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the main events of a play, novel, movie, or similar work, devised and presented by the writer as an interrelated sequence.

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the background information on the characters and setting explained at the beginning of the story.

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Rising action is the section of a story that leads toward its climax.

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In the structure of a play the climax, or crisis, is the decisive moment, or turning point, at which the rising action of the play is reversed to falling action.

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In storytelling, falling action refers to the period after the dramatic confrontation of the climax.

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The resolution is the end of the story. It occurs after the CLIMAX. It is when you learn what happens to the characters after the CONFLICT is resolved.

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Setting refers to the location of the story-in time and in place

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The protagonist works toward the central story goals, while the antagonist works against the goals.

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In fiction, those problems are called conflict. More precisely, conflict means thwarted, endangered, or opposing desire.

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Internal conflict is when a character struggles with their own opposing desires or beliefs

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Writing: How to Find the Perfect Balance of Internal and External Conflict

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External conflict sets a character against something or someone beyond their control.

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A literary theme is the main idea or underlying meaning a writer explores in a novel, short story, or other literary work.

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diction, choice of words, especially with regard to correctness, clearness, or effectiveness.

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Diction: Explanation, Effects, Example | AP Lang Rhetorical Strategies

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In spoken and written language, syntax refers to the set of rules that determines the arrangement of words in a sentence

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The direct definition of the word that you find in the dictionary. CONNOTATION: The emotional suggestions of a word, that is not literal.

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Denotation and Connotation | English | English 4-6 | Teacher Beth Class TV

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The tone is more than an author's attitude toward his/her audience and characters; it is the stylistic means by which an author conveys his/her attitude(s) in a work of literature.

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ESL - Literary Devices (Tone, Allusion, Analogy and Juxtaposition)

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A mood is a feeling that can refer to the emotional state of mind of a person/character or the atmosphere of a story.

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When writing a work of fiction, an author can take the reader out of the present story and jump into an earlier time period in a character's life.

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Foreshadowing is a narrative device in which suggestions or warnings about events to come are dropped or planted.

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Oregon State University - School of Writing, Literature and Film

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"What is Foreshadowing?": A Literary Guide for English Students and Teachers

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parallelism, in rhetoric, component of literary style in both prose and poetry, in which coordinate ideas are arranged in phrases, sentences, and paragraphs that balance one element with another of equal importance and similar wording.

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Parallelism: Explanation, Effects, Example | AP Lang Rhetorical Strategies

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point of view, in literature, the vantage point from which a story is presented. Related Topics: narrative.

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The telling of a story in the grammatical first person, i.e. from the perspective of an "I,

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Second-person narration a little-used technique of narrative in which the action is driven by a character ascribed to the reader, one known as you.

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In third-person objective narration, the narrator reports the events that take place without knowing the motivations or thoughts of any of the characters.

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Point of View (P.O.V.): Third Person Omniscient, Limited-Omniscient, and Objective

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Third person limited point of view, on the other hand, is a method of storytelling in which the narrator knows only the thoughts and feelings of a single character, while other characters are presented only externally.

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This is a common form of third-person narration in which the teller of the tale, who often appears to speak with the voice of the author himself, assumes an omniscient (all-knowing) perspective on the story being told: diving into private thoughts, narrating secret or hidden events

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A simile is a figure of speech and type of metaphor that compares two different things using the words “like” or “as

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OSU School of Writing, Literature and Film

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"What is a Simile?": A Literary Guide for English Students and Teachers

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An extended metaphor is a metaphor in a literary work, such as a novel or poem, that isn't just used in one line but is extended over multiple lines or throughout the work.

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What is an Extended Metaphor? Lesson and Activity

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attribution of personal qualities especially : representation of a thing or abstraction as a person or by the human form.

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PERSONIFICATION: Definition + Examples 🌞

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hyperbole, a figure of speech that is an intentional exaggeration for emphasis or comic effect.

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OSU School of Writing, Literature and Film

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"What is Hyperbole?": A Literary Guide for English Students and Teachers

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Symbolism is the idea that things represent other things.

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What is Symbolism? Art Movements & Styles

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it is a rhetorical term that describes words or phrases that, when placed together, create paradoxes or contradictions.

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ESL - Literary Devices 2 (Alliteration, Imagery, Oxymoron, Hyperbole and Symbolism)

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A euphemism is the substitution of a less offensive or agreeable expression for an expression that may offend or suggest something unpleasant.

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Euphemisms That Native Speakers Use All the Time

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An allusion is when we hint at something and expect the other person to understand what we are referencing.

