2.2 Reviewing the Elements of a Story
• A short story is a form of a narrative, which include madeup stories, fiction, as well as real-life stories – non-fiction.
• A short story is a work of fiction, and this genre includes
certain literary elements.
• At your table group, look up the term on the card that
you’ve been given. Write the definition on the notecard
legibly. Report out to the class. (Class - write the definitions
in your spiral as each group presents).
• Post your term on the plot diagram in the appropriate place
for your term.
• HW: Look up the remaining or additional elements of a
short story on page 90 of your text. Write these elements
and definitions in your spiral. Also complete the “Planning
a Story” activity in your spiral. I will stamp your HW
tomorrow!
EA 1: Writing a Short Story (Creative
Writing)
• Complete short story that develops:
– Plot- conflict, rising action, climax and resolution.
– Characters- at least one character fully developed
and complex.
– Setting- described
– POV – consistent and purposeful.
– Literary elements/devices used: irony and at least
2 others.
– There is a “theme” within your story.
2.2 Short Story & Literary Elements
*add to your definitions where needed AND add
additional literary elements
• Imagery: verbal expression of sensory
experience; imagery is created by details that
appeal to to one or more of the five senses.
• Figurative Language: images such as metaphors
and similes that describe one thing in terms of
another; not meant to be taken literally.
• Symbol: any object, animal, event, person, or
place that represents itself but also stands for
something else on a figurative level.
Literary Elements: Related to humor
• Satire: a general category of humor which
presents a subject with a critical attitude using
wit in order to try to improve mankind by
making fun of vice or weakness. The goal is
typically to point out the hypocrisy of his/her
target.
• Parody: a satiric imitation of a work or author
with the intent to ridicule the author, the
ideas, or work (Spoofs).
Literary Elements: Word play
• Euphemism: the substitution of a mild or less negative
word or phrase for a harsh or blunt one. “Pass away”
instead of “die.”
• Innuendo: a strongly implied, parallel meaning to a word
or phrase: a double meaning. IE: make someone an “offer
he can’t refuse.”
• Idiom: specific, recurrent, and widely-understood phrase
in a language that metaphorically articulates a concrete
idea. IE: “kick the bucket” “a piece of cake.”
• Pun: an explicitly humorous play on words whose sounds
are explicitly meant to resemble other words (to treat a
homonym as a synonym).
Miscellaneous Literary Elements
• Colloquial: Ordinary language, slang or vernacular
common to a location/culture: “sub” for sandwich
(where in other areas it’s called a hero, hoagie).
• Jargon: Specialized or technical language of an
established trade or discipline. IE: “rushing the
quarterback” “uploading a virus”
• Cliché: An overused phrase that has lost the force
of its meaning and power. The use of cliché often
indicates an insecure or uncreative writing. “Love
conquers all.”
• Allusion: a reference to a well-known person,
event, or place from history, music, art, or another
literary work.
Isn’t it Ironic?
• Irony: Expression through words or events conveying a reality
radically different (usually opposite) to literal meaning, appearance or
expectation.
– Verbal irony: speaker’s meaning is different from/opposed to what
she/he is actually saying. IE: “Could there be anything more important in
choosing a college than its proximity to the beach?”
• Sarcasm: a narrow form of verbal irony expressing sneering or personal
disapproval in the guise of praise.
– Situational Irony: An occasion in which the outcome is significantly
different from what was expected or considered appropriate: a
professional pickpocket has his own pocket picked just as he was in the
act of picking someone’s pocket. It’s not just bad luck, or coincidence.
– Dramatic Irony: the audience has knowledge which is denied to the
character that often gives ominous or foreshadowing meaning to a
character’s words or actions. IE: King Oedipus, who has unknowingly
killed his father, says that he will banish his father’s killer when he finds
him.
Irony in literature
• Irony: in many cases, when irony is used in
literature, it exploits readers’ expectations
when expected occurrences are different from
what actually happens- closely related to
situational irony.
• In other cases, it’s used to add meaning to a
character’s actions/dialogue (dramatic irony).