Elements of Literatureand Rhetorical Strategies

Types of Literature•Prose- Fiction •Prose- Nonfiction •Poetry •Drama

Prose - Fiction•Also known as narrative fiction consists of

stories based in the imagination of the author, which use narration.

• Includes:▫Myths ▫Parables ▫Romances ▫Novels ▫Short Stories

Prose – Nonfiction•The goal of nonfiction prose is to present

truths and conclusions about the factual world.

• Includes:▫News reports ▫Articles ▫Essays ▫Editorials ▫Textbooks ▫Historical and biographical works

Poetry•A piece of literature written in meter or

verse.

Drama•Literature designed for the stage or film.

Dialogue is used to develop character and situation.

• Includes: ▫Plays ▫Films (Screenplays)

Elements of Literature•The following slides provide the

definitions of the Elements of Literature (EOL) that we will use throughout the school year.

•Remember, we will not only identify each of the elements as we study works of literature, but we will also focus on the significance of each element as it applies to a work of literature.

•Those elements that have an asterisk (*) are also used as Rhetorical Strategies.

Setting •Where and when the story takes place•The setting can be extremely significant

or not significant at all. •Remember that the setting is often

associated with the characters because characters can change with the setting (students may act or speak differently at home versus at school)

•Always consider whether or not the setting can be changed, and how this could affect a story.

*Point of View (POV) •Functions of the Narrator

▫Provides a consciousness that unifies the elements of the story

▫A figure of authority whose degree of truth or falsity must be established so the reader knows how much they can believe

▫Organizes and operates in his fictional world with his own set of values (religious, philosophical, ethical…)

*POV – Kinds of Narrators First person: The narrator is a character in the story (Uses “I”,

“me”, or “we” etc.)o Central

Narrator is a main character in the story and observed action is limited to actions the narrator can relate to from his own perspective

Thoughts of characters are not revealed unless the narrator knows them or can infer them

Allows a closeness with the main character and provides some insights, but may lack reliability (may be naïve or biased)

Allows the reader to participate in the actiono Peripheral

Narrator is often an observer rather than a participant Narrator may be a minor character that is close to the protagonist Observed action is limited to what the narrator can know and infer One disadvantage is that the narration may be too subjective and not

as reliable

*POV – Kinds of Narrators Third person omniscient “all-knowing”: The reader is told all

things about all of the characters. An outside narrator tells the story. ▫ An objective observer; not a participant or personally involved ▫ Allows for more objectivity and reliability ▫ Narrator has more freedom; able to relate actions as well as

thoughts ▫ Reliable if an observer is used or if the speaker is not emotionally

involved with the story or character Third person limited: The story is seen through the eyes of only one

character by an outside narrator. ▫ Narrator is outside and not a participant ▫ Gives objectivity but allows the reader to relate strongly with a

single character. ▫ Disadvantage is that this outside narrator could pass judgments on

the actions of the characters

What to consider when writing about POV• What is the dominant pov, and what is the

author’s purpose in choosing this method? • Does the story’s pov create irony? • If the pov is first person, is the narrator reliable?

Are there any inconsistencies in the telling of the story?

• If the pov is third person, is the narrator omniscient? Is the narrator objective?

• Does the pov remain constant throughout the story, or does it shift? If it does shift, how and why is this done?

Characters• The author develops characters by

asking 5 basic questions: 1. What do they look like? 2. What do they do? 3. What do they say? 4. What do others say about them? 5. What is the setting?

Types of Characters •Protagonist: the character around

whom the story revolves (main character) •Antagonist: the character who causes

conflict for the protagonist (does not have to be an “evil” person)

•Minor: characters added to the story often to develop the plot or to add a new dimension to the main character(s). Usually, little is known about minor characters.

