Elements of Literature These are terms that we will commonly refer to throughout the year.

Please take careful notes and ask questions for clarification. Add any examples or abbreviated anecdotes to help you to make connections. Plot: is the sequence of events in a story. It is the writers plan for what happens, when, and to whom. Point of View: is the perspective from which a story is told. In first person point of view the narrator is a character in the story. Because the narrator is one of the characters, he or she uses pronouns such as I, me, and we. In third person limited point of view, the narrator is not a character in the story. Consequently the narrator uses pronouns such as he and she. 3rd person omniscient=all knowing, even know thoughts. Setting: is the time and place of the action of the story. This includes the time period, time of day, and season. Exposition: is the part of the plot that provides necessary background information and that introduces the setting and most important characters. Inciting Incident: is the event that introduces the conflict and sets in motion the plot of the story. Conflict: is a struggle between two forces. This struggle creates tension and suspense and is an essential ingredient in every play or story. A conflict may be internal or external. -An internal conflict takes place within a character. An external conflict takes place between a character and another individual or between a character and an outside force such as nature. Complication: is an event that heightens, or complicates, a conflict that has already been introduced.

Climax: is the high point of interest or suspense in a story or play. It is the moment where the outcome of the story suddenly becomes clear. The climax comes near the end of the story, with action and suspense building to an emotional peak. Resolution: is the point at which the conflict in a literary work ends. The resolution occurs at the end of the story (perhaps in only a paragraph) when all the struggles are over and we know what is going to happen to the people in the story. The resolution closes the story. Theme: Theme is the main or central idea in a work of literature. It is not the same as a subject. The subject of a work can usually be expressed in a word or two: love, childhood, death. The theme is the idea the writer wishes to convey about that subject. A works theme is not usually stated directly. Most often, the reader has to think of all the elements of the work and use them to make an inference about what the theme is. *The THEME must always be expressed in a statement or sentence.

Literary techniques Foreshadowing: Foreshadowing is the technique of hinting about something that has not yet happened. Foreshadowing creates suspense and makes the reader want to find out what will happen in the story. Figurative language Personification: Personification is the giving of human qualities to an object, animal, or idea. Here are some examples of personification from James Weldon Johnsons poem, The Creation The pine tree pointed his finger to the sky, and the oak spread out his arms, and the lakes cuddled down in the hollows of the ground

Simile: A simile is a figure of speech that makes a comparison between two things using an explicit word such as like, as, than, or resembles And the night shall be filled with music, And the cares, that infest the day, Shall fold their tents, like the Arabs, And as silently steal away. -Longfellow Metaphor: A metaphor is figure of speech that makes a comparison between two things in which one thing becomes another thing without the use of the words like, as, than, or resembles My love is a red, red rose Alliteration: The repetition of the same consonant sounds in words that are close together in a poem, or the repetition of consonant sounds that are very familiar. Open here I flung the shutter, when, with many a flirt and flutter, In there stepped a stately Raven of the stately days of yore. -Poe Onomatopoeia: Onomatopoeia is the use of a word whose sound imitates or suggests its meaning. Onomatopoeia is so natural to us that we begin using it instinctively as children. Crackle, pop, hiss, fizz, click, zoom, and chirp are all examples of onomatopoeia. Hyperbole: An exaggeration used for an effect. My Grandmother is at least seven hundred years old.