LITERARY ELEMENTS

UNLIKE CARS OR BIKES, LITERATURE DOESN'T HAVE MOVING PARTS

BUT IT DOES HAVE ELEMENTS WE CAN STUDY

SETTING

PLOT

CHARACTERS

STYLE

GENRE

TONE

POINT

OF

VIEW

SYMBOLS

THEMES

SETTING

• WHERE DOES THE STORY TAKE PLACE?

• WHEN DOES THE STORY TAKE PLACE?

• WOULD SETTING THE STORY IN A DIFFERENT TIME OR PLACE CHANGE THE MESSAGE OF THE STORY A LOT?

PLOT

• WHAT HAPPENS IN THE STORY?

CHARACTERS

• WHO IS THE PROTAGONIST (MAIN CHARACTER)?

• WHO ARE THE MAIN CHARACTER'S ALLIES?

• WHO IS THE ANTAGONIST (PERSON WORKING AGAINST THE MAIN CHARACTER)?

STYLE

• HOW IS THE STORY WRITTEN?

• WHAT KIND OF LANGUAGE IS USED? (ARCHAIC, MODERN, PROFANE, CLEAN, ACCENTS, DIALOGUE, PUNCTUATION, ETC)

GENRE

• HORROR, SCIENCE FICTION, FANTASY, DRAMA, COMEDY, WESTERN, ROMANCE, MYSTERY, ETC

TONE

• WHAT IS THE WRITER'S ATTITUDE TOWARDS THE STORY?

• IS THE STORY COMEDIC, IRONIC, OR EARNEST?

• IS IT SATIRICAL, POINTED, SLY, FORMAL, COLLOQUIAL, FRIENDLY?

POINT

OF

VIEW

• WHO IS THE FOCAL POINT OF THE STORY?

• IS IT COMING FROM INSIDE THE MAIN CHARACTER'S EYES? (FIRST PERSON)

• IS IT BEING TOLD ABOUT YOU AS THOUGH YOU ARE DOING ALL THE ACTIONS? (SECOND PERSON) - RARE

• IS IT BEING TOLD TO YOU AND YOU ARE MERELY LISTENING/READING ALONG? (THIRD PERSON) - MOST COMMON

ALSO

PERSPECTIVE

PERSPECTIVE

• RELATED TO POINT OF VIEW, BUT NOT THE SAME

• PERSPECTIVE IS MOST IMPORTANT IN THIRD PERSON POINT OF VIEW

  • ​FLY-ON-THE WALL - this is from inside a room where people are, but doesn't reference characters' thoughts; ie what a fly sees and hears

  • OMNISCIENT - readers know everything characters think, and the focal character can change with each paragraph

  • LIMITED - although third person, the story only follows the main character and what that character sees and thinks

SYMBOLS

• ALMOST ANYTHING COULD BE A SYMBOL IF THE READER HAS A BIG ENOUGH IMAGINATION - BUT YOU NEED TO PROVE IT

• THINK COLORS, TYPES OF FLOWERS, TYPES OF ANIMALS, SHAPES OF OBJECTS, ALLUSIONS TO MYTHS AND LEGENDS.

• IE - BLACK CAT, RED ROSE, GREEN THUMB, THE SERPENT IN THE GARDEN OF EDEN, ETC.

THEMES

• WE HAVE NOW DISCUSSED FOUR OF THE W'S AND THE H (who, what, when, where, and how).

• WHY IS THIS STORY BEING WRITTEN?

• WHAT IS THE GOAL OF THE WRITER?

• ALL ART, EVEN POP ART CREATED JUST TO MAKE A FEW BUCKS, HAS A THEME, MESSAGE, OR MEANING TO IT, BECAUSE ALL ARTISTS HAVE AN OPINION THEY WANT OTHERS TO SHARE.

LITERARY ELEMENTS