Literary Elements

Literary Concepts Make yourself very familiar with these literary terms. They will be used throughout every literature course faciliated by Mrs. Paswaters. You will also see and hear them throughout your college English classes. You won't be able to escape them for the next several years!

Protagonist: This is the central, or main, character. It is the person (animal, robot, whatever) that the story focuses on. What the protagonist wants or needs drives the story.

Antagonist: This is the person or thing that stands in the way of what the protagonist wants or needs.

Exposition: This is the first part of a story. In the exposition the author gives the reader all that is needed to understand what is going on. In the exposition we learn about the setting (where and when the story takes place), the characters (who is who, and what they want or need), and the conflict is (what stands in the way of what the central character wants or needs).

Inciting Incident: This is the precise moment when the reader understands exactly what the conflict (the problem) is. The protagonist (the central character) wants or needs something, and someone or something (the antagonist) stands in the way.

Rising Action: This is the longest part of the story where the protagonist (the central character) tries to resolve the conflict (to get what he/she wants or needs). The tension of the story is stretched out to keep the reader guessing. Will the hero save the girl? Will the asteroid destroy the planet? Will she marry Prince Charming and live happily ever after?

Climax: The climax is the moment in a story when it is clear how the conflict will turn out. At this moment the reader understands whether or not the protagonist (the central character) will get what is needed or wanted.

Falling Action: This is the part of a story when the dust settles. Usually the climax occurs during a scene when there is a lot going on. After the moment when we know if the protagonist (the central character) wins or loses over the antagonist (whatever or whoever stands in the way) there is still going to be a little action. This time of the "dust settling" in the scene of that contains the climax is called the falling action.

Resolution/denouement: The reader wants to know how it all eventually turns out. Do they get married and have children? Does the bad guy go to jail? Is there going to be another asteroid? Tying up the loose ends of a story is called the resolution. In a mystery story it is the part when the detective tells how he figured it all out, and untangles the knot for us. In fact, "denouement" is French for "the untying." If there is going to be a sequel, we will get hints about it here.

Types of Conflict

Conflict: The tension of a story comes from the reader not knowing if the protagonist (the central character) is going to get what he/she wants or needs. What type of obstacle which stands in the way gives us the type of conflict. Note that conflicts are usually described as "Man versus ______." This is the universal "Man," not the individual "man." It is a little sexist, but refers to the central character whether or not he or she is male.

Man vs. Man: If the conflict is one person against another, then the story is being driven by a Man versus Man conflict.

Man vs. Self: If the central character needs to understand something about him/herself, grows up, or matures, then the story is being driven by a Man versus Self conflict.

Man vs. Nature: If the central character is fighting with nature, then the story is probably Man versus Nature. If it is a storm, the dark woods, an earthquake, a wolf, volcano, or meteor, then the protagonist is battling nature.

Man vs. Supernatural: If the protagonist is battling with God, gods, magical beings, or ghosts, then the conflict is Man versus Supernatural.

Man vs. Machine: If we find the protagonist is struggling with a machine(s), such as trying to get a car to run, or is riding a bicycle that seems to always be falling apart, then the conflict is Man vs. Machine.

Man vs. Society: If the protagonist is fighting a culture or society, then we call the conflict Man versus Society. An example of this conflict might be a person trying to escape the Nazi Holocaust.

Literary Tools to Develop the Story

Setting: Setting is the time and place. The author needs to let the reader understand when and where the story takes place. Is it on a strange planet in the far future? In a magical land long ago? Is it summer time in Alabama or on the sea during the early 1800's? The development of setting takes place during the exposition (the first part of the plot).

Mood: An author will often provide a feeling or state of mind to a story, we call this mood. Moods vary. The mood of a story can be cheerful, or dark and foreboding.

Characterization: Whenever an author does anything to help the reader understand a character, that is called "characterization." If we are told that a character is tall, that is characterization. If the author says she is beautiful, or old, or thin, or smart, that is characterization. When an author helps us to understand how a character feels, thinks, walks, talks, or even smiles, that is characterization. Characterization is the creating of a character.

Rounded character: If the character is complex, or seems like a person we may know, then it is a rounded character. The main characters of a story tend to be rounded characters so that we care what happens to them.

Flat character: If a character just seems to be a part of the background, just a supporting character, and we don't get to know them, then that character is called "flat."

Dynamic character: If a character changes during the story, then we call that a "dynamic" character. This is the usual character in a Man versus Self conflict. The protagonist grows up, or comes to understand things in a new way. Change means dynamic.

