Elements of Literature

Elements of Literature

Story

• Story = the sum total of the whole work– Applies to ANY narrative, fiction or not.– “Watergate Story,” “Bible Story,” Etc.– Includes plot, conflict, settings, characters, style

and tone

Action

• Anything which happens within a story– Internal Action- Happens within a character’s mind

• Includes thoughts and dreams

– External- physical actions performed by or to characters of a story• Includes all actual circumstances

• In literature, all action is significant, not random– Fiction also presents its action in sequence

Plot

• Summary of action which makes up a story

• Skeleton of a story– Will be fleshed out with

conflict, suspense, and resolution to make a “body” of literature

Development

• Development refers to the events which grow out of conflict in every story between its exposition and resolution

• Accounts for most of the plot

Suspense

• Suspense= uncertainty• Literary suspense

depends on the reader’s empathy. – Well developed characters

in a realistic plot evoke empathy

• A mystery novel is known for its suspense, but any well written literature can include suspense.

Conflict

• Whatever causes tension within the story• Dramatic tension makes a story interesting• Refers to any problem within a plot• Can be solitary or compound– Some stories are built on only one central conflict– Other stories have several conflicts surrounding

central conflict, or theme.– Can be psychological

Conflict= clash of forces

People V. People

People V. Society

• Typically highlights the shortcomings of a society or community

• Person is pitted against the social order or system of beliefs.

• The hero might be considered a sociopath

People Versus Nature

• People experience conflict against forces far greater than themselves

• The adversary is NOT human, but rather an element of the tangible, natural world

• Themes include disaster and survival

People V. Themselves

-Deeply Psychological

Character:

The Human Connection

Characters.

• Provide all literature with its connection to human experience.

• Can represent “idealized” notions of specific people, or human beings in general.

• The most interesting Characters evolve

• Anthropomorphosis = Assigning human characteristics to non-human characters

• Roman a Clef= literature in which characters clearly based on actual people.

• Are either flat or round as story requires

Anthropomorphosis

The author doesn’t know everything and reveals even less.

• All stories should have a hint of mystery

• Writers must “dialogue” with their characters; but may not know everything about them

• Implication lends itself to a character’s “background”

• No character is completely exposed

4 goals for developing characters

• What do your characters look like?• What are your characters thinking?• Why do your characters do what they do?• How believable are your characters?

What does your character look like?

• Traditional “myths” can be challenged or upheld

• Appearances can be deceiving• Appearances can be symbolic• Beauty = youth, naiveté, goodness• Disfigurement = handicap, malice,

victimization• Age= wisdom, cynicism, impotence

What are your characters thinking?

• Literary characters are classified as flat or round• “What is he really like?”

• Flat characters are introduced and experience little if any change as the story progresses

• Round characters may be introduced in shallow terms, but experience growth and development along with the plot of the story.

Round Characters

• Round characters are the most complex– Deeper the complexities, the rounder the character

• Most have viable histories, motives, desires, and weaknesses

• Round characters best represent real humanity and therefore are most interesting to human readers

• Round characters invite us into their lives and world and build relationships with their readers

Literature, said William Faulkner, is about “the eternal problems of the human heart”

Why do characters do what they do?

• Motivation- Why does my character do what he does?

• Cause of effect• What drives the

characters feelings and, more significantly, his actions.

• Motivation is not always clear, but always exists– Everything has its reason

Can you believe it!?!

• A character and his world must make sense– Characters are bound by their own nature

• Psychological Consistency- A character must follow a fairly consistent pattern of behavior– Significant breaks in pattern must be elaborated (plot

development)• The setting of a story is likewise also bound to its

nature. – Anachronism = only exception

• The deliberate placement of a prop or characteristic not part of the time

• Example: The clock in Julius Caesar