Literary Elements
in Children’s Literature
Britany Howell
University of West Alabama
LM 506
What are Literary Elements?
 Literary
elements are all of the
elements that are used together to
make a story.
 The final objective is to see the story
as a whole and to become aware of
how the parts are put together to
produce a unified effect.
The Eight Literary Elements
 There
are eight literary elements found in
books for children and young adults. They
are:
~ Character
~ Plot
~ Theme
~ Setting
~ Point of View
~ Style
~ Literary Rhythm
~ Tone
Character




The character of a book
is a person in the book.
Sometimes the character
is an animal or object that
acts like a person.
Each of the living beings
in a story is a character.
Character development
involves showing the
character – whether a
person or animal or
object – with the mixture
of qualities that makes up
a person.

The revelation of character is
our ability to know the
character completely.
 We come to know a character
through the following ways:
 By actions – what the
character does
 By speech – what the
character says
 By appearance – how the
character looks
 By other’s comments –
what others in the story say
 By author’s comments –
the words the author uses
to describe the character
Types of Characters
Protagonist –
central or
main character
Round Character –
a character we know
well who has a variety
of traits and is well
developed.
Dynamic Character a well developed
character who
changes.
Flat Character –
less well developed
and has fewer traits.
Foil –
minor character
whose traits
are different to
those of the
principal
character
Stereotype –
has few traits
of a class or
group of people
Static Character –
does not change in
the course of the
story.
Examples of Character
ROUND CHARACTER
STEREOTYPE
Wilbur the pig
Lurvy
PROTAGONIST
FOIL
Wilbur the pig
The snobbish lamb
STATIC CHARACTER
DYNAMIC CHARACTER
FLAT CHARACTER
Charlotte the spider
Fern
Wilbur the pig
Plot

The plot of a story is
the sequence of
events showing
characters in action.
 Well written plots
should include a
conflict, tension, and
action that holds the
reader’s interest.

Types of Narrative
Order:



Chronological Order
Flashbacks
Types of Conflict:




Person-against-self
Person-against-person
Person-against-society
Person-against-nature
Plot

Patterns of Action:






Suspense – the
emotional pull that keeps
us wanting to read on
The Cliff-hanger – the
suspense at the end of a
chapter that makes it hard
to lay the book aside
Foreshadowing – clues
about the outcome
Sensationalism –
unrelieved suspense
The Climax – the point at
which we know the
outcome
Denouement – the point
at which we understand
the resolution of the
conflict

Types of Plots:


Progressive Plots – a
central climax followed
by a denouement
Episodic Plots - One
incident or short episode
is linked to another by
common characters or a
unified theme. Each
chapter is a separate
story but part of a whole.
The suspense is usually
resolved within the
chapter.
Strong Elements of Plot
Suspense
The Cliff-hanger
Sensationalism
The Climax
Foreshadowing
Denouement
Theme

The theme of a piece
of writing is the
unifying truth, main
idea, or central
meaning.

Theme is also the
idea that holds the
story together, such
as a comment about
society, human
nature, or human
condition.
Types of Themes
Explicit
ThemeA theme
stated
openly and
clearly.
Primary
ThemeThe main theme
of the story.
Implicit
ThemeA theme not stated
openly but derived
from the characters
and action of
the story.
Secondary
Theme-
Additional and
usually less
important themes.
Examples of Theme
Explicit Theme
Implicit Theme
Primary Theme
Secondary Theme
Setting


The time and place in
which the story occurs.
The possibilities of setting
are endless.

Types of Settings:


Backdrop Setting Relatively unimportant.
This does not mean that
the setting is
unimportant. Even
though the setting may
be unidentified it may
still have some
importance.
Integral Setting Essential setting. It is
when the action,
character, or theme are
influenced by the time
and place.
Functions of Setting





Setting that clarifies conflict – The setting actually aids
in the development of the story’s conflict.
Setting as antagonist – When the natural environment
is hostile the setting itself becomes antagonistic.
Setting that illuminates character – Some vividly
described settings actually influence the qualities of
characters in some stories.
Setting as mood – Descriptions of settings can be used
to set the mood of a scene.
Setting as symbol – Sometimes setting can be
symbolic of something: darkenss as evil, sunlight as
goodness, a garden as beauty, etc.
Function of Setting Examples
Setting That
Clarifies Conflict
Setting and
Mood
Setting As
Antagonist
Setting That
Illuminates
Character
Setting As
Symbol
Point of View

Point of View is
whose view of the
story the writer tells.
 Whose view of the
story the writer tells
determines the point
of view.
 Who sees the events
determines how the
story will develop.

Types of Point of View:
 First-person point of
view
 Omniscient point of
view
 Limited omniscient
point of view
 Objective point of
view
Point of View Examples
First-person
Point of View
Omniscient
Point of View
Limited Omniscient
Point of View
Objective
Point of View
Style



Style is basically words.
HOW an author says
something as opposed
to WHAT he or she
says.
Style is not applied to
the finished piece of
writing. It is the writing,
conveying both the idea
and the writer’s view of
the idea.

Devices of Sound:





Onomatopoeia – Words
that sound like their
meanings
Alliteration – Repetition of
initial consonants
Assonance – Repetition of
similar vowel sounds within
a phrase
Consonance – The close
repetition of consonant
sounds
Rhythm – The flow of the
text
Devices of Style



Connotation
Imagery
Figurative language





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Personification
Similes
Metaphors
Hyperbole
Understatement
Allusion
Symbol
Puns and Wordplay
Devices of Style Examples
Connotation:
Charlotte is
not as big as
a thimble, or
as small as a
fingernail, or
as round as a
button
Hyperbole:
Mrs.
Zuckerman is
scared to
death; Wilbur
threatens to
die of a
broken heart
Figurative
Language:
Wilbur given
human traits
even though
he is an
animal
Imagery:
The
Zuckerman
barn
Understatement:
The frog in
Avery’s pocket
that has
traveled back
and forth on
the swing all
morning
Puns &
Wordplay:
lies
and
lays
Literary Rhythm

From the Greek word
meaning flow
 A recurring flow of
strong or weak beats
 Effective when read
aloud
 Rhythm is sometimes
referred to as
cadence when read in
prose.

Cadence is rhythmic
flow in prose.
 Prose is different from
poetry because it
resembles patterns of
everyday speech.
Example of Literary Rhythm
…an astonishing pile of old bottles and empty tin cans and
dirty rags and bits of metal and broken bottles and
broken hinges and broken springs and dead batteries
and last month’s magazines and old discarded
dishmops and tattered overalls… and useless junk of all
kinds, including a wrong-size crank for a broken icecream freezer.
From Charlotte’s Web
by E.B. White
description of the Zuckerman dump
Tone

Tone tells us how the
author feels about his
or her subject.
 Humor is the easiest
tone to recognize.
 Tone cannot be
isolated from the
words of a story.
 Tone influences
meaning.

Important tones in
Children’s Literature:


Humor – usually comes
from a situation or
happenings that make
children laugh
Parody – usually a
device for older readers
since it relies on the
reader’s memory of a
known piece of writing
or of a way of talking
Types of Tone
Condescension
 When someone looks down upon us, treating us
as though we are unintelligent or immature
Sentimentality
 The overuse of a statement
Didacticism
 Preaching
 Points to a moral lesson
Tone Examples
Sentimentality
Condescension
Didacticism