys headed by Ralph.

falling action – the conflict unravels with the main character either winning or losing and the whole plot begins to finish up in this section of the story.

e.g. Falling action in Star Wars occurs when rebels and Luke Skywalker discover a vulnerable section in the Death Star of Vader. It is up to Luke Skywalker to destroy the space ship following several failed attempts. Vader virtually hits Luke’s ship; however, Han Solo saves his ship by shooting at Vader. Then, Luke uses force and destroys Death Star against all odds, and saves the rebels. Yet the story does not end here. The audience then sees the return of Han and Luke to the rebels, who

receive congratulations for making heroic efforts. Then the falling action takes place when these two characters win rewards and medals from Princess Leia for saving the day.

first person point of view –“I” is the central character and tells his or her own story from his/ her

perspective, so the readers could only learn the narrator’s inner thoughts.

e.g. “I have of late, —but wherefore I know not, —lost all my mirth, forgone all custom of exercises; and indeed, it goes so heavily with my disposition that this goodly frame, the earth, seems to me a sterile promontory.”

This is one of the first person point of view examples in William Shakespeare’s Hamlet . The use of first person point of view gives us a glimpse into the real inner feelings of frustration of the character. The writer has utilized the first person point of view to expose Hamlet’s feelings in a detailed way. This is one type of the point of view.

flat character – a minor character with one or maybe two sides to the personality,so the readers

could consider them as not realistic since they know so little about this character. Contrast with round character.

e.g. Benvolio is a flat character from Romeo and Juliet byWilliam Shakespeare, who remains

unchanged throughout the play. He is temperate, solid and loyal, who always tries to

maintain peace and harmony between the two families and whose purpose is to support Romeo to get married to Juliet.

flashback –a shift in a short story to an earlier event that interrupts the normal chronological

development of a story.

e.g. Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman uses flashback to narrate Willy Loman’s memories

of the past. At one moment, Willy talks with his dead brother while playing cards with Charley. He relives a past conversation in the present. This demonstrates a character that is physically living in the present but mentally living in the memories and events of the past.

foil character –a character who provides contrast to the main character (protagonist). These two

characters balance each other by portraying in different ways and the readers

could recognize the characteristics better through these differences. Contrast

with antagonist. e.g. In the Harry Potter, Harry's foil -Neville Longbottom is anything but

brave and as unskilled a wizard as they come. Both lost their parents to

Voldemort,but the difference can be seen in how Harry rises to

everydangerousoccasion, while Neville makes mistakes and gets pushed

around by about everyone.

foreshadowing – the presentation of details, characters, or incidents in a short story in such a way

that later events are prepared for.

e.g. William Shakespeare ’s Romeo and Juliet is rich with foreshadowing

examples. One of which is the following lines from Act 2, Scene 2:

“Life were better ended by their hate,

Than death prorogued, wanting of thy love”

In the balcony scene, Juliet is concerned about Romeo’s safety as

she fears her kinsmen may catch him. Romeo says, in the above lines, that

he would rather have her love and die sooner than not obtain her love and

die later. Eventually, he gets her love and dies for her love, too.

indirect presentation/characterization – the implication of what a character is like by the

readers ’ interpretation of the characters through the characters’ thoughts, dictation and

actions. Contrast withdirect presentation/characterization .

e.g. In the novel called Rip Van Winkle by Washington Irving, the author described the old

man ’s action:“He assisted at their sports, made their playthings, taught them to fly kites

and shoot marbles, and told them long stories. . . . ”In this way , the indirect

characterization of kindness is revealed through the old man’s actions.

internal conflict –the conflict is inside a character in a short story as an internal struggle and the

readersare aware of the internal conflict because they can see the character’s inner

thoughts. C ontrast with external conflict.

e.g. Hamlet ’s internal conflict is the main conflict in William Shakespeare ’s play Hamlet .This

internal conflict decides his tragic downfall because he wants to kill his father ’s murderer Claudius but he also looks for proof to justify his action, ultimately ruining his life and the lives of his loved ones.

