Elements of Literature: 1. plot 2. setting 3. irony 4. point of view

Plot—the organized pattern of events in the story Events precede or follow another because EFFECTS follow CAUSES. Conflict is a major element of plot. Chronological? Asynchronous? In media res? Flashback? Foreshadowing?

Structure—describes how the writer arranges material in accord with the general ideas and purpose of the work

Formal categories of structure Exposition—laying out characters, backgrounds and setting. Complication—the onset of the major conflict or “inciting incident” Crisis—the point at which curiosity, uncertainty, tension are greatest—climax Falling action—events after the crisis that lead to a resolution Resolution or Denouement—the releasing or untying—the completing the story

Actual Structure Stories won’t always follow a formal plot structure. Flashback Double take—when the end of the story produces a new conflict More realistic, less artificial means of structuring a story than a flashback.

Time to turn and talk Discuss why an author would tell a story out of chronological order? What are the benefits and drawbacks?

The word “setting” might remind you of a play’s “set The word “setting” might remind you of a play’s “set.” Inexperienced readers think of setting as mere background. However, settings can prompt characters to act, bring them to realizations, or even reveal their innermost nature.

What can a setting do? Affect character action and motivation Reveal the nature of the characters Mirror the plot Act as a character Provide key symbolism Set atmosphere or mood Illustrate irony Establish verisimilitude= (realistic setting leads us to suspend disbelief) Snow White

Setting is more than location. Students often think about setting like real estate…it’s all about “location, location, location. Setting is more than location. “Locale” refers to the physical location of a story: a house, a street, a city, a landscape, a region. Honore de Balzac famously would research several actual houses on a single street and describe them down to the minutest detail, including their individual smells.

Setting may also critically involve the time of the story, the day, year, or century. James Joyce’s epic masterpiece Ulysses takes on a single day, June, 16 1904 in Dublin, Ireland. The novel includes numerous historical facts culled from the daily Dublin newspaper right down to the winner of the horseraces.

This includes the beliefs and assumptions of the characters. Truly, setting includes the entire society (itself a product of place and time). This includes the beliefs and assumptions of the characters. The harsh judgment cast on Hester Prynne in The Scarlett Letter is largely a product of the time period. It is nearly impossible to understand the novel without understanding the Puritan culture in the early seventeenth century.

In summation… Setting encompasses locale, time period, and the mores of the society within a work of literature. Setting is the natural, manufactured, political, cultural, and temporal environment, including everything the characters know and own (Roberts & Jacobs 275).

Ask Yourself… Is it a public or a private setting? Is it an urban, rural or natural setting? Are there two (or more) contrasting settings? What are the cultural and historical circumstances? Vienna, Austria

Turn and talk Discuss how setting can define the characters of a story.

Point of View Definition “…the speaker, narrator, persona, or voice created by authors to tell stories, present arguments, and express attitudes and judgments. Point of view involves not only the speaker’s physical position as an observer and recorder, but also the ways in which the speaker’s social, political, and mental circumstances affect the narrative” (Roberts & Jacobs 225).

Point of View Basics 1st Person 3rd Person Limited Omniscient “Revelation is key”

Turn and Discuss Turn to your partner and discuss how you know which point of view is being used. What clues do you use?

Participant Point of View First-person pronouns (I, me, my, we, us, our) are used to tell the story. Two subgroups - The narrator as a major character in the story (the story is told by and is chiefly about the narrator). - The narrator as a minor character (the narrator tells a story that focuses on someone else, but the narrator is still a character in the story).

Unusual Participant Point of View Innocent-eye narrator. The character telling the story may be a child or a developmentally disabled individual; the narrator is thus naïve. Stream of consciousness (interior monologue) is a narrative method in modern fiction in which the author tells the story through an unbroken flow of thought and awareness. Reflective is when there is narration from a different time in a character’s life (e.g., Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird or David in David Copperfield).

Nonparticipant point of view Omniscient narrator. The author can enter the minds of all the characters. Selective (limited) omniscient narrator. The author limits his omniscience to the minds of a few of the characters or to the mind of a single character. Objective narrator. The author does not enter a single mind, but instead records what can be seen and heard. This type of narrator is like a camera or fly on the wall.

