Literary Elements, Devices

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Literary Elements, Devices Terms
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Types of Literature

• Prose
• Novel/Novella, Myth,
• Short Story, Folk Tale,
• Drama
• Tragedy, Comedy, Melodrama
• Poetry

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Conflict

• It creates plot. The conflicts we encounter can
  usually be identified as one of four kinds.
• Man versus Man
• Man versus Nature
• Man versus Society
• Man versus Self

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Comparison Contrast

• Comparison and contrast are ways of looking at
  things and thinking about how they are alike and
  different.
• Writers will draw distinctions between
  characters and ideas in order to support and
  emphasize the theme or other aspect of the work.

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Point of View

• POV is the perspective of the person telling the
  story the narrator.
• First PersonThe narrator is a character in the
  story who can reveal only personal thoughts and
  feelings and what he or she sees and is told by
  other characters. He cant tell us thoughts of
  other characters.

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Point of View

• Third-Person ObjectiveThe narrator is an
  outsider who can report only what he or she sees
  and hears. This narrator can tell us what is
  happening, but he cant tell us the thoughts of
  the characters.

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Point of View

• Third-Person LimitedThe narrator is an outsider
  who sees into the mind of one of the characters.
• Omniscient The narrator is an all-knowing
  outsider who can enter the minds of more than one
  of the characters.

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Characterization

• Representation of a character or characters
  through what the character says/does and what
  other characters say about him/her.

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Characterization

• Direct the text says specifically something
  about the characters qualities. Ex Charles
  loves his wife.
• Indirect the text describes something about the
  character and the reader must infer the qualities
  from that. Ex He looked stunned when he heard
  this.

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Characterization

• MAJOR Characters
• Protagonist Antagonist
• The main character the The character
  or
• character who moves force that opposes
• forward the plot. the protagonist.
• Foil
• A character who provides a
• contrast to the protagonist

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Characterization

• Minor Characters
• They are almost always flat or two-dimensional.
  They have one or two striking qualities. Their
  predominate quality is not balanced by an
  opposing quality. They are usually all good or
  all bad. They may be amusing in their own right,
  but they lack depth. They are also called STATIC
  characters because they do not change in the
  course of the story.

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Setting

• The time and place in which the story takes
  place.
• The setting will emphasize the theme of the story.

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Motif

• A situation, incident, idea, or image that is
  repeated significantly in a literary work.
• Example Struggle and violence are a recurring
  events in The Pearl.

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• ForeshadowingThe use of hints or clues to
  suggest what will happen later in the story.

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Plot Structure

• Climax

Rising Action
Falling Action
Inciting Incident
Resolution
Exposition
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Division of the Plot

• EXPOSITION
• The introductory material which gives the
  setting, creates the tone, presents the
  characters, and presents other facts necessary to
  understanding the story.
• Freytags Pyramid of a 5-Act Play has it that
  Act I is the Exposition/Introduction.

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Division of the Plot

• Inciting ForceThe event or character that
  triggers the conflict. The conflict reaches a
  turning point. At this point the opposing forces
  in the story meet and the conflict becomes most
  intense. The crisis occurs before or at the same
  time as the climax.

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Division of the Plot

• Rising ActionA series of events that builds from
  the conflict. It begins with the inciting force
  and ends with the climax.
• Freytags Pyramid of a 5-Act Play has it
• that Act II is the Rising Action.

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Division of the Plot

• Climax the moment of the highest interest and
  greatest emotion most intense moment.
• Freytags Pyramid of a 5-Act Play has it
• that Act III is the climax.

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Division of the Plot

• Falling ActionThe events after the climax which
  close the story.
• Freytags Pyramid of a 5-Act Play has it
• that Act IV is the Falling Action.

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Division of the Plot

• Resolution (Denouement)Rounds out and concludes
  the action.
• Freytags Pyramid of a 5-Act Play has it
• that Act V is the Resolution.

