Literary elements are the universal constituents of literature and thus can be found in any written or oral story.
PLOT STRUCTURE
Exposition
Background information? About characters, setting, situation?
Complication? When does the first conflict/problem arise and develop ? What other problems start to
arise and continue to develop?
Crisis
What is the moment of decision (internal dilemma resolved) for the main character?
When is the character faced with his/her internal conflict and realizes she/he must make a
decision?
Climax
When does the character MAKE his decision and ACT on it? What actions results from
this decision? What is the highest point of interest (in terms of action) in the story? When
is the suspense (regarding what the character will do to solve the problem) over?
Resolution (denouement) Tying up of loose ends
Other plot devices/terms include: flashback, flash forward, time lapse, suspense,
foreshadowing, cliffhangers, surprise endings, closed endings, open endings.
Theme: The story's message or main point. point?
Conflict: What people/forces/ideas/interests/values/institutions oppose each other?
(man against man, many against nature, man against himself)
Characterization:
What kinds of person/people are the character(s)? Their beliefs/hopes/dreams/ideals/
values/morals/fears/strengths/weaknesses/vices/virtues/talents? How do they conduct
themselves? What do they say and do to reveal themselves? What do others say and do
about the? What are your opinions or feelings about them? Classifications of types of
characters include: protagonist, antagonist, foil, stereotype, flat, round, static, dynamic.
What do others say and do
about What are your opinions or feelings about them? Classifications of types of
characters include: protagonist, antagonist, foil, stereotype, flat, round, static, dynamic.
Setting: refers to TIME and PLACE:
Style: The way the writer chooses to arrange his sentence structure (syntax) as well as the words
(diction) he chooses. What is the overall effect of the way he writes? Simple, involved,
poetic, colloquial, humorous, pedantic, child-like? How does it contribute to the author’s
message and the overall effect the author wishes to create?
mood is the atmosphere of the story
tone is the author's attitude towards the topic. Joyful? Melancholy?
Fatalistic? Angry? Peaceful? Scary? Mysterious?
We can identify both mood and tone by looking at the setting, characters, details, and word choices
POINT OF VIEW
Who is the narrator?
first person or third person? (limited or omniscient?) Why significant? Do you trust the narrator?
Figurative language is when you use a word or phrase that does not have its
normal everyday, literal meaning. Writers use figurative language to make
their work more interesting or more dramatic than literal language, which
simply states facts.
- simile - comparison using like or as
- metaphor- direct comparison, using a form of the verb to be
- personification- human qualities / attributes to non human
- onomatopoeia- sounds reflective of the sense of a word
- oxymoron- contradictory terms appear in conjunction (falsely true)
- hyperbole- exaggeration
- allusion- an expression designed to call something to mind to call something o mind without explicitly mentioning it.
- idiom- expressions that reflect some underlying ideas our principles of a culture. "hot potato"; "at the drop of a hat"; "hot mess"
- Imagery- sensory language (seeing, sound, taste, feeling, olfactory)
- symbolism- use of symbols
- alliteration-the occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words.
- assonance- repetition of vowel sounds
- consonance- repetition of consonance sounds within words (pitter patter)
- synecdoche- a part represents the whole
- irony-words are used in such a way that their intended meaning is different from the actual meaning of the words.
- sarcasm (also a rhetorical device); words meant to hurt; different than irony
- litotes- understatement
- pun- form of word play that suggests two or more meaning
Rhetorical strategies (the art of using words
to persuade)
Ethos, Pathos and Logos
Ethos, pathos and
logos each have a different meaning:
·
Ethos is an appeal to
ethics, and it is a means of convincing someone of the character or credibility
of the persuader.
·
Pathos is an appeal to
emotion, and is a way of convincing an audience of an argument by creating an
emotional response.
·
Logos is an appeal to
logic, and is a way of persuading an audience by reason.
allegory -a narrative in which the characters,
behavior, etc. demonstrate symbolism on many levels
anaphora -repetition of the same words or phrases at the
beginning of successive phrases
antithesis -the juxtaposition of sharply contrasting ideas in
balanced or parallel words "To err is human, to forgive divine."
aphorism -a concise statement designed to illustrate a commonly
held belief
connotation -the underlying, implied meaning of a word or phrase
denotation- the dictionary definition of a word
epistrophe- repetition of a phrase at the end of successive
sentences (opposite of anaphora)
euphemism- an indirect or less harsh way of expressing
unpleasant information
jargon -specialized language of a trade or profession
paradox -statement that seems contradictory but may probably be
true
rebuttal/refutation -an argument technique wherein opposing
arguments are anticipated and countered
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