Due to his internal conflict, he spoils his relationship with his mother and sends Ophelia (Hamlet’s

love interest) into such a state of despair that she commits suicide.

introduction – the background information that is needed to understand the story is provided, such as

the main character, the setting, the basic conflict, and so forth.Also see the definition of exposition.

e.g. “Once upon a time, there were three bears. There was a Daddy Bear, who was

very big, a Mama Bear, who was middle-sized, and a Baby Bear, who was very

small. They all lived together in a little cottage in the middle of the woods. Their

favorite breakfast was porridge. One morning, after they made their porridge,

Daddy Bear said, „Let‟s go for walk in the woods until it cools.‟ Mama Bear and

Baby Bear liked the idea, so off they went. While they were away, a little girl

named Goldilocks came walking through the forest and smelled the porridge…”

With the help of a single passage, the author of The Three Little Bears has given us an

overview of the bear family, their residence and information on how the story sets in motion.

limited omniscient point of view – Characters are referred to as “he” and “she”, and the reader

knows only the thoughts and feelings of a single character, while other characters are presented only externally/ in an objective way. Contrast with omniscient point of view.

e.g. “Harry had taken up his place at wizard school,

where he and his scar were famous „but now the

school year was over, and he was back with the

Dursleys for the summer, back to being treated like a

dog that had rolled in something smelly „The

Dursleys hadn ’t even remembered that today

happened to be Harry’s twelfth birthday. Of course,

his hopes hadn’t been high?”

(An Excerpt from Harry Potter and the Chamber of

Secrets by J.K. Rowling)

J.K. Rowling employs limited omniscient point of

view in which readers see what Harry observes, and know what he feels and thinks. They, however, are unable to follow what Dursleys feel or think about Harry, though can clearly see what Harry thinks and feels about them.

mood – the predominant emotion/atmosphere created by the short story, usually through word choice

or description and is best discovered through readers’careful consideration of the images as well as the feelings those images prompt in the short story.Contrast with tone .

e.g. “And being no stranger to the art of war, I have him a description of cannons, culverins, muskets,

carabines, pistols, bullets, powder, swords, bayonets, battles, sieges, retreats, attacks, undermines, countermines, bombardments, sea-fights„”

In order to create feelings of disgust in readers for the destructive consequences of war, Jonathon Swift chooses words that are unmelodious, harsh and jarring. The diction in the above passage of Gulliver ’s Travel corresponds with the subject matter.

narration –the process of recounting a sequence of events, real or imagined.

e.g. Don Quixote by Cervantes is a parody of Romance narration that dealt with the

adventures of a valiant knight. In Don Quixote the narration takes a comical turn. We

laugh at how the Quixote was bestowed a knighthood in his battle with the giants. We

enjoy how the knight helps the Christian king against the army of a Moorish monarch.

narrator – the person who recounts the events or the person speaking in the story.

e.g. In Persian Carpet,the narrator is the daughter in that family and she recounted the whole

event of meeting with her mother as well as the carpet through her perspective.

objective point of view – the story is written in third person- “he ” or “she ”, and the author records

action objectively like a movie camera which sends out no characters ’ inner thoughts.Contrast

with (limited) omniscient point of view.

e.g. "The goose shouted to the nearest cow that Wilbur was free, and soon all the cows knew. Then one of the cows told one of the sheep, and soon all the sheep knew. The lambs learned about it from their mothers. The horses, in their stalls in the barn, pricked up their ears when they heard the goose hollering; and soon the horses had caught on to what was happening."