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the art of speaking or writing effectively: such as. a : the study of principles and rules of composition formulated by critics of ancient times.

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Ethos (Greek for “character”) • Focuses attention on the writer's or speaker's trustworthiness.

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Pathos, or the appeal to emotion, means to persuade an audience by purposely evoking certain emotions to make them feel the way the author wants them to feel.

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Logos, or the appeal to logic, means to appeal to the audiences' sense of reason or logic.

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In simplest terms, irony occurs in literature AND in life whenever a person says something or does something that departs from what they (or we) expect them to say or do.

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OSU School of Writing, Literature and Film

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"What is Irony?": A Literary Guide for English Students and Teachers

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Verbal irony is a figure of speech. The speaker intends to be understood as meaning something that contrasts with the literal or usual meaning of what he says.

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What is irony? Situational, Verbal and Dramatic. Figures of speech by @Essop's E-lessons

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Situational irony is the irony of something happening that is very different to what was expected.

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dramatic irony, a literary device by which the audience's or reader's understanding of events or individuals in a work surpasses that of its characters.

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Irony Simplified | Verbal Irony, Situational Irony, Dramatic Irony | Literary Device

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Characterization is the description of a character's physical traits (how a character looks), point of view, personality, private thoughts, and actions

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How to write a characterization - fictional text analysis - 3 steps

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The writer makes direct statements about a character's personality and tells the reader or viewer what the character is like.

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Direct & Indirect Characterization - Instructional Video

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Indirect characterization, on the other hand, consists of the author showing the audience what kind of person a character is through the character's thoughts, words, and deeds.

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Direct and Indirect Characterization: Show and Tell

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In talk about literature, this has led to the development of a crude but useful terminological distinction of two sorts of characterization: "static" and "dynamic."

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What is the difference between STATIC and DYNAMIC characters?

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In talk about literature, the term "dynamic character" means simply a character who undergoes some important change in the course of the story.

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Flat characters are two-dimensional in that they are relatively uncomplicated and do not change throughout the course of a work.

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round characters, characters as described by the course of their development in a work of literature.

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OSU School of Writing, Literature and Film

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"What is a Flat Character vs a Round Character?": A Literary Guide for English Students and Teachers

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Assonance, or “vowel rhyme,” is the repetition of vowel sounds across a line of text or poetry.

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Oregon State University - School of Writing, Literature and Film

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"What are Assonance and Consonance?": A Literary Guide for English Students and Teachers

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Alliteration is the repetition of the same sound at the start of a series of words in succession whose purpose is to provide an audible pulse that gives a piece of writing a lulling, lyrical, and/or emotive effect.

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ESL - Literary Devices 2 (Alliteration, Imagery, Oxymoron, Hyperbole and Symbolism)

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A cliché (pronounced 'klee-SHAY') is a saying, image, or idea which has been used so much that it sounds terribly uncreative.

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A cliché (pronounced 'klee-SHAY') is a saying, image, or idea which has been used so much that it sounds terribly uncreative. The word "cliché" was originally French for the sound of a printing plate, which prints the same thing over and over. Using clichés is considered bad writing and speaking because they make it sound like you didn't put any thought into your words. Good writers and speakers try to use thoughtful and original language rather than clichés in their work. Synonyms for cliché include platitudes and banalities.

II. Examples of Cliché

Because clichés are, by definition, common and overused, they can be found frequently but you may not notice them because we take them for granted. Here are a few examples:

This image of a cloud starts with a common cliché:
Every cloud has a silver lining
Which means that even in a bad situation, you can usually find something good.

The rest of the cloud is made of other popular clichés:

"Diamond in the rough": something or somebody with a lot of potential.

"Going bananas!": going crazy.

"Easy as pie": very easy.

"Cold as ice": very cold or not friendly.

"Take a chill pill": to relax.

"Don't judge a book by its cover": don't judge something based on its appearance.

"Driving me crazy!": annoying somebody to the point of almost insanity.

"Kid in a candy store": feeling happy about the things that surround you.

"Light as a feather": very very light.

"Happily ever after": the ending of all fairy tale romances, this is a typical ending where everybody is happy for the rest of their lives.

"When pigs fly!": something that is very unlikely to happen.

To describe falling in love:
She fell head over heels.
Another common characteristic of clichés is that they tend to simplify and dramatize. Rather than admitting that a story may not always have happiness or explaining that serious love takes time to develop, these clichés make the writing seem shallow and therefore un-interesting.

Clichés are sometimes ideas, images, or characters, rather than phrases. Here are a few examples of cliché characters:

"The Damsel in Distress": a young attractive woman who is incompetent and in need of someone else to rescue her.

