literary elements - nbed.nb.casites.nbed.nb.ca/wiki/ecc-lcl/anglais10/documents...conflict 4....

1. Character

2. Plot

3. Conflict

4. Setting

5. Theme

6. Point of view

7. Literary genre

8. Literary devices

9. Imagery

10. Figures of speech

Literary elements

Character

Character can be revealed through

the character's actions, speech, and

appearance. It also can be revealed

by the comments of other characters

and of the author.

Types of characters that appear in many

stories:

• The protagonist is the central character (person, animal, or personified object) in the plot's conflict.

The antagonist is the force in conflict with the protagonist. It may be society, nature, or fate, as well as another person. It can also be the protagonist's own self, if he or she has an internal conflict.

Characters may also be classified as :

Major: most important character around

whom the action revolves (protagonist

or antagonist)

Secondary: helps in the development of

the major character(s).

Minor: least important characters.

Other types of characters

• Dynamic or round : changes (complex)

• Static or flat : does not change (one-

dimensional)

Plot

•Plot is the sequence of events

which involves the characters

in conflict.

Most plots have certain common elements:

A story commonly begins with the preliminary action, an explanation of the initial situation and the condition of the characters.

A plot usually continues with a problem, or complicating incident which the protagonist must meet or solve.

During the story, tension is built

through a series of complications or incidents which either help or hinder the protagonist in finding a solution. This part is the rising action.

• The climax is the peak or turning point

of the action; at this point we know the

solution.

• The falling action is the part after the

climax. It gives any necessary

explanation and ends with an

outcome, the sense of at the end of the

story that it is complete.

The order of the sequence of events looks

like this:

1. preliminary action

2. complicating incident

3. rising action

4. climax

5. falling action

6. outcome

The ending of the story may be either

open or closed:

In a closed ending, the most

usual one in children's books,

readers feel that they know what

will happen. The various parts of

the plot are tied together

satisfactorily, and the reader

feels a sense of completion.

In an open ending, readers must draw their own conclusions; they do not know what will happen.

Conflict

-Conflict is the struggle between the

protagonist and an opposing force.

-Several types of conflict may be

present in any one story.

There are several types of conflict:

Character vs character: the

protagonist against someone

else.

•Character vs society: happens

when the protagonist is in

conflict with the values of his

or her society.

•Character vs nature: takes

place when the protagonist is

threatened by an element of

nature.

•Character vs self : occurs

when the protagonist struggles

within himself or herself. The

protagonist is pulled by two

courses of action or by

differing emotions.

Setting

•Setting includes the place and

the time period in which the

story takes place.

Theme

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.

Themes must be clearly stated; one word is not usually enough. 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."

Point of view

• The point of view is the position from

which the story is told.

•First person point of view: The

narrator is the « I » of the story.

•Third person point of view: The

narrator is not part of the story but

is an individual who knows

everything that happens.

Literary genre

• Fiction: stories that are made up

without actual realism to them.

Ex. science-fiction, romance,

western, fantasy, crime, mystery.

• Non-fiction: real life story.

Ex. essay, biography, autobiography

Literary devices

- Other elements which may be found in plots include:

• Foreshadowing is the planting of hints about what will happen later in the story.

• A flashback occurs when the author narrates an event that took place before the current time of the story.

• Irony is a method of expression in

which the author says one thing and

means the opposite; the term also

applies to a situation where the outcome

of an event is opposite of what is

expected.

Ex: Choking on a life saver.

Imagery

• Imagery is a word or group of words

which evoke a sensory impression in the

reader’s mind. Ex. visual (sight),

auditory (hearing), tactile (touch),

olfactory (smell), gustatory (taste).

Figures of speech

• Personification is done when applying

human qualities to inanimate objects,

animals, or natural phenomena.

• Ex: The stars danced in the sky.

• A hyperbole is an exaggeration or an

overstatement of facts.

• Ex: I am so hungry I could eat a horse.

• A metaphor is a comparison of two

unlikely things without using the words

like or as.

• Ex: My kid’s room is a disaster area.

• The simile is the comparison of two

unlikely things using the words like or

as.

• Ex: Maria is as pretty as a flower.