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Symbolism

• A symbol is a thing, person, or idea that stands
  for something else. For example, a rose might
  symbolize love or beauty.

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Irony or Ironic

• Irony is the contrast between what is expected or
  
• what appears to be and what actually is.
• Verbal IronyThe contrast between what is said
  and what is actually meant.
• Irony of SituationThis refers to a happening
  that is the opposite of what is expected or
  intended.
• Dramatic IronyThis occurs when the audience or
  reader knows more than the characters know.

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Tone vs. Mood

• ToneThe authors attitude, stated or implied,
  toward a subject. Some possible attitudes are
  pessimism, optimism, earnestness, seriousness,
  bitterness, humorous, and joyful. An authors
  tone can be revealed through choice of words and
  details.
• Mood The climate of  feeling in a literary work.
  The choice of setting, objects, details, images,
  and words all contribute towards creating a
  specific mood. For example, an author may create
  a mood of mystery around a character or setting
  but may treat that character or setting in an
  ironic, serious, or humorous tone

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Themes

• The main idea or underlying meaning of a
  literary work. A theme may be stated or implied.
  Theme differs from the subject or topic of a
  literary work in that it involves a statement or
  opinion about the topic. Themes may be major or
  minor. A major theme is an idea the author
  returns to time and again. It becomes one of the
  most important ideas in the story. Minor themes
  are ideas that may appear from time to time.

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Themes

• Themes are revealed throughout the work, and
  uncovered by thinking about the work as a whole.
• Consider the main characters feelings and ideas.
• Consider the thoughts and conversations of all
  the characters, especially those that are
  repeated.
• Consider what the main character learns in the
  course of the story.

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Imagery

• The use of language to describe a person, object
  or event in such a way as to appeal to the
  readers five senses (taste, smell, touch, sight,
  hearing).
• The writer wants the reader to taste, smell,
  touch, see, and hear what the character/s taste,
  smell, touch, see and hear.

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Figurative Language

• Whenever you describe something by comparing it
  with something else, you are using figurative
  language. Any language that goes beyond the
  literal meaning of words in order to furnish new
  effects or fresh insights into an idea or a
  subject. The most common figures of speech are

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Similes and Metaphors are a comparison of two
dissimilar things.
Figurative Language

• SimileA figure of speech which involves a direct
  comparison between two unlike things, using with
  the words like or as. Example The muscles on his
  brawny arms are strong as iron bands.
• Metaphor involves an implied comparison between
  two relatively unlike without using the words
  like or as. Example The road was a ribbon of
  moonlight.

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Alliteration
Figurative Language

• Repeated consonant sounds occurring at the
  beginning of words or within words. Alliteration
  is used to create melody, establish mood, call
  attention to important words, and point out
  similarities and contrasts.
• Example wide-eyed and wondering while
• we wait for others to waken.

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Figurative Language

• Personification
• A figure of speech which gives the qualities of
  a person to an animal, an object, or an idea. It
  is a comparison which the author uses to show
  something in an entirely new light, to
  communicate a certain feeling or attitude towards
  it and to control the way a reader perceives it.
• Example a brave handsome brute fell with a
  creaking rending cry--the author is giving a tree
  human qualities.

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Onomatopoeia
Figurative Language

• The use of words that mimic sounds. They appeal
  to our sense of hearing and they help bring a
  description to life. A string of syllables the
  author has made up to represent the way a sound
  really sounds.
• Example Caarackle!

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Hyperbole
Figurative Language

• An exaggerated statement used to heighten effect.
  It is not used to mislead the reader, but to
  emphasize a point.
• Example Shes said so on several million
  occasions

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Figure of Speech
Figurative Language

• A device used to create a special effect or some
  type of interesting comparison, often a phrase.
• Example I havent seen you in a month of
  Sundays. This means you havent seen this
  person in a very long time.

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Work Cited

• Literary Elements. Orange Unified School
  District. N.p. n.d. Web. 17 Apr. 2010.
• (adapted from Kerry Jo Moores ppt.)