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LITERARY ELEMENTS-THROUGH DISNEY
Point of ViewDefinition: The perspective from which the story is told.
Narrators of stories can take on three points of view:
1st person= “I/we”2nd person= “you”3rd person= “he/she,
they/them”
FIRST-PERSON: The story is told by one of the characters
in his or her own words. Always considered to be a limited point
of view since the reader is told only what one specific character knows and observes.
THIRD-PERSON: The story is told by someone outside of the story itself by using “he” or “she.” OMNISCIENT: This narrator is an all-knowing
observer who can describe all the characters’ actions, thoughts, and feelings.
LIMITED OMNISCIENT: This is a storyteller who shares the thoughts and feelings of only one particular character or a select group of characters .
Freytag’s Pyramid(Plot)
Exposition
Ris
ing A
ctio
n
Climax
Falling Action
Conflict Introduced
ExpositionDefinition: The portion of a story that introduces important background information to the audience — for example, information about the setting, events occurring before the main plot, characters’ backstories, etc.
Example: At the beginning of Robin Hood, the rooster Alan-a-Dale describes how Robin Hood has been robbing from the rich to give to Nottingham’s poor.
Conflict & Rising ActionDefinition: An inherent incompatibility between the objectives of two or more characters or forces.
Types:
External and Internal
Begins the Rising Action Phase of the story.
Definition: Sequence of events that build up to the Climatic Event.
Example: External Conflict.- When Shere Khan the man-eating tiger returns to the jungle, Mowgli must flee to the safety of human civilization.
Climax
Definition: The turning point in the action (also known as the “crisis”) and/or the highest point of interest or excitement.
Many stories have numerous climactic events.
Example: Pinocchio is transformed into a donkey and sold into labor. The audience is left wondering if he will ever make it home to his father.
Falling Action and Denouement(Resolution)
Definition: The final part of a play, movie, or narrative in which the strands of the plot are drawn together and matters are finally resolved.
Example: At the end of The Little Mermaid, Ursula is killed, King Triton turns Ariel into a human, and Ariel marries Prince Eric. Then Sebastian sings over the closing credits. WIN.
Medias Res
Definition:
(Latin "in the midst of things")
is the literary and artistic narrative technique of relating a story from the midpoint, rather than the beginning
Ratatouille begins looking at a house in the distance with the muffled sounds of what turn out to be shotgun blasts and then with Remy jumping through a plate glass window while carrying a book significantly larger than himself. It quickly jumps back to explain how the incident occurred.
FlashbackDefinition:
A literary device in which an earlier episode, conversation, or event is inserted into the sequence of events.
Often presented as a memory of the narrator or of another character.
An interruption in a story to permit the author to relate an event from the past
Example: In Toy Story 2, Jesse remembers her previous owner and all that they use to do together, before the doll was discarded.
Breaking the 4th WallDefinition: Speaking directly to or acknowledging the audience. The “fourth wall” refers to the imaginary “wall” at the front of the stage in a traditional three-walled box set in a proscenium theater.
Example: Timon acknowledges the audience when he cuts off Pumbaa midsong: “Pumbaa, not in front of the kids!”
ImageryDefinition: Words or phrases that appeal to one or more of the five senses.
Writers use imagery to describe how their subjects look, sound, feel, taste, and smell.
Archetype
Definition: an original model or pattern from which other later copies are made. This idea is applied to characters, situations, and symbols.
Example: Alice must pass a series of tests as she makes her way through Wonderland. This kind of journey is a common archetype in Western literature and is best epitomized by Homer’s The Odyssey.
Character Foil
Definition: A character who illuminates the qualities of another character by means of contrast.
Example: Gaston’s combination of good looks and terrible personality emphasizes Beast’s tragic situation. The former is a monster trapped inside a man; the latter a man trapped inside a monster.
Dramatic Irony
Definition: Irony that occurs when the meaning of the situation is understood by the audience but not by the characters in the literary work.
Example: Throughout most of The Lion King, Simba mopes around feeling guilty for his father’s death, unaware (as the audience is) that Scar actually killed Mufasa
Anachronism
Definition: an error of chronology or timeline in a literary piece. In other words, anything that is out of time and out of place.
Example: in Aladdin, Genie is constantly wearing clothing that would be more suitable in future eras.
Example: Disney’s Sword in the Stone has Merlin discussing concepts that were developed after the medieval ages, i.e. “Round” world.
Allusion
Definition: A brief reference to a person, place, thing, or passage in another work, usually for the purpose of associating the tone or theme of the one work with the other.
Types: Historical, Literary, Biblical
Example: In The Hunchback of Notre Dame, the gargoyle Laverne tells a flock of pigeons to “Fly my pretties! Fly, Fly!” à la the Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz.
Foreshadowing
Definition: A warning or indication of a future event. Many times presented with the change of weather
Example: Before she’s fatally shot by a hunter (and millions of childhoods are scarred), Bambi’s mother gives Bambi a stern lecture on the dangers of man.
Mood
Definition: The atmosphere that pervades a literary work with the intention of evoking a certain emotion or feeling from the audience.
Example: Fantasia frequently uses music and setting to drastically shift the mood from light and playful to dark and foreboding. This image makes the audience feel …..
Example: In Cinderella, the main character completes ALL the added chores her family has assigned her and has done so in time to leave for the ball. Once she is ready, her stepsisters destroy the dress she planned to wear to the ball. How does this make the audience feel?
Suspense
Definition: The growing interest and excitement readers experience while awaiting a climax or resolution in a work of literature.
A feeling of anxious uncertainty about the outcome of events.
Writers create suspense by raising questions in the minds of their readers.
Example: In Toy Story 3, the audience in suspense as they watch the toys attempt to escape the daycare.
Example: In Brave, the audience is anxious as they watch Merida jumping towards her mother as a bear is reaching for her.
Symbolism
Definition: An object, character, figure, or color that is used to represent an abstract idea or concept.
Example: Dumbo’s “magic” feather represents courage and self-confidence. Once he truly believes in himself, he no longer needs it as a psychological crutch.
MotifDefinition: A recurrent image, word, phrase, or action that tends to unify the literary work or that forms the theme in a work of literature.
Example: in Finding Nemo, a recurring action (motif) is forming friendships.
Example: in The Lion King, a recurring phrase (motif) is “Hakuna matata.”
AllegoryDefinition: A story with two meanings, a literal meaning and a symbolic meaning.
An Allegory is a story in which characters, settings and actions stand for something specific beyond themselves.
The characters and situations stand for historical figures and events.
Example: Star Wars makes a biblical connection by centering on the “Chosen One” who has “power” from the force and will bring “balance” to the universe. The characters and situations contribute to this biblical idea.
Theme
Definition: A common thread or repeated idea that is incorporated throughout a literary work.A general idea that can apply to multiple genres .
Example: A theme in Frozen, is the importance of accepting personal identity.
