Literary Elements

Based on One’s
Experience
LESSON 2
Learning Competency
 Createsample of literary elements
based on one’s experience (e.g. using
metaphor to describe an emotion).
Introductory Questions
What makes a work fiction? Or drama? Or
poetry?
What delineates one genre from the
other?
If one is interested to write poetry, how
can he or she tell that it is indeed a
poetry?
Learning Targets
1. Read sample works and analyze the
techniques used and the underlying
themes.
2. Write sample sentences/paragraphs
about a personal experience utilizing
the different literary elements.
Sort me out!
Fiction
?
? Poetry

Drama
?
You got it right!
Setting
Character
Fiction Plot, POV
Conflict, Theme

Rhyme
Rhythm Poetry
Rhyme
Scheme
Dialogue
Venue
Drama Music
Set design
costumes
Vocabulary List
1. Characters are persons, animals and other things that make the story alive.
2. Setting basically refers to the time and place of the narrative. It also includes the
set and background of the story or play.
3. Plot refers to the strings of event present in the narrative.
4. Point of view is the narrator’s way of telling the story.
5. Conflict is struggle of the pre-eminent character with other characters or forces of
the story.
6. Theme is the subject of the story.
7. Poetry is an art form that uses figurative languages such as simile and metaphor.
8. Drama is an art form that is usually done on stage.
9. Fiction is an art form that usually uses the ordinary language. Short story and
novel are examples of fiction.
10. Dialogue is the exchange of ideas of the characters in a fiction.
Continuation…
Because literature is basically an art and not a science, it
is not always a good idea to specifically approach fiction
while looking for these elements. Rather, it is better to
read a fiction work and examine it closely then decide for
yourself what element(s) was/were highlighted and how
important and significant it is to what the writer is trying
to convey.
Lastly…
For beginning fiction writers, on the other hand, it is
important to know what makes fiction. A chef trying to
cook a particular gourmet dish should know the
ingredients and how each will affect the flavor of the food
being prepared. This is similar to writing. With this
understanding in mind, let us find out the ingredients
when cooking up fiction.
1. Characters
Characters are beings who live in the story.
They can be actual people from this planet to
aliens from somewhere in the outer space. At
other times, they can be animals, and even
inanimate objects; they can even be
supernatural presences or make-believe
creatures like goblins, fairies, dragons, or
elves.
Inanimate Objects
 Continuation…
 Characters are important in fiction because they are
the ones with whom the readers empathize. Readers
also look for characters to root for or against, to fall in
love with, to care or to hate, and even dream to meet.
 Readers come to know and understand the
characters’ actions, motivations, feelings and
emotions through what they say, what they think, how
they act, and even through what other characters say
about them. A writer should therefore take this in
consideration when creating the characters to life.
Flat characters
Characters can be flat or round. A flat
character is not sufficiently developed,
described very little, and plays very
minor role in the narrative. Sometimes
they are stock characters or those
known simply as the “wicked
stepmom,” or the “loyal servant.”
Qualities of a Flat
Character
 Have no internal conflict
 Conform to a stereotype
 Never experience a character transformation.
 Lack a multi-faceted personality
 Lack depth
 Maintain one perspective or viewpoint.
Examples

Mrs Bennet in Pride and Prejudice by

Jane Austen.
Mrs Micawber in David Copperfield
by Charles Dickens
Mrs Poyser in Adam Bede by George
Elliot
Round
character

A round character, on the other hand, has a
leading role in the narrative. In contrast with
a flat character, a round character is complex,
multi-dimensional, and well-developed that
they seem “to come to life.” These characters
may undergo change through the
circumstances where they are placed, hence
making them lifelike.
Qualities of a Round
Character
Has multiple aspects to their
personalities.
Rich in qualities and abilities.
Have potentials to change the story line
Face challenges and conflicts
Either likable or despicable.
Examples
Elizabeth in Pride and Prejudice by
Jane Austen
Harry in Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling
Anna in Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
Continuation…
Characters can also be static or dynamic
(also called developing). A static
character remains the same throughout
the narrative while a dynamic one
undergoes change. The change can be
brought by factors and elements
experienced by the character and may
impact on his or her attitudes, beliefs, or
actions.
E.M. Forster
An English novelist identified
that characters are flat or round.
He coined the terms flat and
round characters in his book
The Aspects of the Novel in
1927.
2. Setting
Simply put, setting answers the
question “where” and “when” about
the narrative. Answers to these
questions give rise to the two types
of setting: the physical and
chronological setting.
2A. Physical
Setting
refers to where the story takes
place. It can be very general like
in a farm, a school, or a
laboratory; or it can be specific,
like “in the Metropolitan Naga
Cathedral,” or “at McDonald’s
Diversion Road branch.”
2B. Chronological
Setting
can also be general or specific, as
during the “Christmas season,” or
“during the early morning of December
16 in 2019.” Sometimes, the setting is
immaterial to the story, as when the
writer wants to be universal and not
limited by time and space.
Aside from the chronological and physical
setting, it also includes the following:

a) the immediate surroundings of the characters

such as props in a scene: trees, furniture, food,
inside of a house or car, etc.
b) the weather such as cloudy, sunny, windy, snow,
or rain, etc., and
c) the geographical location including the city,
state, country, and possibly even the universe, if
the writer is writing science fiction.
3. Plot
Plot is the order of events in the story.
Writers usually follow a particular plot
structure, called “Freytag’s Pyramid,”
although this is not always the case, as
some may opt to start from the middle
part or ending part and go backwards to
where the events began.
Freytag’s
Pyramid

