Elements of Literature
Nonfiction
• Writing that expresses,
reflects on, or interprets
personal experiences
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Biographies
Autobiographies
Personal essays
Narrative reporting
Critical writings
Biographies
• A writer’s account of
another person’s life. The
biographer uses primary
and secondary sources to
present the facts
accurately.
Autobiographies
• A writer’s account of his or
her own life.
• Personal narrative – short
autobiographical work that
focuses on a specific
experience in the writer’s life.
• Diaries, journals, and letters are
forms of autobiographical
writing.
Essays
• Short pieces of writing on a
single subject.
– Formal – tightly structured
and written in an impersonal
style.
– Informal – looser structure
and written in a more
personal style.
Essays
• Expository – presents or
explains information and
ideas
• Persuasive – presents
arguments and attempts to
convince readers to adopt
a particular point of view.
• Personal – expresses writers’
thought and feelings
Informative Articles
• Provides facts about a
specific subject.
– News stories – objective or
unbiased accounts of
current events.
– Feature articles – human
interest stories that focus on
interesting people or events.
Interviews
• A conversation in which
one person asks questions
of another to obtain
information. The details
are then published or
broadcast.
True Life Adventures
• Includes tales of heroism,
survival, and real life
adventure stories.
Memoir
• A person recalls significant
events in his or her life.
– May deal with significant
newsworthy events.
– May include the writers’
feelings and opinions about
historical events.
Fiction
• Narrative writing which
portrays imaginary
characters and/or events.
It may have some basis in
real-life events.
Setting
• The time and location in
which a story takes place.
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Place
Time
Weather conditions
Mood or atmosphere
Plot
• The sequence of events in
a story or play.
– Exposition – who, what, when,
where, and why?
– Rising action – events start to
happen.
– Climax – the turning point of the
story.
– Falling action – dealing with the
result of the climax.
– Resolution – wrapping up of things,
although not always neatly.
Plot Diagram
Climax
Exposition
Denouement
Conflict
• The opposition of forces
which ties one incident to
another and makes the
plot move.
– Internal conflict
– External conflict
Conflict
• Man vs. Man (physical)
– People who have issues with
other people
– Not always an actual fight
• Man vs. Circumstances
– Characters deal with “stuff”
outside of their control.
– Injuries/illness/death/loss of
job…
Conflict
• Man vs. Society
– Where someone’s values are
in conflict with those of
society.
• Man vs. Self
– Characters deal with their
own personal issues
• Man vs. Nature
– Weather, animals, or natural
events
Character
• May refer to either a
person in a work of fiction
or the characteristics of
that person.
– Protagonist – the main
character in the story.
– Antagonist – the character
or force that opposes the
protagonist.
Character
• Authors reveal information
and provide insight into
individual characters in
several ways:
– His/her physical appearance
– What he/she says, thinks, feels, and
dreams
– What he/she does or does not do
– What others say about him/her
– How others react to him/her
Character
• Dynamic – a character
changes, for better or
worse, by the end of the
story.
• Static – a stereotype, or a
character who has one or
two characteristics that
never change and are
emphasized.
Character
• Stock – a character who is
stereotypical (i.e. the “dumb
blonde” or “evil step-mother”);
they are types instead of
individual characters
• Round – a character who is
more complex and displays
characteristics of real people;
they are more fully developed
than all other characters
Character Development
• Character development
refers to how the character
changes over time or
throughout the story/novel.
Point of View
• The angle from which the
story is told.
Point of View
• First person POV – told by the
protagonist or one of the
characters who interacts
closely with the protagonist
or other characters (using I,
me, we, etc.)
• The reader sees the story
through this person’s eyes as
he/she experiences it and
only knows what he/she
knows or feels.
Point of View
• Third Person Omniscient
POV – Omniscient means
“all knowing”
• The narrator knows
everything, including the
actions, motives, and
thoughts of all the
characters
Point of View
• Third Person Limited POV –
the narrator does not know
what is in all characters’
minds, but may have
access to the thoughts of
one or more characters.
Point of View
• Third Person Objective POV
– It appears as though a
camera is following the
characters, going
anywhere, and recording
only what is seen and
heard with no comment
on the characters, their
thoughts, or their feelings.
Theme
• The underlying main idea
of a literary work.
• Theme differs from the
subject of a literary work in
that it involves a statement
or opinion about the
subject.
Allusion
• A reference to something
well-known that exists
outside the literary work
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Once in a Blue Moon
Crocodile Tears
Achilles’ heel
Pearls before Swine
Flashback
• the method of returning to
an earlier point in time for
the purpose of making the
present clearer
Foreshadowing
• hint of what is to come in a
literary work
Irony
• Dramatic Irony - when the
reader or audience knows
something a character
does not
• Situational Irony - when
there is a disparity
between what is expected
and what actually occurs
• Verbal Irony - when the
speaker says one thing but
means the opposite
Mood
• The prevailing atmosphere
or emotional feeling of a
work.
• Setting, tone, and events
can affect the mood.
Mood is similar to tone and
atmosphere.
Tone
• The author’s attitude
toward the subject of a
work.