This is a scene from Charlotte's Web written by Harper and this is qualified because the whole text records everything like a movie camera and only shows the things

objectively without any inner thoughts.

omniscient

point of view – the story is written in third person- “he ” or “she ”, and the

author wrote down all characters ’ inner thoughts and the readers are all-

knowing.Contrast with limited omniscient point of view.

e.g. “Margaret, the eldest of the four, was sixteen, and very pretty, being plump and fair, with large

eyes, plenty of soft brown hair, a sweet mouth, and white hands, of which she was rather vain. Fifteen-year-old Jo was very tall, thin, and brown, and reminded one of a colt „Elizabeth, or Beth, as everyone called her, was a rosy, smooth-haired, bright-eyed girl of thirteen, with a shy manner, a timid voice, and a peaceful expression, which was seldom disturbed„”

(An excerpt from Little Women by Louisa May Alcott)

Alcott uses an omniscient point of view, as we hear disembodied voice knowing everyone’s feelings

and thoughts, exploring all characters from inside and outside. Here the narrator gives description about the March sisters.

person vs. environment – the main conflict between the main character (protagonist) and the

environment/society of the character placed in. It occurs when the protagonist’s conflict extends to confronting institutions, traditions, or laws of his or her culture.

e.g. In Persian Carpet,Ilya had a conflict between him and community since he can’t do many jobs

because he ’s blind and was accused of stealing the carpet and did not defend himself by the community.

person vs. person – the conflict featured by the struggle of the protagonist with another character. e.g. In Persian Carpet, the narrator has conflicted feelings toward her mother. She said that she is

incapable of showing emotion toward her mother and then she said how much she missed her and wished her mother to live with her.

person vs. self – a person’s struggle with his or her own prejudices or doubts or character flaws.

e.g. In Persian Carpet, the narrator has conflicted

feelings

with herself since she said, “I would be

unable to throw myself into her arms,”although, she actually did throw herself into her mother’s arms.

plot – the organization of the main events of the short story and could be divided into

five parts.

e.g. The plot of theHarry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K.Rowling begins when

Harry learns that Professor Snape is after the Sorcerer’s Stone. The Professor lets

loose a troll, who nearly kills Harry and his friends. In addition, Harry finds out that

Hagrid let out the secret of the giant dog to a stranger in return for a dragon which

means that Snape can now reach the Sorcerer’s Stone.

plot diagram – a diagram to show the five parts of the plot as well as their relationship visually. e.g.

point of view – the angle of telling the story, which shows readers the opinion, or feelings of the

characters involved in a situation. The specific type could be selected by the author in order to suit his/her intentions.

e.g. In Persian Carpet,the author selected the first person’s point of view since she mainly used the pronoun “I ” to show the story. This increased theextent of how real this story is.

protagonist – the principal character in a literary work who is considered as a hero. Contrast

with antagonist.

e.g. In the movie Star Wars the character of Luke Skywalker was an outwardly naive

farm boy. Luke desperately wants a life different from his regular monotonous

existence. He joined forces with Obi-wan Kenobe and later on matures to understand

the customs of force.

His antagonist in the movie is Darth Vader, who turns out to be Luke’s father. They

both get into a major conflict but eventually Luke succeeds.

resolution – the end of the story and usually provides the readers with a solution a

conflict.However, tragedies end with death and sadness in which the main character is worse off than at the beginning of the story.

e.g. “They ’re a rotten crowd,” I shouted across the lawn. “You ’re worth the whole damn bunch put together„.. ”

The resolution in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald happens when Nick decides to go back to Minnesota to get away from the rich people who are engaged in all those things which Nick thinks are part of the moral worthlessness in Gatsby’s life. All the people in Gatsby’s circle were unfaithful.

rising action –a series of events and actions that move the story to a climax.This part which

builds up the story could offer the readers with more information about the conflicts and the characters. e.g. The rising action in Stephenie Meyer’s novel, Twilight, occurs as

Cullen family plays vampire baseball game where Bella is looking

as a spectator. During the play, some rogue vampires like James,

Laurent and Victoria approach them.

