Elements of Literature

Essential Question: What

makes a story compelling?

Plot
Definition- sequence of events or
incidents that make up a story

A.

Exposition- designed to arouse

readers interest; background is
provided

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlLc
zNXKVKg

What do you know about the movie just

from watching the opening credits?

B. Conflict- struggle between opposing forces (the

problem in the story)
Person vs. Person- external struggle between two or more
individuals
ii. Person vs. themselves- internal struggle concerning
emotion and decision
iii. Person vs. nature- external struggle between person and
an element of nature or the environment
iv. Person vs. Society- external or internal struggle between
an individual and a social group (government, culture, etc.)
i.

C. Rising Action- complication or

development of the conflict

D. Climax- turning point of the story;

point of most intense interest

E. Falling action- events that lead to

the resolution
F. Resolution- outcome of conflict

Plot Map

Plot
In your table group, pick a movie you
have seen and determine what
events fit into each part of the plot
map.
On a piece of scratch paper, draw a
picture of the plot map and label it
with the events from the movie you
have chosen.

Character
Definition= the people, animals, etc.
who play a role in the story

A. Characterizationtechniques the writer

uses to develop a
character
i. Physical
Description
ii. Speech and
actions of the
character
iii. Direct comment
from the narrator
iv. Speech and
actions of other
characters

B. Ways to describe characters

i. Round- complex or presented in detail
ii. Flat- characterized by one or two traits
iii. Dynamic- developing and learning in the
course of the story
iv. Static- unchanged from the storys
beginning to end

Characters
Pick two of the characters from the
movie you discussed. Are they round
or flat? Dynamic or static? How do
you know?

Theme
Definition- A thought or idea the
author presents to the reader. It must
be extracted from different parts of
the work. Authors use characters,
plot, and other literary devices to
convey theme.

Theme
Subject vs. Theme
Subject- the topic or one of the topics of the
story
examples: tradition, family, love
Theme- what the author is saying about a topic.
It is the generalization about life either stated
or implied by the story.
example: The people you love can become
your family, even if you are not related.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjxHdNxvyS
U

Mood
Definition- the feeling or emotion
that the story creates in the
reader
Created by:
A. Setting- the time and place in which
the story is taking place, including
factors such as weather, social
customs, etc.
B. Imagery- language that helps you
imagine the scene; descriptions of

Mood
These images are both of the same
castle (from Beauty and the Beast).
What is the mood of each and how is
the mood created?

Point of View
Definition- the way the story is
told
Whose eyes do we see the
story from?

Point of View
A. Omniscient- the author tells the story using the
third person (not a character in the story). Author
knows all of what is done, said, felt, and thought
by the characters.
Whose eyes? The authors all knowing eyes
B. Limited Omniscient- author tells the story from
the third person, but limits observations of
thoughts and feelings to one character; the author
presents the story from this characters eyes
Whose eyes? The authors eyes, but s/he only
knows about one characters thoughts

Point of View
C. First Person- one character tells the story in
the first person. The reader sees and knows
only as much as the narrator
Whose eyes? A character in the storys eyes
D. Objective- the author is like a movie camera
that moves around freely recording objects or
characters. The author offers no comments on
the characters or their actions. Readers are not
told the thoughts or feelings of the characters.
Whose eyes? A movie camera

Movie Poster
Determine a metaphor for the
different elements of literature and
create a poster representing that
metaphor.
Your poster needs to include all five
elements of literature words and an
image that represents that elements.
Your poster also needs to include a 23 sentence explanation of your
metaphor.