Literary Elements

PLOT—sequence of events in a story

→exposition—first part of plot; introduces characters, setting and basic situation

→ inciting incident—introduces the central conflict

→rising action/development—events/increase of conflict leading to the climax

→climax—high point of interest or suspense

→falling action—events following the climax

→resolution/denouement—resolution of central conflict, ending

*foreshadowing—clues that suggest what is to come

*flashback—interrupts the chronology of a story to interject an event from an earlier time

*setting—time and place of action serving as a background, as a crucial element or creating a mood or atmosphere

CHARACTER—a person or animal who takes part in a story

a.  protagonist—main character

b.  antagonist—a character or force in conflict with the main character/protagonist; this conflict is usually the basis for the plot

c.  flat character—simple, one or few dimensions known/revealed

d.  round character—complex and multifaceted, depth of character revealed

e.  static character—does not change

f.  dynamic character—changes during the course of the story

characterization—how the author develops the characters

direct—author simply states the character’s traits

indirect—character is revealed through his/her words (dialogue), thoughts or actions, through descriptions of the character’s appearance of background, through what other characters say about her/him, or the way the other characters react to him/her.

narrator—the person who tells the story

POINT OF VIEW (of narrator)

1st person—a character (major or minor) in the story narrates from the first person “I” point of view

3rd person—narration from 3rd person (he, she) outside the story relates what happens

·  limited—relates the inner thoughts and feelings of only one character and everything is viewed from this character’s perspective (usually the protagonist)

·  omniscient—narrator knows and may tell or not tell what any character thinks and feels

CONFLICT—struggle between opposing forces

internal conflict—person vs. self—struggle within a character

external conflict—between a character and an outside force

person vs. person

person vs. nature

person vs. society

person vs. own self

theme—a central message, view, comment or insight into life

moral—a lesson that the story teaches (usually stated directly at the end of a fable

mood—the feeling that a literary work conveys to the READER

tone—the WRITER’s attitude of feeling about his or her subject

irony—a contrast between what is stated or meant, what is expected and actually happens;

·  verbal irony—a word or phrase is used to suggest the opposite of its usual meaning

·  dramatic irony—contradiction between what a character thinks and what the audience knows

·  cosmic irony—suggests that some unknown force brings about dire and dreadful events

·  situational irony—an event contradicts what the characters, readers, audience expects

figurative language—not meant to be taken literally, but imaginatively

·  imagery—language intended to appeal to the senses of sight, sound, taste, touch, smell, or movement

·  idiom—a phrase or expression that means something different from what the words actually say

·  oxymoron—figurative language that combines contradictory words or ideas (jumbo shrimp, bittersweet)

·  paradox—a statement that seems to contradict itself but is true

·  symbol—anything that stands for or represents something else—conventional symbol is widely known and accepted; personal symbol developed for a particular work by a particular author

·  symbolism—a 19th century literary movement where authors used a pattern of symbols to express emotions

·  simile—a direct comparison between two basically unlike subjects using “like” or “as”

·  metaphor—a comparison in which one thing is spoken of as though it were another

·  extended metaphor/conceit—an elaborate parallel between two very dissimilar things or situations

·  hyperbole—deliberate exaggeration or overstatement

·  personification—gives human characteristics of vitality and life to non-human, objects and ideas

·  allusion—a reference to a well-known person, place, event, literary work, or work of art allowing the author to suggest complex ideas simply and easily

·  allegory—a narrative strategy where sense is made both literally/primarily and at the same time secondarily on a symbolic level