In this lesson, you will learn about
01
02
FICTION
GENRES
OF
FICTION
03
04
LITERARY
ELEMENTS
DEVICES AND
OF
TECHNIQUES
FICTION
Robin Moore
01
FICTION
FICTION
Fiction texts are created
from the imagination and
include made-up stories
with characters, a setting
and plot from the author's
own imagination.
FICTION
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Fiction is defined as “a series of
imagined facts which illustrates
truths about life.”
One misconception about fiction is
that it is opposed to truth and
therefore considered false and untrue.
FICTION
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But it does not at all oppose the truth,
because the situations, incidents and
characters found in fiction are created
to illustrate what may and can
happen as long as the writer does not
violate the rules of probability,
plausibility and necessity.
FICTION
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Fiction does not require the
presentation of actual people and
situations, but characters and
incidents may be based on actual
people and real-life events.
FICTION
❖
Fiction does not require the
presentation of actual people and
situations, but characters and
incidents may be based on actual
people and real-life events.
02
GENRES
OF FICTION
SHORT STORY
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Is a brief, artistic form of prose
fiction which centers on one main
incident and intends to produce a
single dominant impression.
NOVEL
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A novel is a relatively long work of narrative
fiction, typically written in prose and published
as a book.
An invented prose narrative of considerable
length and a certain complexity that deals
imaginatively with human experience, usually
through a connected sequence of events involving
a group of persons in a specific setting.
FABLE
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a brief story that offers some pointed
statements of truth or explicitly states a
moral lesson. The characters in fables are
animals or natural forces, with human
traits or characteristics.
Aesop- most famous writer of fables
PARABLE
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a brief narrative with a realistic plot. It implicitly
teaches a moral.
Unlike in fable, the main characters in parables
are human beings.
A parable is more serious and suggestive than a
fable. Its meaning can be open to several
interpretations.
Examples: The Parable of the Prodigal Son, The
Parable of the Good Shepherd
TALES
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it is a short narrative that is
handed down from the past. It
contains strange and wonderful
events without detailed
characterization- the ones that
you read on fairy tales
LEGENDS
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traditionally in Philippine Literature, a
fictional narrative that explains the
origins of things or phenomena through
supernatural events.
In other definitions, legends are very old
and popular stories which may or may not
be true. (Arthurian Legends, Legend of
Robin Hood)
MYTH
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a traditional story consisting of
events that are apparently
historical, explaining the origins
of a cultural practice or a natural
phenomenon.
FOLKTALE
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a story handed down from one
generation to another through oral
tradition.
It originated and is traditional among
people or folks, especially ones
considered to be based on superstition.
03
ELEMENTS
OF FICTION
CHARACTERS
❖
Characters are the people,
animals, or aliens in the story.
Readers come to know the
characters through what they say,
what they think, and how they act.
TYPES OF CHARACTERS IN LITERATURE
The main character (Protagonist)
Every story has this type of
character and evolves around it.
It is the main character or the hero
and is also called the protagonist.
It appears in the story from the
start to end.
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TYPES OF CHARACTERS IN LITERATURE
Character opposing the main character
(Antagonist)
the antagonist plays against the
protagonist and tries to stop him by
posing threats to his and others’ lives.
➢
TYPES OF CHARACTERS IN LITERATURE
Dynamic Characters
➢
A dynamic character is a person who
changes over time, usually as a result of
resolving a central conflict or facing a
major crisis. Most dynamic characters
tend to be central characters, because
resolving the conflict is the major role of
central characters.
TYPES OF CHARACTERS IN LITERATURE
Static Characters
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A static character is someone who
does not change over time; his or
her personality does not
transform or evolve.
TYPES OF CHARACTERS IN LITERATURE
Round Characters
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A rounded character is anyone
who has a complex personality;
he or she is often portrayed as a
conflicted and contradictory
person.
TYPES OF CHARACTERS IN LITERATURE
Flat Characters
➢
A flat character is the opposite of
a round character. This literary
personality is notable for one kind
of personality trait or
characteristic.
SETTING
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Setting is where and
when the story takes
place.
