Literary ElementsTerms You Need to Know to Better Understand and Discuss Literature

Conflict

Conflict: the struggle between opposing forces

External TypesCharacter vs. Character

Character vs. Nature

Character vs. Society

Internal Typescharacter vs. Self

Character

Antagonista character working against the progress of the story. Works against solving the conflict

Protagonista character working forward in the progress of the story. Works for solving the conflict

Flat or Statica character who stays the same and has little depth

Dynamic or Rounda character who grows or changes throughout the story

Characterization

Characterization: how an author tells readers about a character

May be direct, such as descriptions of characters

May be indirect, such as learning about a character’s attitude through his/her interactions with others

Narrator and Point of View

Narrator: speaker or character who tells a story

First Person Point of ViewTold from character using “I” pronouns

Third Person Limited Point of ViewTold from one character observing others and using “he/she/they” pronouns

Third Person Omniscient Point of ViewTold from an all-knowing narrator who knows and tells about what each character feels and thinks

Second person- Narrator use pronoun “you” when telling story

Least used in literature

Foreshadowing & Flashback

Foreshadowing: when an author gives tips and clues to events later in the story

Flashback: when the story goes back in time to provide readers with additional background information

Plot Elements

Exposition: introduces the setting, characters, and basic situation

Inciting incident: conflict is introduced

Rising Action: central conflict is developed

Climax: highest point of interest or suspense (“last battle”)

Falling Action: last elements of the central conflict

Resolution: ending when all loose ends are tied up

Setting

Setting: time and place of the actionIncludes time, place, and social environment

Year, time of day, weather

Country, state, region, community, or neighborhood

Dialect, clothing, customs, and transportation

Often sets the mood or feeling of the story

Theme

Theme: central message, concern, or purpose of a literary work

Often a general statement about people or life

Usually not stated directly, instead readers must look carefully at what the literary work reveals about people or life

Dialogue

Dialogue: a conversation between characters

Usually set off with quotation marks

Punctuation of dialogue has specific rules

Dialogue in drama follows the names of the characters and does not include quotation marks

Figurative Language/Figures of

SpeechSimile

Comparison of two unlike things using like or as

MetaphorComparison of two unlike things, saying one thing is something else

PersonificationNonhuman thing is given human characteristics

AlliterationRepetition of beginning consonant sounds

Figurative Language/Figures of

Speech cont.Hyperbole

Exaggeration for effect, not to be taken literally

OnomatopoeiaUse of words that imitate sounds

Oxymoron

Apparently contradictory terms appear together

Dramatic IronyWhen the audience knows something the characters in the story do not know

Imagery/Sensory Language

Imagery and Sensory LanguageWords or phrases that appeal to one or more of the five senses

Provides more detailed reading experiences

Look, sound, feel, taste, and smell