LITERARY ELEMENTS

ELEMENTS OF A STORYAKA the Plot PyramidPlot= sequence of events in a story.

EXPOSITIONThe background information of a

story Introduces setting, situation and

characters

Inciting incident

Sparks the conflict; event that sets the conflict into motion

CONFLICTMajor problem of the story that must be solved by the end. Struggle between opposing forces: external and internal.

RISING ACTION

The events of a story building suspense

What leads up to the climax

CLIMAX

The turning point of the story

Highest point of emotional intensity(for characters!)

FALLING ACTION

The events winding down in the story

Leading towards the resolution

RESOLUTION

The final outcome of a story

resolves the major conflict of the story

Terms Essential for Telling and UnderstandingShort Stories

THEMEA central idea or statement that unifies and controls and entire literary work.

Basically, the moral or message of the story.

Must ALWAYS be in sentence form. NEVER just one word.

SYMBOLSA word, place, character, or object that means something beyond what it concretely means.

EX: a dove =peace

IMAGERYCreating“mental pictures” by

using lots of colorful language that actually paints a vision, employing your five senses.

EX: The sun erupted from its slumber showering the morning with blazing shades of crimson and burnt orange.

TONE Author’s attitude toward a subject Described as an adjective: ex.

humorous, angry, delighted, mock-serious

MOOD The feeling or atmosphere a writer

creates in a work.

SETTING

Time and place of the action of a story.

CHARACTERIZATION

The way of describing characters and revealing their personalities.

DYNAMIC CHARACTER

Characters that undergo change

STATIC CHARACTER

Characters that do not change.

AllusionIndirect reference to another

literary work or famous person, place, or event.

Foreshadowing: Use of hints or clues to indicate events

and situations that will occur later in the plot. Creates SUSPENSE and prepares reader for what is to come.

Suspense: Excitement or tension readers feel as they

become involved in the story and eager to know the outcome.

IRONY

Difference from what is expected; contrast between appearance and reality. Situational: contrast between what a

reader expects and what actually happens.

Dramatic: reader knows more than the character

Verbal: says one thing means another

NARRATION STYLES

FIRST PERSON POV

The narrator is a character in the story and tells everything in his or her own words. (I)

THIRD PERSON LIMITED

The narrator tells only what one character thinks, feels, and observes.(he/she)

3rd PERSON OMNISCIENT POV

(omniscient= all-knowing)

An observer that tells the story and knows it all (almost like a God like character). Sees into the minds of more than one character.

I’ll Try not to Torture you with More Notes for a While