LITERARY ELEMENTS
 VAUGHN RIO B. SUELA
 VANESSA M. LIBRADO
Members
 JILL MAE JOY E. GATERA
 JONATHAN SILVA
 JAY DONGUINES
 RIENIER MANDADO
A literary element refers to components of a literary
work (character, tragic hero/figure, tragic flaw,
setting, plot, point-of-view). These are technical terms
for the “what” of a work.
LITERARY
ELEMENTS
A literary device refers to a literary technique
employed by the author to produce an effect (tone,
irony, figurative language, symbolism,
foreshadowing). You don’t need to know the difference
between the two.
 Protagonist
 The main character in a story. He/she is often a hero but
sometimes is not. He/she can also be the story’s
narrator.
Character
 Antagonist
 A character who stands in the way of the protagonist’s
movement in the story. Often times, this is a villain but it
does not have to be.
 A tragic hero is a type of character in a tragedy, and is
Tragic Hero /
Figure
usually the protagonist. Tragic heroes typically have
heroic traits that earn them the sympathy of the
audience, but also have flaws or make mistakes that
ultimately lead to their own downfall. In
Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, Romeo is a tragic hero.
His reckless passion in love, which makes him a
compelling character, also leads directly to the tragedy
of his death.
 Tragic flaw is a literary device that represents a flaw or
Tragic Flaw
deficiency in character that results in the downfall of
the hero in a tragic literary work. A tragic flaw is the
principal defect in character or judgment that leads to
the downfall of the tragic hero. Such a defect can be in
the form of bias, limitation, or imperfection possessed
by a character that affects their actions, motives, or
abilities in a hindering or ruinous way. Tragic flaws
allow writers to create characters that are complex and
fully human, in addition to providing the reader with a
deeper understanding of the impact of these defects.
 Setting is the time and place (or when and where) of the
Setting
story. It’s a literary element of literature used in novels,
short stories, plays, films, etc., and usually introduced
during the exposition (beginning) of the story, along
with the characters. The setting may also include the
environment of the story, which can be made up of the
physical location, climate, weather, or social and
cultural surroundings.
 There are various ways that time and place indicate
Setting
setting. Time can cover many areas, such as the
character’s time of life, the time of day, time of year, time
period such as the past, present, or future, etc. Place
also covers a lot of areas, such as a certain building,
room in a building, country, city, beach, in a mode of
transport such as a car, bus, boat, indoors or out,
etc. The setting of a story can change throughout the
plot. The environment includes geographical location
such as beach or mountains, the climate and weather,
and the social or cultural aspects such as a school,
theatre, meeting, club, etc.
 Plot point - An event or scene in your story.
 Plot - The chain of events that make up your story, or the
combination of your plot points.
 Narrative arc - The order of plot points in your story.
 Imagine you’ve written out all the scenes that make up
Plot
your story on individual note cards. Each note card is a plot
point. The stack of note cards as a whole is your plot. The
order in which you organize these note cards is your
narrative arc.
 As you write multiple plot points or events that lead the
reader from beginning to middle to end, you’re creating a
plot.
 It’s important to remember that the plot points in your story
have to be intentional, not random. They must connect
together and lead the story in a specific direction. For
example, a dog sees a squirrel, a boy crashes his bike, and a
little girl falls over is not a plot.
 However, a dog sees a squirrel, and then its owner loses
hold of its leash, causing the dog to run free, knocking
over a little girl and causing a boy to crash his bike is a
plot because the events connect together in a way that
builds a story.
 If the events do not connect and build upon each other,
Plot
then why would a reader keep turning the page?
 As you create your plot points—and therefore build
your plot—you should start with the five elements of a
plot. It’s a simple structure that works as a good starting
point for building a story. Once you have your five plot
points, it will be much easier to start filling in the
blanks, building your narrative structure, and
organizing your story as a whole.
 1. Exposition
 This is your book’s introduction, where you introduce your
characters, establish the setting, and begin to introduce the
primary conflict of your story.
 Often, the exposition of a story only lasts for a few chapters
The 5 Elements
of Plot
because readers are eager to dive into the conflict of the
story. Don’t wait too long to introduce your inciting incident
and get the ball rolling! Many authors make the mistake of
having their exposition be full of interesting but ultimately
unnecessary information about the world in their book.
Don’t do this!
 As much as you’ll want to make sure your reader knows all
the background information, it’s not enjoyable to read
pages and pages of non-action. You should immediately
place the reader within the action of your story, and try to
weave background information in as organically as you can
here.
 2. Rising Action
 The rising action normally begins with an inciting
incident, or a moment that sets your story into action. As
it progresses, you’ll have multiple moments of conflict
that escalate and create tension as the story moves
toward the climax.
The 5 Elements
of Plot
 Think of it as the portion of a roller coaster where you’re
climbing up to the peak. You want to continue to build
your story until the reader is ready to reach the point
where everything comes crashing down.
 This section will take up the largest chunk of your book
and can make or break your story—so be sure to make
every moment of conflict more interesting than the last.
Don’t be afraid to raise some questions that won’t get
answered until the end of your book.
 3. Climax
 The climax is the peak of tension, plot, and character in
your story. It’s the moment that your reader has been
waiting for—so make it exciting!
 Often, this is the point in the story that everything
The 5 Elements
of Plot
changes, or where your main character is forced to
make a life-altering decision. It should be the point
where the reader is unsure where your story is going to
go next. To use our roller coaster analogy, imagine
you’re at the top of the peak and everything stops:
what’s going to happen? A great climax will leave the
readers with this feeling, forcing them to keep reading
until the end.
 4. Falling Action
 Now that you’ve reached the peak of your story, it’s time
The 5 Elements
of Plot
to start moving toward a more satisfying conclusion.
This is the time to start resolving conflicts and subplots
so your story doesn’t feel rushed in the last few
chapters. This is also where any conflicts that arose as a
result of the climax can start being resolved.
 5. Resolution/Denouement
 Finally, the resolution is the end of your story where you
can tie up the final loose ends and bring your story to
its happy or tragic ending. Or, if you’re writing a series,
now would be the time to write a cliffhanger and leave
them eager for the next installment!
 Point of view (POV) is what
Point of view
(POV)
the character or narrator telling the story can see (his
or her perspective). The author chooses “who” is to tell
the story by determining the point of view. Depending
on who the narrator is, he/she will be standing at one
point and seeing the action. This viewpoint will give the
narrator a partial or whole view of events as they
happen. Many stories have the protagonist telling the
story, while in others, the narrator may be
another character or an outside viewer, a narrator who
is not in the story at all. The narrator should not be
confused with the author, who is the writer of the story
and whose opinions may not be those written into the
narrative.
THANK YOU