Elements of Literature

Essential Question: Why is story telling

important?

Plot
Definition= sequence of events or incidents that
make up a story
A. Exposition- designed to arouse
readers interest; background is
provided


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlLczNXKV
Kg

What do you know about the movie just from
watching the opening credits?
B. Conflict- struggle between opposing forces (the
problem in the story)
i. Person vs. Person- external struggle between two or
more individuals
ii. Person vs. themselves- internal struggle concerning
emotion and decision
iii. Person vs. nature- external struggle between person
and an element of nature or the environment

C. Rising Action- complication or development
of the conflict


D. Climax- turning point of the story; point of
most intense interest


E. Falling action- events that lead to the
resolution
F. Resolution- outcome of conflict

Plot Map
Plot
In your table group, pick a movie you have seen
and determine what events fit into each part
of the plot map.

On a piece of scratch paper, draw a picture of
the plot map and label it with the events from
the movie you have chosen.
Character
Definition= the people, animals, etc. who play a
role in the story

A. Characterization- techniques
the writer uses to develop a
character
i. Physical Description
ii. Speech and actions of
the character
iii. Direct comment from
the narrator
iv. Speech and actions of
other characters



B. Ways to describe characters
i. Round- complex or presented in detail
ii. Flat- characterized by one or two traits
iii. Dynamic- developing and learning in the course of
the story
iv. Static- unchanged from the storys beginning to end

Characters
Pick two of the characters from the movie you
discussed. Are they round or flat? Dynamic or
static? How do you know?
C. Analyzing Character
i. Motivation- cause of/reason for actions
ii. Behavior- actions of the character
iii. Consequences- results of actions
iv. Responsibility- moral, legal, or mental
accountability
v. Expectations- what the reader expects to
happen (might not actually be what happens)

Theme
Definition= A thought or idea the author
presents to the reader. It must be extracted
from different parts of the work. Authors use
characters, plot, and other literary devices to
convey theme.


Theme
Subject vs. Theme
Subject- the topic or one of the topics of the story
examples: tradition, family, love
Theme- what the author is saying about a topic. It is
the generalization about life either stated or
implied by the story.
example: The people you love can become your
family, even if you are not related.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjxHdNxvySU


Mood
Definition- the feeling or emotion that
pervades in the story

Created by:
A. Setting- the time and place in which the story is
taking place, including factions such as weather,
social customs, etc.
B. Atmosphere-the way that the characters react to
the setting and events in the story

Mood
These images are both of the same castle (from
Beauty and the Beast). What is the mood of
each and how is the mood created?
Point of View
Definition- the way the story is told
Whose eyes do we see the story from?

Point of View
A. Omniscient- the author tells the story using the
third person (not a character in the story). Author
knows all of what is done, said, felt, and thought
by the characters.
Whose eyes? The authors all knowing eyes

B. Limited Omniscient- author tells the story from the
third person, but limits observations of thoughts
and feelings to one character; the author presents
the story from this characters eyes
Whose eyes? The authors eyes, but s/he only knows
about one characters thoughts


Point of View
C. First Person- one character tells the story in the
first person. The reader sees and knows only
as much as the narrator
Whose eyes? A character in the storys eyes

D. Objective- the author is like a movie camera
that moves around freely recording objects or
characters. The author offers no comments on
the characters or their actions. Readers are not
told the thoughts or feelings of the characters.
Whose eyes? A movie camera