Literary Elements
The foundations of literature
Literary elements: Diction and
Dialect
Dialect is variation of a given language spoken
in a particular place or by a particular group of
people. A dialect is distinguished by its
vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation.
 If we’re only talking about pronunciation, we
usually use the term “accent.”
 Dilalect is applied most often to regional speech
patterns, but a dialect may also be defined by
other factors, such as social class.
 Diction involves a writer’s selection of language.
Diction may be described as formal or informal,
abstract or concrete, figurative or literal.
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Literary elements: Symbolism
and setting
Setting: particular time, environment, and place in which
events occur.
 Symbols used in literature are objects used to represent other
things or ideas. Setting often serves as a symbol.
 Authors include symbolism in their stories to give the stories
deeper meaning: objects, people, places, or events that stand
for something broader than themselves, such as an idea or
emotion.
 Symbols are all around us:
– Hearts symbolize love, caring.
– The American flag symbolizes the United States of
America.
– The Trojan Head downstairs symbolizes pride and
strength.
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Literary elements: Irony
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Irony is the contrast between what is expected
and what actually exists or happens. Three
types of irony include:
1. Situational irony: the contrast between what a
character or the reader expects to happen and what
actually happens.
2. Verbal irony: occurs when someone says one thing
but means another (a common form is sarcasm).
3. Dramatic irony: the contrast between what a
character knows and what the reader or audience
knows.
Literary elements: Irony
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Verbal irony
– In “The Lottery” Old Man Warner says, “The next thing you
know people will want to go back to living in caves.”
– The irony in that statement is that Warner thinks without the
lottery, people will become primitive – even though the lottery is
as primitive of a ritual as there is.
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Situational irony
– The lottery is conducted on a bright, sunny day by a man named
Summers. However, this effervescent setting belies the dark task
of the day and the dark side of human nature.
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Dramatic irony
– The characters know that the “winner” of the lottery is actually
the loser. The reader doesn’t know this until the first stone is
thrown.
Literary elements: Theme
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Theme is what is revealed about human life or
human nature. It reveals something that we can
often relate to.
Although it is usually unstated, it gives a story
meaning.
Theme can reveal an author’s whole view of life.
Theme is not a story’s plot or the story’s
subject: It is an idea.
It gives us insight into some aspect of life we
have never really thought about before, or it
may make us understand on an emotional level.
Literary elements: Theme
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General guidelines for discovering theme:
– We must use at least one complete sentence to state a theme,
rather than just a phrase, such as “the joy of childhood.”
– A theme is not the same as a moral. So ask yourself, “What does
this story reveal?” rather than “What does this story teach?”
– One way to determine a theme is to ask how the main character
(protagonist) changes during the story.
– Also, consider the story’s title. It often will hint at the meaning
of the story.
– A theme should not refer to specific characters or events in a
story. It should be something about life or human nature that is
general enough for the reader to relate to.
– Theme should explain the whole story, not just a part of it.
Literary elements
Suspense:
The element of plot that makes the reader
want to read on to find out what happens.
The reader usually experiences suspense
when he or she is worried about whether
a character will succeed in overcoming
conflict. Setting often helps establish
suspense.
Literary elements
Tone:
The attitude the writer takes toward the
subject he or she is writing about. Just as we
reveal our attitude by our tone of voice when we
are speaking, so writers show their attitude
(tone) by their writing style. A tone can be
pessimistic, optimistic, earnest, serious, bitter,
humorous, joyful, melancholy, nostalgic, etc.
Literary elements
Tone can often help determine mood:
Mood is the climate of feeling in a literary work.
The choice of setting, objects, details, images, and
words all contribute toward creating a specific mood. For
example, the moods evoked by the more popular short
stories of Edgar Allen Poe tend to be gloomy, horrific,
and desperate.
An author may create a mood of mystery around a
character or setting but may treat that character or
setting in an ironic, serious, or humorous tone.
Literary Elements: Foreshadowing
Foreshadowing employs hints given by the
writer about something that will happen
later in the story.
 Foreshadowing increases the reader’s
feeling of suspense: the excitement or
tension that readers feel as they get
involved in a story and become eager to
know the outcome.
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Literary elements: Flashback
A flashback is an account of a
conversation, episode, or event that
happened before the beginning of a story.