1st Person Point of View “Disadvantages” of 1st Person The first person point of view allows the reader to be discerning; the reader must determine whether the narrator is trustworthy. The first-person narrator understands other characters only by observing what they say and do, this narrator cannot enter the minds of the other characters and is unable to grasp their inner thoughts. The first-person narrator outlines what a character observes and feels, and thus the narrator’s conclusions may be inaccurate. The reader may question the validity and accuracy of the narrator’s opinions. The first person point of view may contribute to dramatic irony; there is a discrepancy between what the narrator knows and what the reader understands. Advantages of 1st Person The first-person point of view offers immediacy. The reader sees what is perceived by the individual “I.” The first-person narrator can approach other fictional characters as closely as one human being can approach another. The first-person narrator can be an eyewitness, observing what other characters say and do. The first-person narrator can summarize events and retreat from a scene to meditate on its significance. Nice. Try.

The Know-it-alls Limited Omniscient Point of View The omniscient point of view allows great freedom in that the narrator knows all there is to know about the characters, externally and internally. The third-person narrator describes what characters are feeling and thinking, The third-person narrator describes what characters do, The narrator may shift focus from the close view to the larger perspective. The narrator may comment on events and characters, thus explaining their significance to the reader. The narrator may offer multiple perspectives on the same event. Limited Omniscient Point of View The author knows everything about a particular character. The story is portrayed through the eyes of one character, and there is a sense of distance from the other characters. The limited omniscient point of view approximates conditions of life in that only one character’s thoughts are known. The story is more unified through the use of this point of view.

Objective Point of View The objective point of view allows inferences to be made by readers through their observance of dialogue and external action. Readers are not directly influenced by the author’s statements. Readers’ perceptions are influenced more subtly by the author’s selection of diction and details. Hamlet Reading objective point of view may feel watching like a play with its focus on external action and dialogue.

Key Questions to Ask Who is telling the story? How much is this person allowed to know? How is this character’s mind and personality affecting my interpretation of the story? Has the author chosen this POV for maximum revelation or for another reason? Has the author used the selected POV fairly and consistently? What is the effect of any shifts in POV?

In partners—one piece of paper for both of you: 1 In partners—one piece of paper for both of you: 1. Identify (in detail) the gothic elements of the story. 2. Describe the narrator and POV. 3. What is the order of events as they’re presented by the narrator? WHY? 4. Why the title? 5. Give a statement of theme. Contrast the views of madness to the “Tell-Tale Heart.” “A Rose for Emily” Gothic: “a genre characterized by a general mood of decay, action that is dramatic, generally violent or otherwise disturbing, loves that are destructively passionate, and settings that are grandiose, if gloomy and bleak” (Murfin and Ray 191).

A Superficial View (limerick) Miss Emily, snobbish and cranky, Used to horse around town with a Yankee. When she’d wake up in bed, With the dust of the dead, She would sneeze in her delicate hanky. --Anonymous

Irony & Satire Irony Purposes of Irony (Effects) Definition: A contradiction or incongruity between appearance or expectation and reality. Purposes of Irony (Effects) To convey a truth about human experience Allows the author to achieve compression. (Suggest complex meanings without stating them.) Achieves its effects through misdirection.

Methods of Irony Verbal Irony = a figure of speech in which the speaker says the opposite of what he or she intends to say. (Simplest form) Dramatic Irony = the contrast is between what a character says or thinks and what the reader knows to be true. (Conveys truth about the character or character’s expectations.) Situational = the discrepancy is between appearance and reality, or between expectation and fulfillment, or between what is and what would seem appropriate.

Where have you seen Irony? Turn and have a three minute talk with your neighbor—summarize one text in which you recognized the use of irony. Be sure to describe the type.

Adding it all up 2 (Literary Element) 2 (Literary Element) +1 . (Literary Element) 5 (Theme)

Adding it all up 2 (Point of View) 2 (Symbol) +1 . (Tone) . 5 (Theme) In the short story “A Rose for Miss Emily” William Faulkner uses a collective point of view, symbolism, and a reverent tone to portray his theme, the decay of outdated traditions.