1. Melanie Goings Woodruff Middle School
Literary Devices
Melanie Goings
Woodruff Middle School

2. Elements of Literature
Plot
Conflict
Setting
Character
Point of View
Theme

3. What is Plot? Plot is the sequence of events within a literary work.
The plot of a literary work can be divided into five distinct sections that can even be graphed on a diagram.

4. A Closer Look at Plot: What are the Five Divisions of Plot?
Exposition
Rising Action
Climax
Falling Action
Resolution

5. What Drive the Plot Within a Literary Work?
Conflict
The struggle between opposing forces
Man vs. Man
Man vs. Himself
Man vs. Society
Man vs. Nature

6. What Type of Conflict Does this Picture Represent?

7. Answer… Man vs. Society…
This picture depicts racial discrimination. It was law that African Americans use separate facilities because of their race. Therefore, this is an example of man vs. a rule of society.

8. What type of Conflict does this picture represent?

9. Answer…
Man vs. Man
This 1942 picture illustrates two men in a boxing match

10. What is Setting? Setting is the time and place of the action
Setting include all details of a place and time—the year, the time of day, even the weather.
Details such as dialect, clothing, customs, and modes of transportation are often used to establish setting within a literary work.

11. Describe the Setting Here within the next picture…

13. What is the setting here?

14. What is Character?
Character is a person or an animal that takes part in the action of a literary work
Characters can be classified into several groups:
Major or Minor
Flat or Round
Dynamic or Static

15. Major Characters vs. Minor Character
Most important character in the entire literary work
Minor Characters
Characters will a lesser role but whose role is necessary for the story to develop

16. Flat Characters vs. Round Characters
Characters who are often one-sided and often stereotypical
Round Characters
Characters that are fully developed and exhibit many traits

17. Dynamic Characters vs. Static Characters
A character that grows and changes as the literary work develops
Static Characters
A character who does not change throughout the literary work

18. What is Point of View?
The perspective or vantage point from which a story is told.
1st person POV
3rd person limited
3rd person omniscient

19. What is Theme?
The central message, concern, or purpose of a literary work.
The theme can be expressed as a generalization, or general statement, about people or life.
The theme is often revealed indirectly and the reader may have to look carefully at what the work reveals about people or about life.

20. What are some themes to literary works you have already read?