James feels the smell of Bella, and action rises. James chases Bella

while Cullen family strives to defend her. This heightened action

ultimately creates a huge climax that consequently brings many

things to a head, leading to the end.

round character – multidimensional and complex characters in a short storyand behave like real people so that they could evoke the readers’ emotion if they are in the same situation.Contrast with flat character.

e.g. Hamlet from Hamlet by William Shakespeare is a complex and mysterious character that is

knowledgeable, philosophical, intelligent and thoughtful by nature. He takes hasty decisions yet he delays his revenge.

His contemplative nature also becomes his tragic flaw and lack of his timely action becomes the

cause of his tragedy. His personality is contradictory, while he also encounters many contradictory situations. S

satire – a technique used by writers to expose and criticize foolishness and corruption of a

character by using humor, irony, exaggeration or ridicule. Contrast withIrony.

e.g. A Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift. In this essay, Swift satirizes the British for their

treatment of the Irish by recommending that they literally eat the children since they have already taken everything else from the Irish.

setting –background information of the short story including location and

time. Also it could be emotional in order to evoke the emotion and

feelings of the readers.

e.g. In the Persian Carpet by Hanna Shaykh, the setting takes place in Lebanon.

The narrator, her aunt Maryam and sister are in her father’s house. The time was

the narrator ’s childhood. Then the narrator, her aunt and her sister got to the

mother ’s house.

situational irony – an occasion in which the outcome is significantly different form what

was expected or considered appropriate.

e.g. Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare - Romeo finds Juliet drugged and assumes she

is dead. He kills himself then she awakens, see that he is dead and kills herself.

static character – a character in a short story who dose not undergo substantial change or

growth in the course of the story.Contrast with dynamic character.

e.g. Scar is an example of a static character in the Lion King. Scar is a sly and

clever brother of the Lion King. This cunning man plots to kill Simba and his

father. As the film goes on, we notice that Scar does not go through any change and keeps these traits until the end. By the end of the story, he does not survive and dies due to his wicked deeds.

stereotyped character – a character with generalizedtraits which make the character seem to be an oversimplified type of person, belonging to a group. Contrast with other types of characters.

e.g. Professor Moriarty in the Sherlock Holmes stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle could be considered as a stereotyped character of villain because he is always simplified as an evil guy with black coat in the story.

Symbol/symbolism –the use of one object or action to represent something

else.

e.g. The character of the madwoman in the attic in the novel Jane Eyre is identified as a symbol for

women's hidden rage since nobody can deny her intensity or power: she’s sexually potent, wicked smart, and absolutely ruthless. Nobody can kill her, either, because she seems to be invincible—in this novel, of course, she chooses to commit suicide.

theme – the main idea of a text, expressed directly or indirectly which is what can be learned

about life and/or people from the story. Theme is different from the subject a piece of wring is about -the topic.

e.g. Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare is based on the love and friendship of the main

characters.

tone – the expression of a writer's attitude toward subject and audience sometimes. Contrast with mood.

e.g. “And the trees all died. They were orange trees. I don‟t know why they died, they just died. Something wrong with the soil possibly or maybe the stuff we got from the nursery wasn‟t the best. We complained about it. So we‟ve got thirty kids there, each kid had his or her own little tree to plant and we‟ve got these thirty dead trees. All these kids looking at these little brown sticks, it was depressing.”

The u se of adjectives “dead” and “depressing” sets a gloomy tone of the short story The School by Donald Barthelme. As trees signify life here, their unexpected “death” from an unknown cause gives the above passage an unhappy and pessimistic tone.

verbal irony – a type of irony occurs when the intended meaning of a statement differs from the

meaning that the words appear to express. Sarcasm is an extreme form of verbal irony. Compare with sarcasm. e.g. Inthe play Julius Caesar byWilliam Shakespeare,

Mark Antony states “Yet Brutus

says he was

ambitious and Brutus is an honorable man. ” In the

words spoken by Antony, “honorable ” and

“ambitious ” are opposite from each other, so this

could be considered as verbal irony.

References

This glossary’s main examples come from:

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