Types of Characters •Dynamic: changes by events or

interactions with other characters•Static: stays the same throughout the

story •Round: main character, seen in all

aspects of the story (developed)•Flat: minor characters; not much known

about them (undeveloped)

Characterization• How a character(s) is/are developed throughout

a story• Direct characterization: the author states or

describes a character’s traits (“he is six feet tall with short brown hair…”)

• Indirect characterization: shows character’s personality through actions, thoughts, feelings, words, and appearance OR through another character’s observations (“everyone in the room stood at attention afraid to move when he entered the room”)

Plot •Sequence of events; what happens in the

story•The hill diagram

Plot •Exposition: introduction of the story

•Initial Incident: introduces the central conflict

•Rising Action/Complication: events leading up to the climax

Plot•Climax: the high point of the story where a

decision is made or something happens that affects the outcome; great emotion, intensity, or suspense is evident

•Falling Action: events occurring after the climax; an unraveling of the plot

•Conclusion/Resolution: what happens at the end of the story; resolution of conflicts (sometimes there is no resolution)

Plot Diagrammed

Exposition

Initial Incident

Event

Event

ClimaxRi

sing

Actio

n

Falling Action

Crucial Decision

Event

Event

ResolutionConclusion

Conflict•The struggle between opposing forces•Conflict is not only limited to the

struggles between people

Types of Conflict (all are external except man vs. self)•Man vs. man (two people in conflict) •Man vs. himself (inner conflict) •Man vs. nature (natural forces, storms,

animals) •Man vs. fate (man has no control;

predetermination – fate must be determined ahead of time)

•Man vs. society (the “system” or authority) •Man vs. supernatural (ghosts,

extraterrestrials, unexplained phenomena)

Theme•Main idea of the story; message about life

that the author is trying to convey to the reader; moral of the story

•Theme can often be condensed into simple thematic ideas or words, such as: ▫Innocence ▫Deception▫Maturity ▫Rebellion…

Symbolism•Using a concrete object that represents

an abstract idea (a heart represents love)

Foreshadowing•Hints or clues of events to come later in

the story

*Irony •Verbal irony: stating the opposite of

what is really meant (“you look lovely today”)

•Situational irony: action of a story turns out different from what the reader expects (a surprise ending)

•Dramatic irony: the reader has knowledge that the characters do not (the reader knows that the girl he is getting ready to ask out hates him)

Rhetorical Strategies • What is rhetoric?

▫ It is the art of using language effectively to inform and persuade. ▫ Although, we will not focus so much on the argumentative aspect

of rhetoric, we will discuss the rhetorical strategies used in fiction to help understand an author’s purpose for writing.

▫ We will use the rhetorical strategies to examine Author’s Style. Strategies we will focus on:

Diction▫ Connotation ▫ Denotation

Syntax Figurative Language (will study with the Poetry Unit) Point of View Attitude and Tone Irony

Diction• The selection and arrangement of words• High and Formal Diction: use of elevated and

elaborate words that follow the rules of syntax and avoids common or simple words/phrases, contractions and slang.

• Middle diction: maintains correct language and word order, but avoids elaborate words and elevated tone

• Low or informal diction: uses language of everyday use; relaxed and conversational and often includes common or simple words/phrases, slang and contractions.

Diction and meaning•Words are usually selected because of

their meaning. There are two ways to determine the meaning of a word: ▫Denotation: the actual definition of a

word; the dictionary meaning of a word ▫Connotation: the related implications or

emotional associations that accompany a word; what is suggested by a word

Syntax • Sentence structure and design – the arrangement

and ordering of words into sentences and phrases. • When looking at sentence structure consider the

following: ▫The length of the sentences ▫The order of the sentences (position of the main

clause or subject of the sentence) ▫Repetition of phrases/words within phrases (at the

beginning or the end of a sentence) ▫Placement of the verb▫Use of subordinate information

Tone and Attitude•The diction and syntax used by an author

help to determine the Tone of a literary work.

•Tone is the attitude the author has toward the subject and the reader

•The narrator/speaker, however, does not always express the attitude of the author