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Characters (AP English Literature) Flashcards

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3599266365antiheroA literary device used by writers for a prominent character in a play or book that has characteristics opposite to that of a conventional hero. The protagonist is generally admired for his bravery, strength, charm, ingenuity etc. while an anti-hero is typically clumsy, unsolicited, and unskilled and has both good and bad qualities0
3599269035characterizationA literary device that is used step by step in literature to highlight and explain the details about a character in a story.1
3599269277round characterA character in a novel, play or story is a complex personality. Like real people, he/she has depth in his feelings and passions. For instance, in the movie "Shrek," the main character says "'Ogres are like onions" which means that what appears to them is not the only truth they see; rather, there is something more inside them. Writers define a this character fully, both physically and mentally. It is the character with whom the audience can sympathize, associate or relate to, as he seems a character they might have seen in their real lives.2
3599269278flat characterA type of character in fiction that does not change too much from the start of the narrative to its end. They are often said not to have any emotional depths.3
3599269727stream of consciousness/interior monologueA method of narration that describes in words the flow of thoughts in the minds of the characters.4
3599270186point of viewThe angle of considering things, which shows us the opinion, or feelings of the individuals involved in a situation. In literature, it is the mode of narration that an author employs to let the readers "hear" and "see" what takes place in a story, poem, essay etc. It is a reflection of the opinion an individual from real life or fiction can have.5
3599270751first personA point of view that involves the use of either of the two pronouns "I" and "we".6
3599270952second personA point of view that employs the pronoun "you".7
3599270391third personA point of view that uses pronouns like "he", "she", "it", "they" or a name.8
3599270953unreliable narratorIt is a narrator, whether in literature, film, or theatre, whose credibility has been seriously compromised.9

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