Literary Elements

Vocab. of instruction for your literary needs

Symbolism: The practice of representing things by means of

symbols or of attributing symbolic meanings or significance to objects,

events, or relationships

Characterization: “character traits” - Representation of a character or

characters in writing, especially by imitating or describing actions,

gestures, or speeches

Theme: a unifying idea that is a recurrent element in literary or artistic work; "it was the usual `boy gets girl'

theme

Point of View: Describes the relationship between who is telling the story and the story

• 1st Person: The narrator is a character in the story and is referred to as “I”.

• 3rd Person Limited: Story is told from the perspective of a narrator who is not a character in the story; knows the thoughts of only one character.

• 3rd Person Omniscient: Story is told from the perspective of a narrator who is outside the story and knows the thoughts of all of the characters

Conflict: Problem or struggle faced in story by characters. 2 types: Internal—man vs. self (emotions); external—man vs. man, man vs. nature, man vs.

society

Character Dilemma

• With Conflict comes character dilemma. The character must face situations that they have to resolve in order for the story to be complete.

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6SE4jUDl7o&NR=1

Imagery: A set of mental pictures or images used to evoke a sensory reaction from the reader. Can

describe sight, smell, taste, sound, or touch

Tone: the writer's attitude toward the material and/or readers. Tone may be playful, formal, angry, serious, ironic,

outraged,, tender, depressed, etc. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDUhDV-72S0

Irony: Verbal irony occurs when the intended

meaning of a statement differs from the meaning that the words appear to

express.

Irony of situation occurs when the opposite of what is expected to

happen actually happens.

What is ironic about this picture?

Or this?

Setting

• The place and time in which the action of a narrative takes place.

• . In the book, In Cold Blood, the setting takes place in Garden City, Kansas in 1959. The site of the trials of the two murderers who slaughter a family.

Allusion

• "an indirect reference to a person, event, or thing."

• Example: Achilles’ Heel• Comes from Greek Mythology• *** Read background and examples!

Allegory

• symbolic work: a work in which the characters and events are to be understood as representing other things and symbolically expressing a deeper, often spiritual, moral, or political meaning

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbE2wugE1GM

Plot Events

• rising action: The part of a plot in which the drama intensifies, rising toward the climax

• climax: The plot's most dramatic and revealing moment, usually the turning point of the story

• falling action: The part of the plot after the climax, when the drama subsides

• resolution – the conflict is resolved and story ends