Here are some basic storytelling terms to use in class discussion. Look here first if you hear an unfamiliar word. Better yet, look over this list throughout the course when critiquing and creating works.

Aesthetic – concerned with the beauty of art and/or appreciation of that beauty.

Agency – the capacity to act with intent and cause events.

Antagonist – the person opposing the protagonist in narrative.

Character – a person or person-like entity that exhibits agency. Synonyms we might use would be agent and entity.

Climax – in Western storytelling traditions, the turning point(s) in the narrative where things change for better or worse, and the central conflict is resolved.

Closure – When a narrative ends in such a way as to answer questions and satisfy expectations. Not the same as denoument.

Conflict – (Greek: agon). When equilibrium is upset by an event or chain of events. Can be external (e.g. a clash between two characters’ beliefs or goals) or internal (e.g. conflict between dissonant aspects of a single character). Conflict is central to Aristotelian (Western) storytelling, but not necessarily other approaches.

Denoument – The part of a Western narrative, following the climax, where equilibrium is achieved and there is a return to a (possibly new) state of normalcy.

Discourse – an exchange of ideas.

Exposition – the presentation of circumstances, characters, events, and other information that is important for understanding the narrative.

Frame – a story that contains another story. The classic example is One Thousand and One Nights, in which Scheherazade stalls a king she does not want to marry with a series of folk tales. Scheherazade’s story is the frame, while the stories she tells are embedded narratives.

in media res – Latin: “in the midst of things.” In storytelling, when the narrative starts in the middle of things. Exposition is usually filled in gradually later. An example would be the first line of a short story that reads “Mary didn’t want to pet the shark.” We have no idea who Mary is, where she is, or why she’d be in a position to pet a shark. But we probably want to know, so we keep reading! 🙂

Imitation – see Representation.

Kishōtenketsu (起承転結) – the structure of classic (and many contemporary) Chinese, Korean, and Japanese plots. These days, a structure applied to manga, games (esp. Nintendo first-party games), and even argumentation. We will focus on the Japanese formulation, though you are welcome to research the Chinese or Korean traditions and implement them in your work. The structure is introduction (kiku), development (shōku), twist (tenku), and conclusion (kekku).

Linearity – The extent to which the narrative is experienced sequentially (and usually this is chronological). Nonlinear and multilinear narratives are much less straightforward and often involve user navigation or choice, as well as branching and linking structures.

Medium – the material means by which a story is told. Examples would be digital typography, GIFs, hypertext, etc. Plural: media. When we talk about “media” in this class, we are not referring to “the media” such as The Times or CNN.

Mimesis – see Representation.

Mode – communications method ties to senses: textual, visual/iconic, auditory/aural, gestural, tactile

Narrative – the order and style of telling a story; the story sequence as presented or represented by a storyteller or narrator; showing and hiding elements of a plot

Narrator – the one who produces a narrative / tells a story. NOT the same as the author! A kind of imaginary character or tool created by the author to tell the story. Narrators can be unreliable (and it’s really fun!).

Plot – mechanics of relating part to part and part to whole; cause and effect chain (characters’ actions have consequences); obstacles to desired goals create tension. “Masterplots” are commonly reused plots such as the underdog story, the coming-of-age tale, etc. Simple plots are those in which circumstances change. Complex plots are those in which changes in circumstances produce change in characters.

Protagonist – the leading or principal character in a narrative. See also character ensemble, a group of characters who fulfill this role.

Representation – The core function of storytelling in Aristotle: representing something as something to someone (the reader/user/viewer/player). From Critical Terms for Literary Study (U. Chicago): “Aristotle defined all the arts—verbal, visual, and musical—as modes of representation, and went even further to make representation the definitively human activity: ‘From childhood men have an instinct for representation, and in this respect man differs from the other animals that he is far more imitative and learns his first lessons by representing things.’ [The human], for many philosophers both ancient and modern, is the ‘representational animal,’ homo symbolicum, the creature whose distinctive character is the creation and manipulation of signs—things that ‘stand for’ or ‘take the place of’ something else.”

Recognition – also known as anagnorisis. This refers to the moment in a complex plot in which a principal character recognizes or discovers another character’s true identity or the true nature of their own circumstances. Aristotle believed that moments of recognition on sight (of faces, specifically) are best. For an example, see the moment in The Lunch Date when the woman realizes where her salad was all along.

Reversal – also known as peripeteia. A sudden reversal or change in circumstances.

Rising action – series of events that increase the conflict. Protagonist(s) attempt to realize their main goals in the face of obstacles.

Setting – location but also all the other elements of a story that do not have agency and form the background of the narrative.

Sign – in semiotics (Saussure), a unit consisting of signified (an internal/mental idea or concept) and the signifier (a verbal word or phrase). The connection between signified and signifier is arbitrary.

Story – the temporal order of all of the events, characters, places, objects, and the relationships between them. Stories often (but not always) unfold chronologically (in time-series order).

Trope/topos – something that is easily recognizable. In storytelling, specifically, a trope is usually a commonly recurring literary or rhetorical device, including motifs or clichés. One example would be a rain cloud over someone as a visual indication of sadness or depression. Another is the initial refusal of a protagonist to answer the “call to adventure” of a hero’s journey narrative. Or, you know, the “pre-asskicking one-liner.”