SETTING
It includes the following:
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The immediate surroundings of the
characters such as props in a scene: trees,
furniture, food, inside of a house or car, etc.
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The time of day such as morning,
afternoon, or night.
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The weather such as cloudy, sunny, windy,
snow, or rain, etc.
SETTING
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The time of year, particularly the seasons:
fall, winter, summer, spring.
The historical period such as what century
or decade the story takes place.
The geographical location including the
city, state, country, and possibly even the
universe, if the writer is writing science
fiction.
PLOT
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Plot is the order of events in the story.
The plot usually follows a particular
structure called Freytag’s Pyramid.
Gustav Freytag, a German playwright
who lived during the 1800s, identified
this structure.
Exposition
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Is the introduction to the characters, time,
and the problem.
At the point where exposition moves into
rising action a problem, sometimes called
an inciting incident, occurs for the main
character to handle or solve. This creates
the beginning of the story.
Inciting incident
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The inciting incident is an event or a series
of events in which the status quo from the
exposition is disrupted or challenged.
The protagonist is invited or forced to set
on a mental or physical journey. If there
would be no such incident, the status quo
would remain and thereby no story would
enfold.
Rising Action
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This includes the events that the
main character encounters. Each
event, developed in separate
scenes, makes the problem more
complex.
Climax
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The climax is the turning point. From
this point onward, the protagonist is
transformed.
The main character must contend
with the problem at this point.
Climax
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The climax is not always a big event
like a battle of armies, but can also be
very subtle, like an inward realization
of the main character that will
influence his decision making for the
rest of the story.
Falling action
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In the falling action we see the changes in the
behaviour of the protagonist.
More challenges, revelations, and meetings
will occur and they build towards the
resolution of the story.
This doesn’t mean the outcome is clear. There
will often be some suspense whether the
protagonist will overcome his challenge.
Resolution
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The resolution resolves the main plot.
The protagonist overcomes (or fails!)
his challenge. The resolution can be
entwined with the denouement.
Denouement (day-noo-mahn/day-noo-mah)
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Any other plot is resolved, or
unraveled (as the word denouement
comes from French meaning “to
untie”).
There is a new status quo with the
main character being changed (or
deceased).
Denouement
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They might go back to the initial
setting, but not necessarily. The
denouement is sometimes entwined
with the resolution and can also be
very short.
CONFLICT
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Conflict is the struggle between two
entities.
In story writing the main character,
also known as the protagonist,
encounters a conflict with the
antagonist, which is an adversary.
CONFLICT
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The conflict may be one of six kinds:
Character vs. character
Character vs. nature or natural forces
Character vs. society or culture
Character vs. machine or technology
Character vs. God
Character vs himself or herself
POINT OF VIEW
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The vantage point from which the story is
told.
Stories are generally told in one of two
points of views:
First-person point of view
Third-person point of view
FIRST PERSON POINT OF VIEW
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First-person point of view means that one of the
characters in the story will narrate–give an
account–of the story.
The narrator may be the protagonist, the main
character.
Writing in first-person point of view brings the
readers closer to the story. They can read it as if
they are the character because personal
pronouns like I, me, my, we, us, and our are used.
THIRD PERSON POINT OF VIEW
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Third-person point of view means that the
narrator is not in the story.
The third-person narrator is not a
character. Third-person point of view can
be done two ways:
Third-person limited
Third-person omniscient
THIRD PERSON POINT OF VIEW
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Third-person limited means that the narrator
limits him/herself by being able to be in one
character’s thoughts.
Whereas, third-person omniscient means the
narrator has unlimited ability to be in various
character’s thoughts.
Writing in third-person point of view removes
readers from the story because of the pronouns he,
she, it, him, her, his, hers, they, them, and theirs.
THEME
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A theme is not the plot of the story. It is the
underlying truth that is being conveyed in the
story.
Themes can be universal, meaning they are
understood by readers no matter what culture or
country the readers are in.
Common themes include coming of age, circle of
life, prejudice, greed, good vs. evil, beating the
odds, etc.