Literary Elements

Language Arts8th Grade

Elements of a Story

Plot: a sequence of related events.

Exposition:

Introduces characters, setting, and background.

Rising Action:

Tension and suspense mount as the protagonist encounters complications while attempting to solve the conflict.

Climax

The highest point of action; turning point in the story.

Falling Action

Tension relaxes as story winds down.

Resolution

Ties up loose ends; explains lingering questions.

Setting

Time, place, and atmosphere story takes place.

Characterization

How an author creates a character.

• Direct Characterization: The author tells the audience what the character’s traits and features are.

• Indirect Characterization: The author shows the character in action and allows the audience to conclude what the character’s traits are based upon his/her actions and dialogue.

Conflict

Struggle between opposing forces in a story.

• Internal Conflict: a conflict within the character’s mind.

• External Conflict: a conflict between two or more characters.

Theme

The main idea of a literary work.

Dialogue

Characters’ spoken words; helps move a story along; adds tension and drama.

Tone

The author’s attitude towards his/her subject.

• The poem has a bitter tone, revealing the speaker’s anger and resentment.

Mood

The general sense or feeling the reader is supposed to get from the text.

• The mood of Macbeth is dark, murky and mysterious, creating a sense of fear and uncertainty.

Point of View

P.O.V. is the perspective, or vantage point, from which a story is told. It is either a narrator outside of the story or a character in the story. P.O.V. is usually identified as the “person” or narrator who is telling the story. There are several types of point of view.

P.O.V. Cont’d… FIRST PERSON point of view is told by a

character who is in the story and uses the first person pronouns, I, me, my, we. A first person narrator can tell the reader everything he/she is feeling, seeing, and doing in the story.

SECOND PERSON point of view is told by a narrator who uses the pronoun you. This point of view is not very common.

P.O.V. Cont’d… THIRD PERSON point of view is told by a

narrator using the third person pronouns, he, she, they. The narrator relates the inner thoughts and feelings of only one character and everything is viewed from that character’s perspective. A third person point of view is a narrator in the story.

THIRD PERSON OMNISCIENT point of view is also told by a narrator using the pronouns he, she, they. However, the narrator is outside of the story and knows and tells what each character thinks and feels. The word omniscient means all knowing.

Analysis of Point of View…

is understanding how the perspective from which the story is told effects the plot, setting, mood, character, and theme of a story.

“On glancing over my notes of the seventy odd cases in which I have during the last eight years studied the methods of my friend Sherlock Holmes…”

“Like some days you might say something stupid and that’s the part of you that’s still ten. Or maybe some days you might need to sit on your mama’s lap because you’re scared, and that’s the part of you that’s five.”

“My plan was clear, concise, and reasonable, I think. For many years I have traveled in many parts of the world.”

Analysis of Point of View (cont’d)

“Hana Omiya stood at the railing of the small ship that shuddered toward America in a turbulent November sea. She shivered as she pulled the folds of her silk kimono close to her throat and tightened the wool shawl about her shoulders.”

“ ’Look up,’ he said to his father. ‘What?’ his father said, looking up. ‘Look down,’ Laurie said. ‘Look at my thumb. Gee, you’re dumb.’ He began to laugh insanely.