What is the difference between poems, short stories, and novels?

Poems/short stories/ novels Short stories resemble poems—both tend to rely on compression rather than expansion Short fiction –’the art of the glimpse’ Short stories tell much less than novels do: they demand that you understand and evaluate characters on the basis of just a few details and events

What are the elements of short fiction? Plot and structure Point of view Characterization Setting Imagery Language Theme

Plot and structure Plot – What will happen next? Williams’s story – Is the girl concealing an infected throat? Structure: ABCDE formula Action Background Development –takes the reader a step closer to the main event Climax- peak moment of drama Ending –may relate to the beginning

Point of view A story may be told from a particular character’s perspective or point of view First person – pronoun I The narrator may be psychologically complex How objective does the narrator seem in depicting other people and events? How reasonable do the narrator’s judgments seem?

Point of view Omniscient narrator – ‘all-knowing’ A seemingly all-knowing, objective voice Describe Welty’s, Kafka’s, Achebe’s,Mhafouz’s,Chekhov’s, and Williams’s narrative voice Free indirect style – a narrator otherwise omniscient conveys a particular character’s viewpoint

Characters You may want to judge characters according to how easily you can identify with them Reading a short story involves relating its characters to one another Protagonist – when a particular character seems to be the story’s focus Antagonist – in conflict with the protagonist

Setting and imagery The characters are located in a particular place or setting Short stories vary in the precision with which they identify their settings Short stories use imagery to convey meaning –they appear in the form of metaphors or other figures of speech

Language Title --usually you have to read a story all the way through before you can sense fully how its title applies Predominant style – not all stories have a uniform style. Some feature various tones, dialects, vocabularies, and levels of formality Dialogue – by reporting various things, characters may provide you with necessary background for the plot

Theme Theme --The main claim a work of art seems to make An assertion, proposition, or statement rather than a single word An observation or a recommendation What are the themes of Welty’s Williams’s, and Chekhov’s stories?