Thursday, January 15, 2009

Oh How I Love Terms, Part II - Storytelling

These terms relate to the structure of storytelling and the sub-genres of narrative:

Random terms, alphabetically:
allegory
anecdote
antagonist
aside
black humor / dark comedy
catharsis
characterization
chorus
comedy (vs. comic) (high vs. low)
epic
epiphany
epithet
fable
fantasy
farce - has broad comic situations
flashback
flat / round character
foil
foreshadowing
frame device
genre
hamartia
hero / monomyth
hubris
humor (vs. wit)
joke (vs. gag)
legend
limited / omniscient
motivation
myth
narrative, narrator
parable
parody
plot
point of view
romantic
satire
scene
setting
slapstick
soliloquy
stereotype
stock character
Theatre of the Absurd
theme
tragedy, tragic hero
trilogy


Classic structural terms, particularly for tragedy and comedy:
prologue
exposition
rising action
climax, turning point
falling action
denouement
resolution
catastrophe
peripetia
anagnorisis
parode
agon (act 1)
episode (act 2)
exode
*Conceptually, you should be able to compare and contrast these two original classic storytelling forms on points of religiosity, scope of conflict, types of heroes, type of ending, and determinism/improbability

"Rhetoric of Humor"
establishment of superiority
incongruity / irony
hyperbole / caricature
puns / repartee
repetition / rhythm
slapstick / noises off
violating taboos

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