 It often interrupts the chronological flow
of a story to give information that can
help readers understand a character’s
present situation.
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Literary elements: Characterization
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Characters: The people (or animals) who
take part in the action of a story.
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Characterization: The ways a writer
develops the characters; means of
demonstrating who the character is.
Literary elements: Characterization
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In order to have a full understanding of
the characters in a story, we may need a
variety of information:
– Physical descriptions
– Past history or experiences
– Interactions with other people
– Personality traits
Literary elements: Characterization
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This information can be provided in two ways:
1. Directly: The author tells what the
character is like, usually through description
and simple statements.
2. Indirectly: The author shows what the
character is like; implies facts about the
character through showing the character in his
or her surroundings, allowing the character to
demonstrate his or her characteristics.
Literary elements: Characterization
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In the indirect method, some devices include:
– Other characters’ comments and reactions to the
main character
– The main character’s actions
– Dialogue with other characters
– Interaction with other characters
– The main character’s reaction to events and
surroundings
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Often, a combination of direct and indirect
methods is used.
Literary elements: Characterization
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Whether characters in a story are real or
imagined, they should possess certain
basic qualities that make them believable
and interesting.
– Characters are not “all good” or “all bad.”
– Characters are consistent in their actions.
– Characters are clearly motivated, with
understandable reasoning.
– If there is a change in their actions, there is a
reason behind it.
Literary elements: Characterization
Characters that change
Generally, one or more of a story’s characters
change as a result of the events of the story.
 A character who grows emotionally, learns a lesson,
or alters his or her behavior is called a dynamic
character. This fully developed character is a
“round” character: Jerry from “Through The Tunnel”
 A character who is simple, who remains unchanged
throughout a story, is known as a static character,
or “flat” character: Lennie from Of Mice and Men.
Literary elements: Elements of
storytelling
Plot: the sequence of events in a story.
 Conflict: struggles between opposing
forces.
 Setting: particular time, environment, and
place in which events occur.
 Point of view: the vantage point from
which a story is told. The two basic points
of view are first-person and third-person.
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Literary elements: Plot
Plot is the chain of related events that take place in a
story. A plot is almost always built around conflict. Most
plots include these stages of development:
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Exposition: includes background about characters,
conflict, and setting.
Rising action: suspense builds because complications
arise that make the conflict more difficult for the main
character(s) to resolve.
Climax: the turning point of the action, when the
reader’s interest reaches its highest point.
Falling action and resolution: The conflict ends and loose
ends are tied up.
Literary elements: Conflict
Most stories are built around a central conflict or
struggle between opposing forces.
 The five basic forms of conflict are person
versus person; person versus self; person versus
nature; person versus society; person versus a
supernatural force.
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Literary Elements: Conflict
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Conflict is also seen as:
– Internal: occurs inside the character (fear, doubt,
confusion, guilt)
– External: the character is pitted against another
character, outside force (such as nature) a physical
obstacle, even a supernatural force
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Usually, there is one central conflict in a story,
but many stories have more than one struggle.
Literary element: Point of View
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The vantage point from which a story is told.
– First person: told by one of the characters in his or
her own words.
– Third person: told by someone not in the story. A
narrator who is not a character describes the events
and characters. One version of third person is called
third-person omniscient: the narrator is “all-knowing”
and can see into the minds of all the characters,
providing the most information possible.
Literary Element: Point of View
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Effects of using different points of view:
– First person: more limited (only view of one
character); more subjective (told as one person sees
it, which may not be as it really is); more personal
(goes deeper into the mind and emotions of one
specific character).
– Third person: more complete (can look into any
character’s thoughts, views, emotions); told from a
variety of perspectives (truer picture); less
development on one specific character (development
of many characters)
Literary elements: Extended
metaphor
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Review: Metaphor
A figure of speech which involves an implied
comparison between two relatively unlike things.
The comparison is not announced by like or as.
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An extended metaphor carries the
comparison another step and extends it through
your writing. It often includes metaphors and
similes.
