Literary Elements
Short Story Unit
Literary Elements
A Short Story is defined as…
• A brief literary work, usually between
500-2000 words.
• A genre that contains a beginning, middle, and
end and has a protagonist involved in a conflict.
Literary Elements
• Plot
– The sequence of events in a literary work
– The plot of a literary work is made up of SIX incidents
• Aristotelean Plot Structure
4. Climax
3.
1. Exposition
2. Conflict
5.
6. Resolution
Plot Structure: Aristotelean Diagram
Exposition
• Introduces the setting, characters, and basic situation
• Provides insights to time and culture
Plot Structure (cont’d.)
Conflict
– Struggle between TWO opposing forces
• External Conflict (Occurs between two or more characters or forces)
–
–
–
–
Person vs. Person
Person vs. Nature
Person vs. Society
Person vs. Machine (Also referred to as Fate or the gods)
• Internal Conflict (Occurs WITHIN a character who possesses
opposing ideas, feelings, emotions…)
– Person vs. Self
Plot Structure (cont’d.)
Rising Action
• The characterization develops further, the
conflict intensifies, and the author provides more
insight to the setting (e.g. social ideals, culture)
Plot Structure (cont’d.)
• Defined as “The Point of NO Return”
• The climax is the turning point of the action. A crisis
occurs or a decision is made that cannot be altered.
• The climax has a specific and direct connection to the
central conflict of the story.
• The climax may occur ANYWHERE and at ANYTIME
in the literary work.
Plot Structure (cont’d)
Falling Action
• The characters actions begin to “wind down”:
conflicts begin to reach a resolution
• In genres such as Tragedies, the falling action
generally reveals the “failing fortunes of the
hero.”
Plot Structure (cont’d.)
Resolution or Denouemont
• The culmination of events following the climax
and falling action
• The French term, Denouemont , translates: “To
tie up loose ends.”
Characterization
• Characters may be categorized according to one of FOUR
“types”:
– Protagonist: The main character in the literary work who faces
conflict. This character exhibits many traits.
– Antagonist: A character or force in conflict with the main
character.
– Static (Flat): The character only exhibits one side of himself; the
reader only sees one distinguished trait. The static character does
not change or grow throughout the literary work.
– Dynamic (Round): The character reveals many different traits,
faults, and virtues. The dynamic character develops and grows
throughout the literary work.
Point of View
• Point of View is defined as the vantage point
from which the author presents the actions of the
literary work.
– The perspectives of Point of View are:
• 1st Person: character in the story tells the story
• 3rd Person: narrator; voice outside the story tells the story
• Limited 3rd Person: narrator tells the story through the eyes of
one of the characters.
• 3rd Person Omniscient: the narrator is all-knowing and allseeing; the narrator has privileged access to the characters’
thoughts and feelings, speech and actions, and feelings and
motives.
Setting
• Setting is “When” and “Where” the literary work
takes place; however, the discussion and analysis
of setting also includes the physical environment
(e.g. houses, streets, daily life), weather, time
(e.g. time of day, as well as the “social” time of
the characters and their actions in the literary
work.)
Theme
• Theme is defined as the “central insight into life.”
• When asked to define a theme in a literary work,
ask yourself: “What does the author wish to
reveal about the (topic)?” For example, after
reading The Good Earth, what does Pearl Buck
wish to reveal about man’s pride?
• Always state the theme as a complete sentence.
Symbolism
• Symbolism is the use of one object to represent
or suggest another
– Literary Symbol
– Conventional Symbol
Irony
• Irony is defined as the recognition of a reality
that is different from its appearance.
– Verbal Irony: expression through words which carry
an opposite meaning.
– Dramatic Irony: a character in a play or story thinks
one thing is true, but the reader or audience knows the
reality of the situation.
– Situational Irony: there is a discrepancy between what
is expected to happen and what really happens.