Literary Elements

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Literary Elements

• Language Arts 10
• Mr. Gildea

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Theme

• is the underlying meaning of the story, a
  universal truth, a significant statement the
  story is making about society, human nature or
  the human condition.
• A books theme must be described in universal
  terms, not in terms of the plot the plot is the
  way the universal theme is carried out.

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Theme

• Although themes can convey important messages,
  they should never be overtly preachy (that
  readers lose pleasure in the story and reject its
  message)
• Theme cannot be a subject (i.e.- Friendship or
  Courage). To say that a book's theme is
  "friendship" is not clear. It may mean, "Friends
  are a person's most valuable possession." It may
  also mean, "Friends can never be trusted if their
  own interests are opposed to yours."

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Characterization

• Is the means by which a characters personality
  is revealed
• Is usually revealed through the following
  methods
• Showing the character acting and speaking
• Giving a physical description of the character
• Revealing the characters thoughts
• Revealing what other characters think about the
  character
• Commenting directly on the characterbackground
  information

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Types of Characters

• Protagonist- the central character in the story
  that is always involved in the main conflict of
  the plot and often changes during the course of
  the work
• Antagonist- the character or force that is pitted
  against the protagonist it may be another
  character, some aspect of society or nature, or
  an internal force within the protagonist
• Foil- a generally minor character whose traits
  are in direct contrast to those of the principal
  character, thereby highlighting the traits of the
  protagonist two protagonists in a story may be
  foils to each other

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Types of Characters

• Flat character- a character who has only one or
  two sides, representing only one or two traits
  without much detail
• Round character- A character who is complex and
  has many sides or traits, with unpredictable
  behavior and a fully developed personality
• Dynamic character- a character who experiences an
  essential change in personality or attitude
• Static character- a character who does not change
  or develop beyond the way in which he or she is
  first presented

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Types of Characters
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Plot

• The most common type of narrative order is
  chronological. In this case, the events are told
  in the order they happen.
• A flashback occurs when the author narrates an
  event that took place before the current time of
  the story. The opposite effect, a flash forward,
  is even rarer.
• A time lapse occurs when the story skips a period
  of time that seems unusual compared to the rest
  of the plot. There is no standard amount of time
  that might constitute a time lapse it depends
  upon the reader's sense that a longer than usual
  period of time has passed since the previous
  episode.

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Plot

• Foreshadowing is the planting of hints about what
  will happen later in the story. Good
  foreshadowing is subtle and often contributes to
  high quality in a story.
• A Plot Twist is a sudden and unexpected twist in
  the story right at the end

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Plot

• The sequence or arrangement of actions and
  events in a novel progress because of a conflict.
  It occurs in 5 stages
• Exposition- lays the groundwork for the plot
  provides the reader with background information.
  Characters are introduced, the setting is
  described and the major conflict is identified.
• Rising Action- events that arise complicating the
  situation, intensifying or complicating the
  conflict, or creating new struggles in the novel,
  all of which cause difficulties for the main
  characters. Suspense builds.

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Plot

• Climax- the turning point of the action, the
  moment when emotional intensity, interest or
  suspense reach their peak. It usually involves an
  important event, decision or discovery that
  affects the final outcome
• Falling Action- consists of the events that occur
  after the climax. Often the conflict is resolved
  and the intensity of action subsides.
• Resolution- The outcome of the conflict.
  Mysteries are solved and tangles are untied. Its
  the wrap up of the storys plot, the point in a
  story where the situation calms down and becomes
  stabilized.

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Conflict

• a struggle between opposing forces that moves the
  plot forward. It provides the interest or
  suspense. Conflict can be
• Internal- when conflict occurs within a
  characters own body or mind (man v. self)

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Conflict

• External- two characters, one being the
  protagonist, pitted against one another (man v.
  man) a character pitted against a physical
  obstacle (man v. machine) a character pitted
  against an element of nature, (man v. nature) a
  character pitted against the values of his or her
  society (man v. society) or a character pitted
  against a fact of life or death, things beyond
  his or her control (man v. fate).

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Setting

• includes the place and time period in which the
  story takes place. It may also include the social
  and moral environment of the time period.
• It can clarify conflict, illuminate character,
  affect the mood, and act as a symbol. The setting
  itself can be an antagonist in a man v. nature
  conflict.

