Literary elements

Setting

• The time and place a story occurs

Point of View

The way a story gets told• First Person — character in story tells story• Third Person Limited — person outside of story tells

story but focuses on thoughts and feelings of one character

• Third person omniscient — person outside of the story knows thoughts and feeling of all characters

Character

• Person or animal in the story• Protagonist — Character faced with the conflict• Antagonist — Character who creates the problem• Static character — the character does not change from the

beginning of the story to the end of the story• Dynamic character — the character has some kind of internal

change or insight by the end of the story

Plot

• The events in the story

Exposition

• Introduces the setting and the characters

• Sets up or hints at the conflict• Once upon a time there were three bears who

lived in a beautiful forest. While they were gone one day, a girl named Goldilocks broke into their house.

•

Inciting Incident

• The event that causes the conflict; what happens to get the story going

Rising Action

• Shows how the conflict becomes more difficult

• Builds suspense• The three bears came home from their walk to find

Goldilocks asleep in Baby Bear’s bed. As they stood talking about the situation, she woke up.

Conflict

• Problem in the story

• Man vs. Man

• Man vs. Nature

• Man vs. Society

• Man vs. Himself

Man vs Man

Man vs. Nature

Man vs. Society

Man vs. Himself

• Jealousy, envy, self-hatred, depression

Climax

• The most exciting part of the story (turning point) I wonder what’s going to happen?

Falling Action

• How the story wraps itself up

• The three bears came home from their walk and discovered that someone had eaten their food and sat in their chairs.

Resolution / Denouement

• How the conflict is resolved; how the story ends

• Then Goldilocks woke up, saw the bears, ran out of the house and never returned again.

Theme

• A central message or insight into life; a lesson about life or people that the literary work communicates.

• Love conquers all

• Money can’t buy happiness

• Don’t judge a man until you’ve walked in his shoes

Purpose

• The reason why the author wrote the book or article– Entertain --Persuade– Inform

Allusion

• Reference to famous historical, biblical, or literary people or events

– Donald Trump is such a King Midas.

Flashback

• Interruption in story to show scene which occurred earlier. Gives background information about character and plot.

Going back in time to fill in details

Foreshadowing

• Clues from the author that tell the reader what is going to happen before the characters know

Mood

• The feeling created in the reader by a literary work or passage

Tone

• The writer’s attitude toward the audience or subject; can usually be described by a single adjective; often referred to as author’s attitude.

• Sad, excited, thrilled, apprehensive, anxious, shocked

Symbol

• A concrete object which represents an abstract idea

• Freedom Love