Static character: If a character does not change during a story, it is a static character. "Static" means unmoving. For example, Captain Ahab is a static character in Moby Dick because he does not learn that it is futile to fight against the great white whale.

Foil: A foil is a character that is very different from another character. The author puts the two together so the reader comes to understands the characters better. Example: The only thing Captain Ahab wants is to get Moby Dick. His first mate, Starbuck, just wants to make a living hunting whales. When we have the two characters together, the comparison makes Ahab look even crazier. Starbuck is a foil to Ahab because he is a rational sailor who hunts whales just so he can support his family. Ahab is clearly crazy because he hunts the whale just for revenge.

Foreshadow: If the author wishes to provide a sense of foreboding, or wants the reader to keep a particular idea in mind, then foreshadowing might be used. This is when there is a hint of things to come. It might be an outright prediction, or something subtle in the background. It is there to help the reader watch for the right things that lie ahead.

Flashback: If the author wishes to remind or show us something that happened in the past, then the story will jump into the past. This jumping back is called a flashback.

Frame: A frame is given to provide the reader a reason for the story being told. If there is a narrator, he is often telling us something that happened in his or her past. This "frame" is outside of the story, and gives us a reason to listen. For example, in the movie Titanic the frame is about a treasure hunter who is trying to find a necklace that had gone down with the ship. To find the necklace he brings an old woman out to the wreck, and we hear her tell the tale. Her setting (the modern-day hunt for the necklace) is outside of the main story (the voyage of the Titanic)and gives us a "frame."

Literary Tools to Describe Ideas

Metaphor: When it is implied that the things being discussed are standing for something else, the author is using a metaphor. Things often stand for things that are bigger. Darth Vader is a metaphor for evil, for all that is wrong with the universe. He stands for the dangers of the "Force" and how the dark side is tempting and dangerous. Another example: "Don't count your chickens before they are hatched," is a metaphor for not planning on things that you do not yet have. A metaphor is usually unique to the situation.

Symbol: A symbol is like a metaphor because it stands for something else. The difference is that a symbol is well-known and people recognize what it means right away. The U.S. flag is a symbol people understand because it stands for The United States of America. The swastika is another symbol everyone knows that stands for Nazi Germany. If something is immediately recognized by people, then it is a symbol.

Simile: Sometimes the author simply wants the reader to compare two things. Usually there is some quality the two things share. A simple way to recognize when an author is using a simile is that we will find the words "like" or "as" in the phrase. "She is like a butterfly." (She is always going from group to group in a party like a butterfly flits from flower to flower.)

Allusion: An allusion is a reference to another work. In novels allusions are usually to other books. Movies often make references to other movies. It is a way for the author to let us know something by referring to something else we already know. Do not confuse "allusion" with "illusion." An illusion is something that appears to be something that it is not. Magicians work with illusions, writers work with allusions.

Theme: The author of a novel will often have a theme which is a message or insight about life or human nature. It may not be directly stated, but left for the reader to infer.

Literary Tools that Provide Writers with "Voice"

Alliteration: Sometimes a writer will make sounds repeat to give a pattern to their writing. When a sound repeats it is called "alliteration." Here is an example of alliteration using "P's": The purple penguin plunged past the pink puffer fish, praying the polka-dotted parka would protect its pointy nose. If the alliteration uses "S's," then we say it is "sibilant." Example: The silly snake snuck sideways so Sally should see such sly serpentine silliness as sneaky.

Appositive: An appositive is a tool the writer uses to give additional information about a noun. It will follow the noun and will be bracketed with commas. Here is an example: Mrs. Paswaters, a Language Arts teacher at Powell Middle School, likes to read a lot. The words in italics (the slanted letters) is an appositive giving a little more information about the noun (Mrs. Paswaters). If the appositive were left out the sentence would still make sense. It gives the reader so more information which might be important to know.

Parallelism: When a writer repeats a word or phrase it is called parallelism. Here is an example: "Ask not what your country can do for you, but ask what you can do for your country." Here is another example: "You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time." The phrases echo each other, lend strength to each other. Parallelism is another way an author develops a writing "voice."

Irony: When something is different than it would seem to be, that is irony. There are many types of irony. A verbal irony is when someone says something, but means, or should say something else. For example, in Huckleberry Finn, Huck says: "I had been to school and could say the multiplication table up to six times seven is thirty-five." (6X7=42) A situational irony is when what is happening does not fit the circumstances. Dramatic irony is when the reader understands something a character does not (careful! The knife is poisoned!).

Denise Paswaters 2006