5 Important Elements of a Short Story

A short story is a short work of fiction. Fiction, as you know, is prose writing about imagined events and characters. Prose writing differs from poetry in that it does not depend on verses, meters or rhymes for its organization and presentation. Novels are another example of fictional prose and are much longer than short stories. Some short stories, however, can be quite long. If a a short story is a long one, say fifty to one hundred pages, we call it a novella. American literature contains some of the world's best examples of the short story. Readers around the world enjoy the finely crafted stories of American writers such as O. Henry, Stephen Crane, Jack London, Mark Twain and Edgar Allen Poe. What makes these authors such remarkable short story writers? They are true masters at combining the five key elements that go into every great short story: character, setting, conflict, plot andtheme. The ELLSA web-site uses one of these five key elements as the focus of each of the five on-line lessons in the Classics of American Literature section. In each lesson, you will explore a single American short story from the USIA Ladder Series and discover how the author uses a certain element. The definitions on the right are repeated on the first page of each short story lesson.

A character is a person, or sometimes even an animal, who takes part in the action of a short story or other literary work.
see The Green Door by O. Henry

The setting of a short story is the time and place in which it happens. Authors often use descriptions of landscape, scenery, buildings, seasons or weather to provide a strong sense of setting.
see The Last Leaf by O. Henry

A plot is a series of events and character actions that relate to the central conflict.
see The Open Boat by Stephen Crane

The conflict is a struggle between two people or things in a short story. The main character is usually on one side of the central conflict. On the other side, the main character may struggle against another important character, against the forces of nature, against society, or even against something inside himself or herself (feelings, emotions, illness).
see To Build a Fire by Jack London

The theme is the central idea or belief in a short story.

Aristotle's Six Elements of Drama Aristotle considered these six things to be essential to good drama. y Plot: This is what happens in the play. Plot refers to the action; the basic storyline of the play. y Theme: While plot refers to the action of the play, theme refers to the meaning of the play. Theme is the main idea or lesson to be learned from the play. In some cases, the theme of a play is obvious; other times it is quite subtle. y Characters: Characters are the people (sometimes animals or ideas) portrayed by the actors in the play. It is the characters who move the action, or plot, of the play forward. y Dialogue: This refers to the words written by the playwright and spoken by the characters in the play. The dialogue helps move the action of the play along. y Music/Rhythm: While music is often featured in drama, in this case Aristotle was referring to the rhythm of the actors' voices as they speak. y Spectacle: This refers to the visual elements of a play: sets, costumes, special effects, etc. Spectacle is everything that the audience sees as they watch the play. In modern theater, this list has changed slightly, although you will notice that many of the elements remain the same. The list of essential elements in modern theater are: y Character y Plot y Theme y Dialogue y Convention y Genre y Audience The first four, character, plot, theme and dialogue remain the same, but the following additions are now also considered essential elements of drama. y Convention: These are the techniques and methods used by the playwright and director to create the desired stylistic effect. y Genre: Genre refers to the type of play. Some examples of different genres include, comedy, tragedy, mystery and historical play. y Audience: This is the group of people who watch the play. Many playwrights and actors consider the audience to be the most important element of drama, as all of the effort put in to writing and producing a play is for the enjoyment of the audience.

What is Poetry? When we begin analyzing the basic elements of poetry, we should first know what poetry is all about in the first place. Poetry can be defined as 'literature in a metrical form' or 'a composition forming rhythmic lines'. In short, a poem is something that follows a particular flow of rhythm and meter. Compared to prose, where there is no such restriction, and the content of the piece flows according to story, a poem may or may not have a story, but definitely has a structured method of writing. Elements of Poetry There are several elements which make up a good poem. In brief, they are described below.

Rhythm: This is the music made by the statements of the poem, which includes the syllables in the lines. The best method of understanding this is to read the poem aloud. Listen for the sounds and the music made when we hear the lines spoken aloud. How do the words resonate with each other? How do the words flow when they are linked with one another? Does sound right? Do the words fit with each other? These are the things you consider while studying the rhythm of the poem. Meter: This is the basic structural make-up of the poem. Do the syllables match with each other? Every line in the poem must adhere to this structure. A poem is made up of blocks of lines, which convey a single strand of thought. Within those blocks, a structure of syllables which follow the rhythm has to be included. This is the meter or the metrical form of poetry. Rhyme: A poem may or may not have a rhyme. When you write poetry that has rhyme, it means that the last words of the lines match with each other in some form. Either the last words of the first and second lines would rhyme with each other or the first and the third, second and the fourth and so on. Rhyme is basically similar sounding words like 'cat' and 'hat', 'close' and 'shows', 'house' and 'mouse' etc. Free verse poetry, though, does not follow this system. Alliteration: This is also used in several poems for sound effect. Several words in the sentence may begin with the same alphabet or syllable sound. For example, in the sentence "Many minute miniature moments," the sound of the alphabet 'M' is repeated in all the four words continuously. When you say those words aloud, the sound effect generated is called Alliteration. Simile: A simile is a method of comparison using the words 'like' or 'as'. When, in a poem, something is said to be 'like' another it means that the poet is using Simile to convey his feelings about what (s)he is describing. For example, in the statement 'Her laughter was like a babbling brook', the poet is comparing the laughter of the girl to the sound made by a babbling brook. Note that 'babbling brook' is an example of Alliteration. Metaphor: A metaphor is a method of comparison where the words 'like' and 'as' are not used. To modify the earlier example, if the statement had been 'Her laughter, a babbling brook', then it would be the use of Metaphor. Theme: This is what the poem is all about. The theme of the poem is the central idea that the poet wants to convey. It can be a story, or a thought, or a description of something or someone - anything which is what the poem is all about. Symbolism: Often poems will convey ideas and thoughts using symbols. A symbol can stand for many things at one time and leads the reader out of a systematic and structured method of looking at things. Often a symbol used in the poem will be used to create such an effect. Conclusion These are the basic elements of poetry. They are an essential part of what any good poem is all about, structurally. Of course, it does not mean, that all poems must have all these elements. It depends entirely upon the poet, who has all these tools at his disposal, to use in order to convey his ideas effectively.

Elements of Poetry

Elements of poetry can be defined as a set of instruments used to create a poem. Many of these were created thousands of years ago and have been linked to ancient story tellings. They help bring imagery and emotion to poetry, stories, and dramas. Here is a list of elements used within the writing of poems. Alliteration Two or more words which have the same initial sound. Example:Pretty princess Assonance A partial rhyme which has the same internal vowel sounds amongst different words.Example: The tundra left the man hungry for buns Metaphor A comparison which does not use the words like or as. Example: Life is a journey. Onomatopoeia Words that sound like their meaning. Example: buzz, moo, pow. Repetitions The repetition of the same word throughout the poem to emphasize significance. Rhyme The repetition of sounds within different words, either end sound, middle or beginning. Example: loose goose. Rhythm The flow of words within each meter and stanza. Example: Iambic pentameter. Simile A comparison using the words like or as. Example: Life is like a box of chocolates. Style The way the poem is written. Free-style, ballad, haiku, etc. Includes length of meters, number of stanzas along with rhyme techniques and rhythm. Symbol Something that represents something else through association, resemblance or convention Theme The message, point of view and idea of the poem. In the 20th and 21st century, poets have tried to come up with new ways of adding elements. Nonetheless, many of these versions still stem from some of the older, tried and true elements.