Elements of LiteratureNotes

Points of View

• 1st Person: the narrator is a character in the story; “I”

• 3rd Person: “all knowing”; the narrator is not a character in the story but views the event through the eyes of more than one character.

Plot

• the sequence of events (what happened first, second, etc.)

Beginning Middle End

Characters

• the people, or sometimes animals, that takes part in the events of the story

Setting • the time and place of the action

in a literary work

• [The time includes the past, present, and future, as well as the year, season, and time of day.]

• [The place may be a specific country, region, community, building, or home.]

Theme

• the central message, concern, or purpose of the work, moral of the story

• ** very rarely stated directly in the story• ** it is NOT a summary of the story’s plot

Fiction

• prose writing that tells about imaginary characters and events

** Fiction = Fake

Conflict

• a struggle between opposing forces

One of the most important elements because it causes actionThere are 2 categories of conflict: EXTERNAL and INTERNAL

1. External Conflict: one in which the character struggles against some outside force

• ex. man vs. man, man vs. nature, man vs. society

Conflict

2. Internal Conflict: one that takes place in the mind of a character; the character struggle to make a decision, take an action, or overcome a feeling

• ex. man vs. society, man vs. self

Protagonist • the main character in a story

Antagonist • any force in a story that is in

conflict with the protagonist

5 parts of a plot diagram:

(1) Exposition: reader meets the characters and finds out the setting

(2) Rising Action: most of the story takes place here; this includes the conflicts

(3) Climax: the high point of the story(4) Falling Action: action after the climax(5) Denouement: final resolution of the

conflict; conclusion

5 parts of a plot diagram:

EXPOSITION

RISING

ACTION

CLIMAXFALLING ACTION

DENOUEMENT(Resolution)

Literary Devices/Elements Inference: an educated guess based on evidence.(p.80) Foreshadowing: the use of clues to hint at events that will happen later in the story (p. 192)

Symbolism: A person, place or object that suggests a deeper meaning than its literal meaning. ex. a rose is a symbol for love and beauty, heart = love

Mood: The overall emotion created by a work of literature[Joyous (happy), Hopeless (sad), Sentimental, Ambitious]

Irony: A twist of fate, contradiction between what is expected and what really happens 

Imagery: Language that appeals to the senses, a word or

phrase that appeals to one or more of the five senses. It is

used to describe how something looks, sounds, feels, tastes, and

smells (sight, sound, smell, touch, taste)

Characterization: The way a writer reveals the personality of a character (i.e. looks, dresses, speaks, thoughts, behavior) 

 

Tone: The attitude a writer takes towards an audience, subject, or a character (i.e. light, humorous, serious, etc.)

 Figures of Speech Notes Simile: a comparison of 2 things using like or as

ex. Pretty as a picture; face like an angel

 Metaphor: a comparison of 2 things not using like or as

ex. You’re an angel. She was a fox.

Personification: giving human characteristics to

an inanimate object

ex. Disney characters; cartoon strips

Hyperbole: extreme exaggeration not meant to

be believedex. so hungry I could eat a horse; raining cats and dogs

Alliteration: repetition of the same consonant

sound or group of soundsex. sailed on a silver ship; Peter Piper picked a peck of

pickled peppers; * tongue twisters 

Onomatopoeia: words that imitate the natural

sound they are referring to

ex. buzz, hiss, clang, whisper, zoom, meow, slurp, Zoom

Zoom