Elements of Prose
a.k.a.- The parts of a story
Prose

There are 2 types of writing:
 prose- anything that is NOT poetry or plays
 poetry

Prose is divided into 2 categories:
 short story
 novel
Short Story

Definition: Fictional story that can be read in
one sitting.
 Example: “A Rose for Emily,” “The Cask
of Amontillado,” or “The Most Dangerous
Game”
Novel

Definition: A long prose narrative that must
be read in many sittings.
 Example:
To Kill a Mockingbird, The Scarlet
Letter, or The Great Gatsby
Elements of Prose

Plot
 Character
 Setting
 Point of View
 Theme
 Irony
 Symbol
Plot

The “framework” or “skeleton” of the story;
 A series of related events that are linked
together
What Makes Up Plot?
Basic Situation
(Exposition)
1.
-
Tells the audience
who the characters
are and introduces
the conflict
-
Example: “Every
Who
Down in Who-ville
Liked Christmas
a lot...”
What Makes Up Plot?
2. Rising Action
- Complications
that arise when
the characters
take steps to
resolve their
conflicts
“But the Grinch,
Who lived just North of
Who-ville,
Did NOT!
The Grinch hated
Christmas! The whole
Christmas season!
Now, please don't ask
why. No one quite knows
the reason.
What Makes Up Plot?
3.
Climax: Most
exciting or
suspenseful moment
when something
happens to determine
the outcome of the
conflict.
Example: “And the Grinch, with his
grinch-feet ice-cold in the snow,
Stood puzzling and puzzling: "How
could it be so?
It came without ribbons! It came
without tags!
"It came without packages, boxes or
bags!"
And he puzzled three hours, `till his
puzzler was sore.
Then the Grinch thought of something
he hadn't before!
"Maybe Christmas," he thought,
"doesn't come from a store.
"Maybe Christmas...perhaps...means a
little bit more!"
What Makes Up Plot?
4.
Falling Action:
The conflict is in
the process of
being resolved or
“unraveled

Example:
And what happened then...?
Well...in Who-ville they say
That the Grinch's small hear
Grew three sizes that day!
What Makes Up Plot?

Resolution: (Denouement) or “Untying the
knot”
 When
the story’s problem/conflict is resolved and
the story ends
Example:
“He
whizzed
with
his load through the
 Endings
may
be happy
or tragic
bright morning light
And he brought back the toys! And the food for the
feast!
And he......HE HIMSELF...!
The Grinch carved the roast beast!”
Character: Revealing Human
Nature

Character- A person or
being in a story that
performs the action of
the plot.

Characterization: The
process of revealing the
personality of a
character in a story.
Types of Characters

Dynamic Character: The character changes
as a result of the action of the story.
 Example-

Ebenezer Scrooge, the Grinch
Static Character: The character does not
change much in the course of the story.
 Example-
Brutus (Julius Caesar);
 Mama Younger (A Raisin in the Sun)
Types of Characters

Protagonist: The main character of the story.
 Can

be good or evil
Antagonist: The character or force that comes
into conflict with the protagonist
 Can
be another person, an animal, a force of
nature, society, the character’s own conscience,
etc.
Setting

Defintion: The time and location in which
the story takes place
Theme

Definition: The insight about human life that
is revealed in a literary work. The “golden
thread” woven throughout the story.
-The theme is what the author is saying through the
story (it’s a deeper truth about reality)
- The plot how he says it : it is the story he uses to
get this point across
Point of View
 Definition:
The direction from which the
writer has chosen to tell the story
There are 3 Points of View
First Person: One of the characters tells the
story; talks directly to the reader
1.
-
2.
Uses the pronoun “I,” “me,” “we,” or “us”
Third Person Limited: The narrator will
focus on the thoughts & feelings of just one
character
- Reader experiences the events of the story through
the memory and senses of only one character
There are 3 Points of View
3.
Third-Person Omniscient- “All-knowing”
- An all-knowing narrator who refers to all
the characters as “he” and “she.” Knows the
thoughts and feelings of ALL of the
characters.
*The narrator is not necessarily the story’s
author*
Irony

Definition: An “unexpected twist” in a story