It is named after the German
playwright of the 1800s,
Gustav Freytag, and has the
five-part plot structure which
includes the exposition, rising
action, climax, falling action,
and denouement, also known
as resolution.
Exposition
The Exposition introduces the
characters, time, and the problem. This
occurs at the start of the story up to the
point where an inciting incident happens
for the main character to handle or
solve. The exposition creates the
beginning of the story
Rising Action
Rising action includes the happenings
that the main character encounters. As
each event develops, more
complications arise, making the problem
more complex for the character.
Climax
Climax refers to the turning point in the
story. This is usually a single event with
the greatest intensity and uncertainty.
Here the main character contends with
the problem hence creating the peak of
interest for the readers.
Falling Action
Fallingaction are the events that unfold
after the climax. The resulting events
after the climax create an emotional
response from the reader.
Denoument
Denouement or resolution provides
closure and ties up loose ends in the
story
4. Conflict
Conflict is the struggle
between opposing forces or
entities. The main character
encounters a conflict which
may be an adversary or any
other force to contend with.
 Continuation…
 Generally, there are two types of conflict: external and
internal.
 External conflict could be man against nature (a mother
and her child evacuating at the height of typhoon Yolanda),
or man against man (a student being harassed by a bully
classmate).
 Internal conflict could be man against society or culture, or
man against himself or herself.
 Readers might find external conflict more exciting than internal
conflict, but it is worthwhile to think that in real life, people
experience more of the latter than of the former.
5. Point of
View

Who is telling the story? How is the
story told? Point of view answers
these questions.
There are three different types of
point of view which writers use in
telling fiction.
5a. 1 Person
st

POV
 means that the story is told from the viewpoint of
one of the characters who may be the protagonist or
main character in the narrative. Here, first person
personal pronouns are used like I, me, my, we, and
our. By using this point of view, readers may feel an
affinity and empathy for the narrator as the
narration can include the narrator’s motives,
thoughts and feelings. On the other hand, this view
may be limited as it cannot say for certain other
characters’ thoughts, feelings, and motives.
5b. 2 nd
Person
POV
 The second person point of view which is seldom
used, speaks to the reader as if the reader is the
protagonist. At other times, the narrator may use
apostrophe, a figurative language where the speaker
talks to an absent or unidentified person. The
second person pronouns are used here like you and
your
5c. 3rd Person
POV

The third person point of view is classified into
third person limited and third person omniscient.
In both types of view, the narrator is not a
character nor in the story. In third person
limited, the narrator is limited only to one of the
character’s thoughts. In third person omniscient,
the narrator is “allknowing” and “all-seeing” and
knows various characters’ thoughts. This view
uses third person pronouns like he, she, it, and
they.
6. Theme
 Theme is the underlying truth conveyed by the
author through the story. Themes are usually
universal which means that they are
understood by readers across cultures, eras, or
nationalities. Some common themes include
coming of age, circle of life, prejudice, greed,
good vs. evil, and beating the odds. Theme is
different from the moral or lesson of a
narrative.
Example
1. Love 11. Power and corruption 21. Redemption
2. Death 12. Religion 22. War
3. Friendship 13. Survival 23. Courage
4. Coming-of-age story 14. Beauty 24. Perseverance
5. Family 15. Betrayal
6. Isolation 16. Hero
7. Good versus evil 17. Justice
8. Identity 18. Memory
9. Class 19. Nature
10. Gender 20. Mortality
 Theme Definition Examples
1. Circle of Life What comes around, goes around. The Circle • Where the Red Fern Grows by
of Life dwells on life’s transience and Wilson Rawls
impermanence: how death isn’t death, just an
evolution.

2. Coming of Age Also known as a bildungsroman, Coming of • Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Age involves the intense experiences of • Great Expectations by
growing up, and how these experiences shape Charles Dickens
the future of the protagonist.

3. Family Many families are connected by blood, but to • Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
overcome certain obstacles, literary families • Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
must strengthen their ties to each other. • Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
• Brother & Sister Enter the
Forest by Richard Mirabella

4. Fate vs Free How much of our actions are decided by fate, • Romeo & Juliet by William
Will and how much does free will really control? Shakespeare
• The Alchemist by Paulo
Coelho
Elements
of Poetry
1. Rhyme
This is the easiest feature to identify in
a poem. If the last word in the first line
of poetry rhymes with the last word in
the second line, or the third, you can
easily identify a pattern. Rhyme does
not depend upon spelling; it is a matter
of sound, or pronunciation.
Continuation…

 Therewere rules in writing poetry in the past.

Poets arranged lines (also called verses) into
groups called stanzas. Usually the poems
were quite neat and evenly shaped - the lines
were roughly the same length, the stanzas all
contained a predetermined number of lines.
The rhyme schemes were regular, and the
rhythm was identifiable.