Literary Elements
Terms You Need to Know to Better Understand and
Discuss Literature
Conflict
Conflict: the struggle between opposing forces
External Types
Character vs. Character
Character vs. Nature
Character vs. Society
Internal Types
character vs. Self
Character
Antagonist
a character working against the progress of the story. Works
against solving the conflict
Protagonist
a character working forward in the progress of the story.
Works for solving the conflict
Flat or Static
a character who stays the same and has little depth
Dynamic or Round
a character who grows or changes throughout the story
Characterization
Characterization: how an author tells readers about a
character
May be direct, such as descriptions of characters
May be indirect, such as learning about a character’s
attitude through his/her interactions with others
Narrator and Point of View
Narrator: speaker or character who tells a story
First Person Point of View
Told from character using “I” pronouns
Third Person Limited Point of View
Told from one character observing others and using “he/she/they”
pronouns
Third Person Omniscient Point of View
Told from an all-knowing narrator who knows and tells about what each
character feels and thinks
Second person- Narrator use pronoun “you” when telling story
Least used in literature
Foreshadowing & Flashback
Foreshadowing: when an author gives tips and clues to
events later in the story
Flashback: when the story goes back in time to provide
readers with additional background information
Plot Elements
Exposition: introduces the setting, characters, and
basic situation
Inciting incident: conflict is introduced
Rising Action: central conflict is developed
Climax: highest point of interest or suspense (“last
battle”)
Falling Action: last elements of the central conflict
Resolution: ending when all loose ends are tied up
Setting
Setting: time and place of the action
Includes time, place, and social environment
Year, time of day, weather
Country, state, region, community, or neighborhood
Dialect, clothing, customs, and transportation
Often sets the mood or feeling of the story
Theme
Theme: central message, concern, or purpose of a
literary work
Often a general statement about people or life
Usually not stated directly, instead readers must look
carefully at what the literary work reveals about people
or life
Dialogue
Dialogue: a conversation between characters
Usually set off with quotation marks
Punctuation of dialogue has specific rules
Dialogue in drama follows the names of the characters
and does not include quotation marks
Figurative Language/Figures of
Speech
Simile
Comparison of two unlike things using like or as
Metaphor
Comparison of two unlike things, saying one thing is
something else
Personification
Nonhuman thing is given human characteristics
Alliteration
Repetition of beginning consonant sounds
Figurative Language/Figures of
Speech cont.
Hyperbole
Exaggeration for effect, not to be taken literally
Onomatopoeia
Use of words that imitate sounds
Oxymoron
Apparently contradictory terms appear together
Dramatic Irony
When the audience knows something the characters in the
story do not know
Imagery/Sensory Language
Imagery and Sensory Language
Words or phrases that appeal to one or more of the five
senses
Provides more detailed reading experiences
Look, sound, feel, taste, and smell