"The Superhero": the man who saves the Damsel in Distress, often incredibly strong and good looking!

"Brooding Bad Boy": the boy from 'the other side of the tracks,' who needs someone caring to lead him to a better life.

"The Good Girl": the girl who saves the Brooding Bad Boy with her kindness and good heart.

III. The Importance of Cliché

Clichés are important because they express ideas and thoughts that are widespread and common within a culture, hence the phrase "cliché but true." Yet in our culture, we tend to dislike clichés because we place a high value on creativity, originality, and cleverness, rather than on repetition and using other people's words. Not all cultures feel this way though; in China, it is considered good to use clichés because Chinese culture places a higher value on tradition and looks down on individuality. But even in our culture, clichés are still very common in popular books, poems, movies, television shows, speeches, and advertisements.

IV. Examples of Clichés in Literature

It is important to remember that every cliché was once original and became overused only because it was such a popular idea at first. So, many clichés come from classic works.

Many clichés have their origins in classics like Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet:
A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.
This cliché is from Juliet's speech in which she claims that it does not matter that Romeo comes from her family's enemy house, the Montague. Like many Shakespeare quotes, this phrase was so creative when Shakespeare wrote it, that now other people have overused it-to mean that the names of things are not important compared to their qualities.
Forever and a day
This cliché is also derived from Shakespeare, as it first appeared in The Taming of the Shrew. Countless clichés were coined by Shakespeare, including:

All that glitters is not gold - (The Merchant of Venice)"

Jealousy is the green-eyed monster - (Othello)"

Melted into thin air - (The Tempest)

And many more. It is a compliment for a writer's work to become a cliché, but it is an insult to be accused of writing something cliché.

V. Examples of Cliché in Pop Culture

Although clichés should usually be avoided, they can be used for comedic effect or in works where originality and deep thought are not expected such as television shows, advertisements, and movies like romantic comedies and superhero blockbusters.

Conversely, the Old Spice commercials become funny by using the cliché of the perfect man, one often used in men's commercials:

Hello, ladies.
Look at your man.
Now back to me. Now back at your man. Now back to me.
Sadly, he isn't me.
But if he stopped using lady scented body wash...
...and switched to Old Spice, he could smell like he's me.
Look down. Back up. Where are you?
You're on a boat with the man your man could smell like.
What's in your hand? Back at me.
I have it.
It's an oyster with two tickets to that thing you love.
Look again. The tickets are now diamonds.
Anything is possible when your man smells like Old Spice and not a lady.
I'm on a horse.

And clichés are still alive and well in popular movies ("alive and well" is a cliché!). Consider the movie The Last Song:

" It is a story of second chances, first loves, and the moments in life that lead us back home. "

This movie is complete with the brooding teenage daughter, the father figure looking for a second chance, and the rambunctious younger brother, who is there just to provide comic relief. These are all clichés.
This movie may be cliché, but many people still enjoy it. For this reason, cliché is a matter of taste; critics may not like clichés, but they can still be part of enjoyable entertainment.

VI. Related Terms

Cliché vs. Archetype

An archetype is an image or character which is used over and over in literature and art and may not seem cliché because it represents a universal truth about life or a universal aspect of human psychology. The line between an archetype and a cliché is thin: both archetypes and clichés are frequently found in compositions. Whereas clichés are considered overused and unwanted, archetypes are accepted and only cliché if they are represented in cliché images and words.

One such archetype is the hero-- Superman, Harry Potter, Luke Skywalker, Jesus. This archetype is so common throughout history and all over the world that you would think it would be cliché, but it has such psychological appeal and depth, and makes for such good stories, that we don't care how cliché it is. Archetypes, unlike clichés, provide a frame for a character or story which is then shaped and presented in an original way by the storyteller.

VII. In Closing

Clichés are, by definition, prevalent phrases or ideas in literature, advertisements, and numerous other forms. They are common in romance novels, parodies, and television. Although critics advise against clichés, they remain popular.

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Clichés: Definition and Examples | LiteraryTerms.net

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Clear Clichés examples and definition. This article will also show you the importance of Clichés and how to use it. A cliché is a saying or idea which has been so overused that it has lost the power of its original meaning.

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An idiom is a widely used saying or expression that contains a figurative meaning that is different from the phrase's literal meaning.

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What are idioms? 🤔 | Idioms in English | Learn with examples

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A pun is a play on words, centering on a word with more than one meaning or words that sound alike.

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English Language and Literature: Shakir Shahzad

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Literary Terms for PPSC English Lecturer | Lecture by Shakir Shahzad