Elements of Literature

Elements of Literature By Laura B. Page Library Media Specialist

Objective Students will recognize elements of recognized literature to facilitate the composition of original stories. (Alabama Courses of Study for English Language Arts: 7.23, 8.21)

OK, now that you have seen the formal objective… Here’s the plan in everyday English: • You’re going to be writing stories. • You want them to be GOOD stories. • So we’ll look at what goes into a good story, so you can use the same things to create a good story of your own. It’s as simple as A + B = C

The elements of literature we will examine today are: • Character • Plot • Theme • Setting • Point of view • Style • Literary rhythm • Tone

Character Character: A person who takes part in the action of a story, novel, or a play. Sometimes characters are animals or imaginary creatures, such as beings from another planet.

Character Consider Winnie-the-Pooh. Did you know he was a book character long before Disney made him a movie star? Or that Christopher Robin was a real person in England? It’s true: Christopher Robin Milne, son of author A. A. Milne, had a teddy bear he named “Winnie-the-Pooh.” Milne made up bed-time stories about Pooh and his buddies, all of which were other stuffed animals in Christopher Robin’s collection.

What is it about those characters? • Think of the “Winnie-the-Pooh” characters. • Which one is your favorite? WHY?

Here’s why I like Pooh: • Pooh is nearly always cheerful. • Pooh doesn’t let bad things bring him down. • Pooh is adventurous. • Pooh values his friends. • Pooh is a problem-solver. • Pooh enjoys the value of a good meal and a good nap—I can relate! By the way, these are called “character traits” or “characteristics.

Now it’s your turn… Pick a character from “Winnie-the-Pooh” and describe some characteristics. Make a list and share it with your neighbor. • What makes this character appealing? • Can you relate to the character? • Do you share any of his/her characteristics? • How could these traits be used in your story? Note: Please do NOT use the words “cute” or “cool.” You can do better than that!

Plot Plot : The action or sequence of events in a story. Plot is usually a series of related incidents that builds and grows as the story develops.

Plot There are five basic elements in a plot line: (a) exposition; (b) rising action; (c) climax; (d) falling action; and (e) resolution or denouement. Climax Rising Action Falling Action Exposition Denouement

What?? • Exposition: Introduce the story, using vivid, descriptive words to paint a picture in the reader’s mind. • Rising Action: Get the plot into gear, develop a conflict, and build toward the climax. • Climax: The main action at its highest point—make it interesting! • Falling Action: Wind it down, fill in missing pieces, show the consequences. • Denouement: Conclude the story.

By the way, “denouement” is pronounced “day-new-MONH.” • In French it literally means “untying the knot.” You can think of the climax as being like a mass of ropes at their tightest and most tangled; the denouement detangles and sorts them out.

Consider “Winnie-the-Pooh and the Blustery Day.” • Exposition: It’s a windy, blustery day as a storm is brewing in the Hundred Acre Wood. Pooh goes about wishing everyone “Happy Winds-day.”

“Winnie-the-Pooh and the Blustery Day.” • Rising Action: At night, when the rains come and flood the Wood, Piglet gets trapped in his chair at home and Pooh gets stuck in a honey pot. The others organize a rescue, but it’s too late. Pooh and Piglet have floated away.

The Climax • In the turbulent stream, Pooh and Piglet try frantically to reach land, but wind up going over a waterfall! Oh no!!! • Christopher Robin and the others organize a search.

Falling Action: Pooh and Piglet finally float to Christopher Robin’s house. Christopher Robin believes that Pooh has rescued Piglet, and throws a hero party for Pooh. Conclusion: It becomes a “double-hero” party when Piglet gives up his house for Owl to live in (Owl’s nest had been blown out of the tree during the storm).

Plot: your turn Take a minute and sketch out a plot line diagram. As you write your story, make sure the action rises and falls. Climax Rising Action Falling Action Exposition Denouement

Theme Theme: A central idea or abstract concept that is made concrete through representation in person, action, and image. • Sometimes the theme is directly stated in the work, and sometimes it is given indirectly. There may be more than one theme in a given work.

Hmmm? Think about Green Eggs and Ham. Did you know that it’s about overcoming Prejudice?

Theme A theme is a central idea or abstract concept that is made concrete through representation in person, action, and image. ACCEPTANCE (idea)

Theme Theme is not simply a subject or an activity, vice for instance, but a specific idea, such as “Vice seems more interesting than virtue but turns out to be destructive.” Think Aesop’s Fables—the moral of the story. What is the moral of Green Eggs and Ham? Write the moral in your groups, and share it with the class.

Theme • Sometimes the theme is directly stated in the work, and sometimes it is given indirectly. • There may be more than one theme in a given work.

Setting Setting: The time and place of the action in a story, play, or poem. Be sure to describe the setting so that the reader can visualize it! Where does Green Eggs and Ham take place? How do you know?

Point of View Point of view: The vantagepoint from which a story is told. • In the first person or narrative point of view, the story is told by one of the characters. • In the third person or omniscient point of view, someone outside the story tells the story.

Point of View First Person: • The storyteller is INVOLVED in the story—a character. • The storyteller may even be the hero, (but is not usually obnoxious about it). Think of an example of a first-person story and share with your neighbors.

Point of View Third Person: • Somebody who is NOT involved in the story is the storyteller. Can you name some stories written in third person?

Style • Style: The particular way a piece of literature is written. Not only what is said but also how it is said, style is the writer’s unique way of communicating ideas. • Elements contributing to style include • word choice • sentence length • tone • figurative language • use of dialogue

Style • If you’ve read Song of the Sparrow, by Lisa Sendell, you know that it is written in verse: • Rhyme patterns • Rhythm patterns • Choice-of-word patterns So are the Canterbury Tales, which you’ll read during your senior year.

Literary Rhythm • Literary rhythm is the way the story “flows.” • Consider A Series of Unfortunate Events, by Lemony Snicket.

Literary Rhythm • Three orphaned children, Violet, Klaus, and Sunny, are sent to live with an increasingly odd selection of relatives. • The stories move from one tragedy to the next, temporarily resolving one set of circumstances, but moving rapidly to the next “unfortunate event.”

Literary Rhythm At every turn of events, the children are sabotaged by their nemesis, the evil Count Olaf and his henchmen, seeking to deprive them of their inheritance. The action looks something like this: (Sorry, I’m new at this free-drawn graph business…)

Tone Tone: An expression of a writer’s attitude toward a subject. Unlike mood, which is intended to shape the reader’s emotional response, tone reflects the feelings of the writer. Tone can be serious, humorous, sarcastic, playful, ironic, bitter, or objective, to name a few.

Tone • Consider The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, by C.S. Lewis.

Tone When Lucy discovers Narnia, she finds that it is a place where it’s “always winter but never Christmas.” All Narnia images: http://en.wikipedia.org/

Tone • As the story develops, we get the impression that the author cares deeply about Lucy and her siblings, loves and respects Aslan, and despises the White Witch, just from the way they are described.

Summary • Character • Plot • Theme • Setting • Point of view • Style • Literary rhythm • Tone We’ve looked at these eight elements today:

Now it’s up to YOU. Are You ready???

References • All images: www.google.com/images unless otherwise noted • Literary Terms Glossary: http://armour.k12.sd.us/Mary%27s%20Classes/literary_terms_glossary.htm • “Winnie-the-Pooh and the Blustery Day” plot summary: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Winnie_the_Pooh_and_the_BlusteryDay#Plot

Elements of Literature