Literary genres

LITERARY GENRES

FICTION

Fiction is a narrative in prose that shows imaginative recreation and reconstruction of life and presents human life in two levels – the world of objective reality made up of human actions and experiences and the world of subjective reality dealing with human apprehension and comprehension.

ELEMENTS OF FICTION

A. SETTING

Is the time and place in which the event occur. It consists of the use of evocative portrayal of a region’s distinctive ways of thoughts and behavior or the so-called “local color” exemplified by the superficial elements of setting, dialect and customs.

B. CHARACTERS

Are the representation of human being in the story. They are combination of both inner self and the outer self.

Characterization- is the method used by the writer to reveal the personality of the character/s.

Ways of Revealing Literary Characters

Actions of the charactersThoughts of the charactersDescriptions of the charactersDescriptions of the other charactersDescriptions of the author.

Kinds of Characters

According to principality:

1. Protagonist- is the character whom the reader empathizes.

2. Antagonist- is the character that goes against the main character, usually the protagonist.

According to Development

1. Dynamic- is the character the exhibits noticeable development.

Static Character- is the character who exhibits no changes and development.

According to PersonalityRound – is the character that

displays/multiple personalities throughout the story.

Flat- is the character that reveals conventional traits, who remains the same all throughout the story. Its characterization does not grow.

PlotIs the sequence of events in the story,

arranged and linked by causality.

Kinds of Plot

1. Linear Plot- moves with the natural sequence of events where actions are arranged sequentially.

2. Circular Plot- is a kind of plot where linear development of the story merges with an interruption in the chronological order to show an event that happened in the past.

3. En Medias Res- is a kind of plot where the story commences in the middle part of the action.

Parts of the Plot

Exposition- is the part of the plot that sets the scene by introducing the situation and settings and likewise lays out the characters by introducing their environment, characteristics, pursuit, purpose, limitations, potentials and basic assumption.

Complication- is the start of the major conflict or problem in the plot.

Crisis- is the part of the plot that establishes curiosity, uncertainty, and tension; it requires a decision.

Climax- is the peak of the story which leads to an affirmation, a decision, an action or event or realization. This is the point of greatest emotional intensity, interest, as well as in suspense.

Denouement - is the finishing of things right after the climax, and shows the resolution of the plot.

Ending- is the part that brings the story back to its equilibrium.

Literary DevicesFlashback- is the writer’s use of

interruption of the chronological sequence of a story to go back to related incidents which occurred prior to the beginning of the story.

Foreshadowing- is the writer’s use of hints or clues to indicate events that will occur later in the story. The use of this technique both creates suspense and prepares the reader for what is to come.

Conflict as part of the plot

Conflict is the opposition of persons or forces in a story that give rise to the dramatic action in the literary work. It is the basic tension, predicament, or challenge that propels the story’s plot.

Types of Conflict

Person vs. Person- is the type of conflict where one character in the story has a problem with one or more of the other characters.

Person vs. Society- is a type of conflict where the character has a conflict or problem with some element of the society- the school, the law, the accepted way of doing things, etc.

Person vs. Self- is a type of conflict where the character has trouble deciding what to do in particular situation.

Person vs. Nature- is a type of conflict where a character has a problem with some natural happening: a snowstorm, an avalanche, the bitter cold or any elements common to nature.

Person vs. Fate- is a type of conflict where a character has to battle what seems to be uncontrollable problem.

Person vs. Technology- the newest type of conflict.

Point of View

Determines the narrator of the story, the one who tells it from different points of view.

Types of Point of View

First Person Point of View- is a character-narrator who tells the story in the “I” voice, expressing his own views. He is either a minor character that tells the story in his own words.

Third Person Omniscient Point of View- is a narrator that tells the story from an all-knowing point of view. He sees the mind of all the characters.

Third Person Limited Point of View- has a narrator that tells only what he see or hear “inside the world” of the story. This narrator is the otherwise known as the “camera technique narrator” as he does not reveal what the characters are thinking and feeling.

Third Person Central Point of View- has a narrator that limits narration to what the central character thinks, feels, does, and what or whom the central character observes.

Third Person Editorial Point of View- has a narrator that comments on the action by telling the readers its significance or evaluating the behavior of the characters.

Theme

Is the significant truth about life and its nature which takes place in the illustrations of the actions, preoccupations, and decisions of the characters.

Principles in Stating the Theme of the Story

It reports for all the major details of the story.

It may be avowed in more than one way.It is stated in a complete statement.It states a sweeping statement about life.It avoids statement that condense the

theme to some familiar adage, aphorism, dictum, maxim, saying, or value.