Plot is the action or sequence of events in a literary work. It is a
series of related events that build upon one another.
Plots may be simple or complex, loosely constructed or closeknit.
Plot includes the following:
 whatever the characters do
 whatever the characters say
 whatever the characters think
 whatever happens to the characters
 whatever the characters cause to happen to others
There are five basic elements to the plot:
1) exposition
2) rising action
3) climax
Climax
4) falling action
5) resolution
Exposition
Resolution
(Denouement)
Often before the plot begins, a section of exposition is provided,
which is the introduction that presents the background
information to help readers understand the situation of the story.
This is the series of struggles (conflicts and complications) that
builds a story toward its climax. The conflicts and complications
within a story are what creates the rising action. (See conflict).
A conflict is the struggle between two opposing forces or
characters in a story that triggers action. Conflict can be
internal or external.
Internal Conflict = Man vs. Self
This is the conflict that takes place within
an individual (an inner battle of conscience)
External Conflict:
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
This is an individual’s struggle against
something outside of themselves. There are
five basic types of external conflict…
man vs. man (or group of people)
man vs. society
man vs. nature/animal
man vs. supernatural
man vs. fate or destiny
Conflicts are also known as complications.
When you read, keep in mind that there may
be a single conflict that is uncomplicated or
easy to recognize in the story or there may be
several, more subtle conflicts involved.
This is the point of greatest intensity, interest, or suspense in a
narrative which will somehow determine the outcome of the
story. In drama, the climax is also identified with the terms
crisis and/or turning point.
It’s the point of the story that “changes everything.”
This is the part of the story that shows the “working out” of the
action that occurred during the story’s climax. (Certain issues/
happenings must be resolved (worked out) to reach a resolution).
The resolution is also called the denouement. This is the portion
of the story where the problem is somehow resolved. It follows
after the climax and falling action and is intended to bring the
story to a satisfactory end/close.
This is the time and place of the action of a story.
Setting can be of great importance in establishing not only the
physical background, but also in creating the atmosphere/
mood of the story (tension, suspense, peacefulness, etc.)
Setting can include time (minute/hour, year, month, decade,
etc.), weather (season, literal weather, etc.), places (planets,
countries, cities, buildings, homes, stores, etc.) or any other
thing that helps set the background.
This is the personality a character displays as well as the means
by which an author reveals that personality.
A storyteller generally develops a character through indirect
methods of characterization (the author allows reader to draw
his or her own conclusions). Storyteller/Author does this…
1)
2)
3)
4)
by showing a character acting or speaking
by giving a physical description of the character
by revealing the character’s thoughts
by revealing what others think of or say about the character
Less often, a storyteller will develop a character through a direct
method of characterization (where the author directly feeds the
reader the information that (s)he wants reader to know). This is
done by…
…. making direct comments about the physical attributes,
personality, or behavior of the character
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Characters in a story can be one of two types. They can be…
1) STATIC: they remain the same throughout the entire story
or…
2) DYNAMIC: they change in some important way during the
course of the story
Also…
ROUNDED = a developed character (we get to know them)
FLAT = an undeveloped character (we never get to know them)
Stories often include a protagonist and an antagonist.
PROTAGONIST:
This is the chief character in a work on
whom our interest centers. This term is
preferable over the terms hero or heroine
because a protagonist can sometimes include
characters who might be, for example,
villainous or weak (but characters whom we
are still interested in or concerned about
regardless of their flaws in character).
ANTAGONIST:
This is the character or force which opposes
(literally “wrestles”) the main character;
therefore, if the protagonist is pitted against
an important opponent, that opponent is
called the antagonist.
This is the angle or position from which the story is told. There are
two basic points of view for storytelling: the first-person point of
view and the third-person point of view.
FIRST-PERSON:
Through this view, the story is told by one of
the characters in his or her own words by
using “I.”
First-person point of view is always
considered to be a limited point of view since
the reader is told only what one specific
character knows and observes.
THIRD-PERSON: Through this view, the story is told by
someone outside of the story itself by using “he” or “she.” The
third-person narrator may be working from an omniscient view
or a limited omniscient view.
OMNISCIENT
This narrator is an all-knowing observer who can describe all the
characters’ actions, thoughts, and feelings.
LIMITED OMNISCIENT
This is a storyteller who shares the thoughts and feelings of only
one particular character or a select group of characters (clearly
lacking or failing to share information about other characters).
This is the main idea or the basic meaning of a literary work. It is
a statement about life…specifically “the human condition”.
Themes are UNIVERSAL truths about life.
Because they are universal, they stand the test of time, and themes
are repeated over-and-over in books, movies, songs, etc. (and
then they become what’s called a motif).
Theme is rarely a moral/lesson (it is usually just
a statement about life that we know/accept to be
true).
Theme can be expressed directly, but more often, theme is implicit
(this is…it is implied and must be dug out and thought about).
A theme should not be expressed as a single word; rather, it
should be expressed as a thematic phrase or sentence.
In other words, never say the theme of a story is LOVE! Be sure
your thematic phrase or sentence answers…WHAT ABOUT
LOVE?
Remember, themes are commentaries on life (the “human
condition”) that we all know and accept as truth to some degree
(“universal truths”) .
Some example: all children will experience a loss of
innocence…death will come to us all…greed often guides human
desires…evil exists in the word without explanation…the bond of
the family is a strong one…all people have prejudices…etc.
Mood is the feeling a text arouses and creates in the
reader/ audience (such as happiness, anger, sadness, depression,
joy, etc.). It is the attitude of the audience/reader toward the
subject matter he or she is reading.
