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