HSAP Review
Literary Elements and Craft
GENRES
Fiction
• Novels-long work of fiction
• Fairy tale- imagination/magic
• Myths- explains something
about the world;
supernatural/immortal characters
• Satires- humans attacked with
wit/irony
• Allegories- represent abstract
ideas in narrative form
• Monologues- Character speaks
thoughts aloud
Nonfiction
•
•
•
•
Essays
Memoirs
Autobiography/Biography
Speeches
GENRES (continued)
•
•
•
•
•
•
Poetry
Narrative poems
Lyrical poems
Free Verse
Odes
Ballads
Epics
Drama
• Performances/ plays
Point of View (POV)
First person
• Uses “I” or
“me” or “we’
Second Person
• Uses “you” or
“you all”
Example:
I went to the
store to get a
loaf of bread.
Example:
You went to the
store.
• Narrator is a
character
• Addresses the
reader
Third Person
•Uses “he/she/it”
or “they” or
“them”
Example:
They went to the
store.
•Narrator doesn’t
participate
FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE
Extended Metaphor
• Metaphor- implied
comparison w/o “like” or “as”
Ex: He was a lion in the fight
• Extended metaphormetaphor that is drawn out in
multiple sentences in a story
or lines in a poem
Ex: The seeds of hope were planted in
her mind. Every day, she watered
them with her wishes, hoping her
dreams would blossom into reality.
Oxymoron
• A phrase that combines 2
contradictory terms
Ex: “Awfully good”
FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE
Pun
• A play on words based on
word meanings and/or
pronunciations, often for
humorous effect
Ex: The rabbit groomed itself with a
hare brush.
Paradox
• A seemingly contradictory
statement that may actually
be true
Ex: All I know is that I know nothing.
-Socrates
FIGURATIVE LANGAUGE
Personification
Hyperbole
• When an object, animal, or
abstract idea is given
human qualities
• An exaggeration to create
an effect/ make a point
Ex: Time had been unkind to Drew.
Ex: I’ve read that book a thousand
times!
LITERARY ELEMENTS
• Character
– Protagonist- leading character of a work
– Antagonist- character which opposes the protagonist
• Characterization- methods by which the author develops the
character
– Appearance, actions, thoughts, dialogue, reactions of
others
• Plot- the series of events in a story
– Exposition, conflict, climax, resolution
• Rising Action and Falling Action
LITERARY ELEMENTS
• Conflict
– Internal (person v self)
– External
•
•
•
•
Person v Person
Person v Nature
Person v Machine
Person v Society
• Setting- part of the plot
– Time (when)
– Place (where)
• Theme- an idea, question, or message explored by the
author
– Deeper meaning/ insight into life
– Ex: the importance of being able to trust
AUTHOR’S CRAFT
Tone
• The author’s attitude
toward something
• Shown by word choice
• i.e. humorous, angry, proud,
optimistic, sarcastic,
contemptuous
Ex: If you want a mayor who will
conduct dirty deals and talk out
of both sides of his mouth, vote
for him.
Imagery
• The use of descriptive words
that appeal to the reader’s
senses (sight, smell, hearing,
touch, taste) and create a
picture in the reader’s mind
Ex: The foamy waves dampened the
yellow sand, transforming it into a
golden brown carpet speckled
with multicolored seashells.
AUTHOR’S CRAFT
Flashback
• An earlier event inserted into
the normal chronological
order of a narrative.
• Often introduced as a memory
or dream.
Ex: The smell of bacon awakened
something in Dylan’s mind as he
sat in the diner. Suddenly, he was
in the kitchen of his nana’s farm.
“More eggs?” his grandmother
asked him.
Foreshadowing
• When an author provides
clues or hints about future
events in the story
Ex: The Reeds looked around their
new home, a grand old place with
many rooms and secret closets.
Mrs. Reed through she heard an
eerie noise from the library, but
she decided to ignore it.
AUTHOR’S CRAFT
Symbolism
• The use of one thing to
represent something else.
Often, a concrete object is a
symbol for an abstract idea.
Ex: rain=sadness
winter= old age/death
American flag= freedom
Irony
• An intentional gap between
what is expected and what
actually happens
Ex: Alfred saved up his money for
months to buy an airplane ticket,
and then he won a free ticket the
day before departure.
AUTHOR’S CRAFT
Allusion
• An indirect reference to a well-known person, place, event,
or object in history or in another literary work.
Ex: Isabel stepped off the bus and stared in awe at the glittering city
before her. She realized she wasn’t in Kansas anymore.
(allusion to The Wizard of Oz)