Tone is the overall feeling, or effect, created by a writer’s use of
words. Tone reveals the author’s attitude toward his own
subject matter and the audience.
So…
mood is the attitude of the audience/reader toward the particular
subject matter he or she is reading AND tone is the author’s
apparent attitude toward his own subject matter and/or the audience
Suspense is the quality of a literary work that makes the
audience/reader feel tense about the outcome of events.
Suspense makes the audience/reader wonder, “What will
happen next?”…and it impels them to read on.
Suspense is greatest when it is focused on a sympathetic
character that the reader cares about.
Foreshadowing is the method of building suspense where the
storyteller plants clues and hints at what is to come later in the
story.
Foreshadowing helps to establish interest early in a narrative and
also prepares the reader for the outcome.
Flashback is a device by which a work presents material that
occurred prior to the opening scene of the work.
Flashback is a method of returning to an earlier time in the story
for the purpose of making something in the present more clear.
Various methods are used for this including…recollections of
characters, direct narration by the characters, dream sequences,
daydreams, etc.
An allusion is an indirect reference to a familiar person, place, or
event (particularly from literature, history, the Bible, or a famous
movie, etc.) that the writer expects the reader to recognize.
When used effectively, it helps the reader call up certain
associations that clarify or enrich the writer’s meaning.
Examples:
Don’t be such a Scrooge!
Looking at his schedule, he realized he had English with Hitler.
The new boss was our savior.
Our relationship is clearly like the Titanic.
An allegory is a story in which people, things, and actions
represent an idea or generalization about life.
An allegory often has a strong moral lesson.
Examples
The story of the tortoise and the hare
=
slow and steady wins the race
The story of David and Goliath
=
size/power does not always win
(OGT!!!)
This is simply the conversation carried on by the characters in a
literary work. It is usually set off by quotations marks.
Empathy is putting yourself in someone else’s place and
imagining and/or understanding how that person must feel.
It is the act of identifying ourselves with an object or person and
participating in its physical and emotional sensations.
Sympathy is the act of feeling compassion for someone or
something. It is “feeling sorry for” or “feeling bad about”
someone or something.
Unlike empathy, it does not involve the individual relating to or
understanding the experience.
An epiphany is a sudden perception (a moment of clear
understanding) that causes a character to somehow change.
It is the a sudden grasp of reality achieved in a quick flash of
recognition in which something (usually simple and
commonplace) is seen in a new light.
At an early point in your
young lives, you probably
came to really realize that…
life is not always fair!
One specific moment may have made you realize that fact…
and that’s an epiphany!
This is any language (whether in poetry, literature, creative
writing, etc.) that is used to create a special effect or feeling in
writing. In writing, there are many types of figurative
language…
Figurative language is meant to be taken figuratively (figured
out) not literally.
Here are just some examples of figurative language…
A) SIMILE:
a comparison of two unlike things using the comparison
words of “like” or “as” to build a clearer understanding/
meaning
(Ex. “My love is like a burning inferno.”)
B) METAPHOR:
a comparison of two unlike things without the use of a
comparison words to build a clearer understanding/meaning
(Ex. “Variety is the spice of life!”)
C) PERSONIFICATION:
when the author speaks of or describes an animal, object, or
idea as if it were a person
(Ex. “The moon smiled down at me.”)
D) OXYMORON:
the combination of contradictory terms put into a single term
(Ex. the term “jumbo shrimp”)
Imagery is the use of words to create a certain picture in the
reader’s mind (usually based on sensory detail). If imagery is
effective, the reader can actually experience the sensation through
his or her imagination.
There is imagery of…
sight
sound
smell
taste
touch
Look at the imagery in this student written line from a short story.
The summer heat weighed heavily upon me as I tossed and turned
in the sheets that clung to me,
while I angrily pondered how I would never be able to fall asleep
due to the incessant trill of the crickets in the night.
Irony is a contrast or discrepancy between what is stated
and what is really meant (reality and appearance), or
between what is expected to happen and what actually
does happen. There are three kinds of irony:
(1) verbal irony
(2) dramatic irony
(3) situational irony
Verbal Irony:
A writer/speaker says one thing and means something
entirely different. (Ex. After walking out into the rainstorm
without her umbrella, the girl says, “Well isn’t this just a
beautiful day!?”)
Dramatic Irony:
A reader or an audience perceives something that a
character in the story or play does not know. The character
is completely unaware of something that the reader is aware
of. The audience is aware of the character’s mistakes. (Ex:
As an audience, we all know that Snow White should not let
any strangers in at all let alone accepting and eating an
apple from one!)
Irony of Situation:
A writer shows a discrepancy (great difference) between
the expected result of a particular action and the actual
result. (Ex: A man who worked as a butcher all his life
retires only to have a heart attack. His life is saved
because he has an open-heart surgery procedure where
cow arteries are used in place of his own. He lived for
many years after that. How ironic!)
This is a term usually linked to irony that describes a character
ironically “getting what he or she deserved” in the end. (It is the odd
occurrence that rewards virtue and punishes vice).
How ironic that Dahmer, a murderer, was violently killed in jail by
other murderers. Poetic justice? Most would say “yes!”
A symbol is something (such as an object, person,
situation, or action), in a literary work which maintains its
own meaning while at the same time representing
something broader than itself. When a symbol is used in
writing, its “double nature” can make it very complex and
sometimes difficult to recognize.
There are many symbols that are used over and over again.
the rose
=
love
seasons
=
human “seasons” of birth (such as
youth, maturity, and old age)
spring
=
rebirth
dove
=
peace
flag
=
patriotism
NOTE: These terms will either appear as a part of
your first short story exam OR they will be tested on a
separate mini-exam, so be prepared.