Literary elements: Extended
metaphor
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Let’s think of one comparing writing to playing basketball. Start by
listing all the basketball words you can think of to see how they
could be used in a comparison:
dribble
foul
referee
shoot
warm-ups
defense
goal tending
pick
jump shot
free throw
camping in the lane
bounce pass
equipment
offense
slam dunk
technical
three-pointer
time out
net
half-time
rebound
assist
swish
steal
Literary elements: Extended
metaphor
Then write:
For me, writing is like playing
basketball. As I prepare for practice, I
gather my equipment: a pencil, pad of
paper, a dictionary, and a Diet Coke. My
warm-ups include doodling on the edge of
the paper while I contemplate what to
write. When my mind is sufficiently
stretched, I begin writing.
Literary elements: Extended
metaphor
The words start in my head and dribble
down my arm, through my pencil, and
onto the page. It isn’t always smooth:
Sometimes, I get a fast break, and the
words come faster than I can write them
down. Other times, I throw the ball away,
writing in a direction that doesn’t match
my topic. Then I take a time-out and drink
my Diet Coke.
Literary elements: Allusion
Review:
 An allusion is a brief reference to a
person, event, place, or phrase outside of
a story that the writer assumes the reader
will recognize.
 An allusive reference can be real or
fictional.
 A literary allusion refers to another written
work, art piece, book, etc.
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Literary elements: Allusion
“Two Kinds”
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Shirley Temple
Cinderella
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Reader’s Digest; Ripley’s Believe It Or Not
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Jehosaphat
Grieg, Beethoven, Schumann
Hula-Hoop
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Madame Butterfly
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Alakazam!
Stanford
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The Ed Sullivan Show
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Literary elements
Consider this passage from “The Most
Dangerous Game”
It was General Zaroff. He made his way along
with his eyes fixed in utmost concentration on
the ground before him. He paused, almost
beneath the tree, dropped to his knees, and
studied the ground. Rainsford’s impulse was to
hurl himself down like a panther, but he saw
that the general’s right hand held something
metallic – a small, automatic pistol (70).
Literary elements: Review
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Diction involves a writer’s selection of language.
Diction may be described as formal or informal, abstract or
concrete, figurative or literal.
Irony is the contrast between what is expected and what
actually exists or happens. Three types of irony include:
1. Situational irony: the contrast between what a character
or the reader expects to happen and what actually
happens.
2. Verbal irony: occurs when someone says one thing but
means another (a common form is sarcasm).
3. Dramatic irony: contrast between what a character
knows and what reader or audience knows.
Personification
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For each of the following objects, give a human
characteristic or action that could be applied to it
in description:
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–
–
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An old car
A rocking chair
A turtle
A trampoline
For each of the objects listed below, write a
sentence in which the object is personified:
– A drawer
– A blender
– A tree
Literary elements: Figurative
language
Whenever you describe something by
comparing it with something else, you are
using figurative language. Any language
that goes beyond the literal meaning of
words in order to furnish new effects or
fresh insights into an idea or a subject.
Three common figures of speech are
personification, simile, and metaphor.
Literary Elements: Figurative
language
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Simile
A figure of speech which involves a direct comparison
between two unlike things, usually with the words like or
as.
Example: He threw baseballs as if they were bullets.
The wheat field lies like liquid gold.
Metaphor
A figure of speech which involves an implied comparison
between two relatively unlike things. The comparison is
not announced by like or as.
Example: The road was a ribbon of moonlight.
Literary elements: Figurative
language
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Personification
A figure of speech which gives the qualities of a
person to an animal, an object, or an idea. It is
a comparison which the author uses to show
something in an entirely new light, to
communicate a certain feeling or attitude
towards it and to control the way a reader
perceives it.
Example: The brave, handsome brute fell with a
creaking rending cry (the author is giving a tree
human qualities).
Literary Elements: Satire
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A text or performance that uses irony,
derision, or wit to expose or attack human
vice, foolishness, or stupidity.
Literary elements: Allegory
Allegory: an extended metaphor,
especially a story in which fictional
characters and actions are used to
understand and express aspects of
concepts relating to human existence.
 It is a figurative representation conveying
a meaning other than, and in addition to,
the literal meaning.
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Literary Elements: Review for quiz
Plot
Setting
Foreshadowing
Flashback
Symbolism
Metaphor
Personification
Antagonist
Allusion
Theme
Conflict
Characterization
Point of view
Simile
Protagonist