Literary Elements
copyright www.brainybetty.com 2006 All Rights Reserved setting the time and place of a story or play 5/14/2018 copyright www.brainybetty.com 2006 All Rights Reserved
copyright www.brainybetty.com 2006 All Rights Reserved mood A story’s atmosphere or the feeling it creates. Mood is often created by a story’s setting. 5/14/2018 copyright www.brainybetty.com 2006 All Rights Reserved
copyright www.brainybetty.com 2006 All Rights Reserved suspense Uncertainty or anxiety the reader feels about what is going to happen next in a story. 5/14/2018 copyright www.brainybetty.com 2006 All Rights Reserved
copyright www.brainybetty.com 2006 All Rights Reserved protagonist Main character in fiction or drama The character we focus our attention on. Usually sets the action in motion 5/14/2018 copyright www.brainybetty.com 2006 All Rights Reserved
copyright www.brainybetty.com 2006 All Rights Reserved antagonist Character or force that blocks the protagonist from achieving his/her goal 5/14/2018 copyright www.brainybetty.com 2006 All Rights Reserved
copyright www.brainybetty.com 2006 All Rights Reserved conflict A struggle between two opposing forces Internal *person vs. self External *person vs. person *person vs. nature *person vs. society *person vs. fate 5/14/2018 copyright www.brainybetty.com 2006 All Rights Reserved
copyright www.brainybetty.com 2006 All Rights Reserved plot A series of related events that make up a story The plot of a story is framed by time. Most stories are told in CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER – the order in which events unfold in real time. 5/14/2018 copyright www.brainybetty.com 2006 All Rights Reserved
copyright www.brainybetty.com 2006 All Rights Reserved exposition The background information needed to understand the story properly. The characters, setting, and basic conflict are introduced. 5/14/2018 copyright www.brainybetty.com 2006 All Rights Reserved
copyright www.brainybetty.com 2006 All Rights Reserved rising action The basic conflict is complicated by the introduction of related secondary conflicts, including various obstacles that frustrate the protagonist’s attempt to reach his/her goal. 5/14/2018 copyright www.brainybetty.com 2006 All Rights Reserved
climax (turning point) The moment of great emotional intensity or suspense in a plot the turning point, the moment that the outcome of the conflict is determined. 5/14/2018 copyright www.brainybetty.com 2006 All Rights Reserved
copyright www.brainybetty.com 2006 All Rights Reserved falling action Conflict between the protagonist and the antagonist unravels, with the protagonist winning or losing against the antagonist. Might contain a moment of final suspense, during which the final outcome of the conflict is in doubt. 5/14/2018 copyright www.brainybetty.com 2006 All Rights Reserved
Resolution ( or denoument) We learn the final outcome of the story (conclusion). Resolutions can be either positive or negative for the protagonist. 5/14/2018 copyright www.brainybetty.com 2006 All Rights Reserved
copyright www.brainybetty.com 2006 All Rights Reserved PLOTLINE CLIMAX RISING ACTION FALLING ACTION EXPOSITION RESOLUTION 5/14/2018 copyright www.brainybetty.com 2006 All Rights Reserved
copyright www.brainybetty.com 2006 All Rights Reserved flash-forward A scene that jumps ahead of the story to narrate an event that happens in the future 5/14/2018 copyright www.brainybetty.com 2006 All Rights Reserved
copyright www.brainybetty.com 2006 All Rights Reserved foreshadowing Hints in the story that certain events are going to happen later 5/14/2018 copyright www.brainybetty.com 2006 All Rights Reserved
copyright www.brainybetty.com 2006 All Rights Reserved flashback A scene that interrupts the story to introduce an event that took place in the past 5/14/2018 copyright www.brainybetty.com 2006 All Rights Reserved
copyright www.brainybetty.com 2006 All Rights Reserved irony Contrast: between expectation and reality, between what is said and what is really meant, Between what is expected to happen and what really happens, OR Between what appears to be true and what really is true 5/14/2018 copyright www.brainybetty.com 2006 All Rights Reserved
copyright www.brainybetty.com 2006 All Rights Reserved Verbal irony A writer or speaker says one thing but really means something completely different. 5/14/2018 copyright www.brainybetty.com 2006 All Rights Reserved
copyright www.brainybetty.com 2006 All Rights Reserved Situational irony Occurs when there is a contrast between what would seem appropriate and what really happens OR Between what we expect to happen and what really takes place 5/14/2018 copyright www.brainybetty.com 2006 All Rights Reserved
copyright www.brainybetty.com 2006 All Rights Reserved Dramatic irony Occurs when the audience knows something important that a character in a play or story does not know. 5/14/2018 copyright www.brainybetty.com 2006 All Rights Reserved
copyright www.brainybetty.com 2006 All Rights Reserved tone Attitude a writer takes toward a subject, a character, or the audience 5/14/2018 copyright www.brainybetty.com 2006 All Rights Reserved
copyright www.brainybetty.com 2006 All Rights Reserved Point of view Vantage point from which a writer tells a story In broad terms, there are 3 possible POV’s 5/14/2018 copyright www.brainybetty.com 2006 All Rights Reserved
copyright www.brainybetty.com 2006 All Rights Reserved First-person pov One of the characters is telling the story, using the pronoun “I” 5/14/2018 copyright www.brainybetty.com 2006 All Rights Reserved
copyright www.brainybetty.com 2006 All Rights Reserved Omniscient pov The person telling the story knows everything there is to know about the characters and their problems. Omniscient = “all knowing” 5/14/2018 copyright www.brainybetty.com 2006 All Rights Reserved
Third-person limited pov The narrator, who plays no part in the story, zooms in on the thoughts and feelings of ONE character. 5/14/2018 copyright www.brainybetty.com 2006 All Rights Reserved
copyright www.brainybetty.com 2006 All Rights Reserved connotation all the meanings, associations, or emotions that have come to be attached to some words, in addition to their denotations. 5/14/2018 copyright www.brainybetty.com 2006 All Rights Reserved
copyright www.brainybetty.com 2006 All Rights Reserved denotation the literal definition of a word; the dictionary definition. 5/14/2018 copyright www.brainybetty.com 2006 All Rights Reserved