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Point of View

• is the vantage point, or perspective, from which
  a story is told. What a reader knows about the
  storys characters and actions depends upon the
  writers POV. The POV determines how much the
  narrator can reveal about the characters. There
  are four common POVs
• First person- the narrator is a character in the
  story who tells the story from the I vantage
  point. Because of this, the reader knows only
  what the narrator knows, observes and understands.

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Point of View

• Third person Limited- the narrator, who is not a
  character in the story, focuses on the thoughts
  and experiences of only one character. The reader
  again learns only what this one character feels,
  thinks and understands. The narrator tells the
  story from the vantage point of he or she.
• Third person Omniscient- the narrator, who is not
  a character in the story, describes all the
  characters and actions in the story as well as
  comments on what the characters think and feel.
  This all-knowing narrator also tells the story
  from the vantage point of he or she.

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Point of View

• Third person Dramatic or Objective - we are told
  only what happens and what is said we do not
  know any thoughts or feelings of the characters.
  It is called "dramatic" because it includes the
  words and actions, just what you would see and
  hear if it were in a play or film.

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Devices of Style

• Allusion- is an indirect reference to something
  outside the literary work. The reference may be
  to something in literature, history, modern
  culture, or another area. He was a common
  veritable Hercules.
• Hyperbole- obvious and intentional exaggeration
  an extravagant statement or figure of speech not
  intended to be taken literally, as to wait an
  eternity.

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Devices of Style

• Understatement- the act or an instance of
  understating, or representing in a weak or
  restrained way that is not borne out by the
  facts Ex An Army officer has just lost his
  leg. When asked how he feels, he looks down at
  his bloody stump and responds, Stings a bit.
• Litotes- is a form of understatement that is
  always deliberate and with the intention of
  emphasis. Interpretation depends on context and
  intonation. Ex No ordinary city means A very
  impressive city

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Devices of Style

• Symbolism- is somethinga person, place, object,
  situation or actionwhich operates on two levels,
  the literal and the symbolic. Symbols add depth
  and meaning to a story. They may be universal or
  specific to the story.
• Mood- is the feeling or atmosphere that a writer
  creates for the reader. The writers use of
  imagery, figurative language, sound and rhythm,
  and descriptive details all contribute to the
  mood.

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Devices of Style

• Tone- is the author's attitude toward what he or
  she writes, but it may be easier to understand if
  you think of it as the attitude that you (the
  reader) get from the author's words. It is the
  hardest literary element to discuss often we can
  recognize it but not put it into words. The
  easiest tone to recognize is humor. In describing
  tone, use adjectives humorous, mysterious,
  creepy, straight-forward, matter-of-fact,
  exciting, boring, etc.

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Devices of Style Irony

• Irony- a contrast between expectation and
  reality. It can be tragic or profound it can
  also be funny. There are three types of irony
• Verbal Irony- involves a stark contrast between
  what is said and what is really meant. Someone
  who says, Speak up! to a person who is shouting
  is using verbal irony. Sarcasm is an example of
  this.

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Devices of Style Irony

• Situational Irony- occurs when what happens is
  very different from what we expect to happen. A
  puppy outwitting humans on a TV sitcom gets
  laughs because of situational irony we expect
  people to be smarter than their pets.
• Dramatic Irony- occurs when the audience or the
  reader knows something a character does not.
  Dramatic irony is what makes us laugh at Elmer
  Fudd when he sneaks up on Bugs Bunny we know
  that Elmer is going to meet an angry bear and not
  a delicious rabbit.

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Devices of Style

• Idiom- an expression whose meaning is not
  predictable from the usual meanings of its
  constituent elements, as kick the bucket, hang
  one's head, or break a leg. It is also a
  language, dialect, or style of speaking peculiar
  to a people.
• Imagery- is the most frequently used device. It
  is an appeal to any of the sensestaste, touch,
  sight, sound, and smell. It paints pictures in
  our mind.
• Figurative language- uses words in a nonliteral
  way, giving them a meaning beyond their ordinary
  one.

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Devices of Style

• Personification gives human traits to animals,
  nonhuman beings, or inanimate objects The trees
  bowed before the wind.
• A simile compares two different things, using the
  words as or like The snowbank looked like a
  huge pile of marshmallow syrup.
• A metaphor is an implied comparison stating the
  resemblance between two things Her presence was
  a ray of light in a dark world a term or phrase
  that is applied to something to which it is not
  literally applicable in order to suggest a
  resemblance, as in A mighty fortress is our God.