LITERARY ELEMENTS

LITERARY ELEMENTS

• Characters: individuals who take part in the action

• Climax: point of greatest intensity

• Conflict: problem in a writing• Dialect: way of speaking particular to a group or

region• Dialogue: conversation between or among

characters.• Expository texts: short, nonfiction work about a

particular subject that gives information, discusses ideas, or explains a process

Literary Elements

LITERARY ELEMENTS• Fiction: narrative prose about characters and

events from the author’s imagination• All works of fiction share the basic elements of setting,

plot, characters, dialogue, point of view, themeHistorical Novels: fictional stories with real historical settings

-allow reader to imagine what it was like to live in a culturally different time or foreign setting.

LITERARY ELEMENTS

• Idiomatic expression: phrases that mean something different from their individual words and help a writer to show a character's personality• Ex: “raining cats and dogs” used to describe

heavy rain• Informational text: texts including expository,

persuasive and procedural texts

LITERARY ELEMENTS• Literary nonfiction: combine personal examples

and ideas with factual information• ex.: personal essays and biographies• Novellas: intermediate works of fiction that are

longer than short stories but are concise and focused than novels. • Novels: extended works of fiction that are usually

organized into segments called chapters• Novels can include subplots in addition to the

main story line and may explore a number of characters in depth

LITERARY ELEMENTS

• Personal essays: convey the writer’s thoughts and feelings about an experience or idea• Perspective: the author’s point of view on the

subject, including the opinions that the author expresses and the source of the author’s information—whether general research, for example , or personal experience• Persuasive texts: written to influence the opinions

or actions of an audience• Ex: editorials, speeches, debates, and reviews

LITERARY ELEMENTS

• Plot: progression of events in a work of fiction.• Point of view: perspective from which a story is

told. The voice and persona of the narrator can affect the tone and plot of a text. • 1st person: the story is a told by a narrator who

participates in the action of the story• 3rd person: story is told by a narrator outside the story

LITERARY ELEMENTS

• Procedural texts: explains a process. These texts often include visuals to help illustrate steps. Ex: instructions, recipes, and manuals • Purpose: author’s reason for writing. It may be to

persuade, to inform, to entertain, or to describe• Resolution: conclusion• Setting: time and place a story takes place

LITERARY ELEMENTS• Short stories: brief narratives, with carefully

limited action that allows the writer to focus on one main plot complication• Theme: underlying meaning or insight that an

author conveys in a story• Tone: expresses an author’s attitude toward the

subject and the reader. It is conveyed through choice of words and details• Universal theme: one that applies to all people in

all cultures

FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE

• Hyperbole- an overstatement or exaggeration• He weighs a ton.

• Imagery- vivid, descriptive language that appeals to one or more of the senses (most commonly visual)• Metaphor- a comparison saying one this IS

another thing (without like or as)-he’s a night owl

FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE

• Irony- an expression, situation, or event-verbal:“Gentlemen, you can’t fight in here! This is the war room!” -situational: a life guard drowns-dramatic: Romeo and Juliet• Onomatopoeia- words that sound like their

meaning (swoosh, zip, pop)• personification- assigning human qualities to non-

human things

FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE

• Simile- a comparison among two things using the words like or as• Understatement- saying less than you mean

-Albert Einstein is perhaps fairly intelligent

TEST!!!

• Thursday, 9/12• This powerpoint is on my website under handouts• Go to Klein Home Page• Handouts