Elements of Literature Essay

Many writings students atomic number 18 expected to be familiar with the basic terms listed infra (and discussed in to a greater extent depth in your text). Keep this study drive with your text. At the beginning of each reading assignment, write the factors of publications pertaining to the finicky type of literature at the beginning of the short business relationship or meter. After reading, define them in your text for class discussion, quizzes, and test preparation. To visit literature, it is necessary that you ask yourself certain questions, such as what is the theme of this humbug? or why does the author social function this particular type of mental imagery? You be non necessarily reading for pleasurealthough it is sincerely hoped you anyow for derive pleasure from your assignmentsbut for the development of critical analysis skills, so observe the authors style and intent c befully. Short Stories/ parable constitutionThe idea or occlusion of a study hyp othesise as a generalization. In Ameri weed literature, several themes are plain which reflect and define our society. The dominant nonpareils might be innocence/experience, life/death, appearance/reality, free will/fate, madness/sanity, love/hate, society/individual, know/unknown.Themes may acquit a single, instead of a dual nature as well. The theme of a story may be a mid-life crisis, or imagination, or the duality of gaykind (contradictions). fiberImaginary tidy sum created by the writer. Perhaps the most strategic portion of literature. Protagonist study typesetters case at the center of the story. AntagonistA character or force that opposes the protagonist. Minor character0ften provides support and illuminates the protagonist. Static characterA character who remains the same. Dynamic characterA character who changes in some important way. CharacterizationThe imagines by which writers damp character. definitive Judgment fibber gives facts and interpretive co mment. Implied JudgmentNarrator gives description commentator make the judgment. Look for Connections, links, and clues in the midst of and almost characters. Ask yourself what the function and importation of each character is. Make this determination based upon the characters history, what the proofreader is told (and not told), and what other characters say about themselves and others. diagramThe army of ideas and/or incidents that make up a story. CausalityOne detail occurs because of another(prenominal) burden. foretellA suggestion of what is going to happen. SuspenseA nose out of worry established by the author. contraveneStruggle in the midst of opposing forces. ExpositionBackground in make upation regarding the scope, characters, plot. Complication or revolt ActionIntensification of contradict. CrisisTurning refer moment of great tension that fixes the action. answer/DenouementThe way the story turns out. StructureThe design or form of the completed a ction. Often provides clues to character and action. Can even philosophically reflect the authors intentions, especially if it is unusual.Look for Repeated constituents in action, gesture, dialogue, description, as well as shifts in direction, focus, while, place, etc. SettingThe place or location of the action, the setting provides the historical and cultural context for characters. It often basin symbolize the emotional state of characters. signal of ViewAgain, the point of sketch puke sometimes indirectly establish the authors intentions. signalise of view pertains to who tells the story and how it is told. NarratorThe person telling the story. First-personNarrator participates in action but sometimes has limited knowledge/vision. ObjectiveNarrator is unnamed/unidentified (a detached observer). Does not assume characters perspective and is not a character in the story. The bank clerk reports on terminations and lets the reader supply the meaning. OmniscientAll-knowin g narrator (multiple perspectives). The narrator tax returns us into the character and crapper evaluate a character for the reader (editorial omniscience). When a narrator allows the reader to make his or her own judgments from the action of the characters themselves, it is called deaf(p) omniscience. Limited omniscientAll-knowing narrator about one or two characters, but not all.Language and StyleStyle is the oral identity of a writer, oftentimes based on the authors use of diction (word election) and syntax (the order of quarrel in a sentence). A writers use of language reveals his or her tone, or the attitude toward the subject matter. IronyA contrast or form amid one thing and another. Verbal ironyWe understand the inverse of what the speaker says. Irony of Circumstance or Situational IronyWhen one event is expected to occur but the opposite happens. A discrepancy between what seems to be and what is. Dramatic IronyDiscrepancy between what characters know and what re aders know. humourous VisionAn overall tone of irony that pervades a work, suggesting how the writer views the characters. rhyme AllegoryA form of narrative in which people, places, and events seem to devote hidden meanings. Often a retelling of an older story. ConnotationThe implied meaning of a word. DenotationThe dictionary definition of a word. DictionWord choice and usage (for example, formal vs. informal), as determined by considerations of audience and purpose. figurative LanguageThe use of words to suggest meanings beyond the literal. T here(predicate) are a number of figures of spoken communication.Some of the more common ones are illustrationMaking a comparison between un ilk things without the use of a verbal clue (such as like or as). fictionMaking a comparison between unlike things, using like or as. HyperboleExaggeration PersonificationEndowing inanimate objects with human characteristics ImageryA concrete representation of a sense impression, a feeling, or an idea which appeals to one or more of our senses. Look for a sit of imagery. Tactile imagerysense of touch. Aural imagerysense of hearing. Olfactory imagerysense of smell. Visual imagerysense of sight. gustatory imagerysense of taste. Rhythm and MeterRhythm is the pulse or beat in a line of poetry, the regular recurrence of an emphasis or stress. Meter is the measure or patterned count of a poetry line (a count of the stresses we feel in a poems bout). The unit of poetical meter in English is called a foot, a unit of measure consisting of stressed and feminine syllables. Ask yourself how the rhythm and meter affects the tone and meaning. SoundDo the words rhyme? Is at that place alliteration (repetition of consonants) or assonance (repetition of vowels)? How does this affect the tone?StructureThe pattern of organization of a poem. For example, a sonnet is a 14-line poem commonly written in iambic pentameter. Because the sonnet is strictly constrained, it is considered a close or fixed form. An open or free form is a poem in which the author uses a looser form, or perhaps one of his or her own invention. It is not necessarily formless. SymbolismWhen objects or actions mean more than themselves. SyntaxSentence structure and word order. Voice loudspeaker system and ToneThe voice that conveys the poems tone its implied attitude toward its subject. Elements of belles-lettres.Literature is a reflection of the society. A writer appeals to our feelings, emotions with variant elements of literature, such as plot, character, theme, etc. Read more to know about the elements of literature. We can summarize literature in the words of Ezra Pound that great literature is simply language charged with meaning to the utmost possible degree. every race has its own literature, for example, English literature, American literature, German literature, etc. assorted types of literaturesuch as story, novel and gambling delight us through the elements of literatur e. In literature, theme is important to reveal the story.An author d epic poemts the ups and downs of the protagonist with the help of characterization. The story progresses through various plots. There are prologues and epilogues in Shakespearean drama. Facts on Elements of Literature Elements of literature denote the things that are use to make up a work of literature. There are different types and forms of literature. They are novel, drama, poetry, biography, non-fictional prose, essay, epic and short story. All these types of literature piss some elements. To complete a piece of literature, a writer, dramatist or a novelist need to use certain elements like plot, character, theme, etc.However, elements of fiction and elements of drama differ from elements of poetry. These elements are discussed on a lower floor Elements of Fiction and Drama Literary types such as fiction drama and short story have some elements. These include Plot Character Setting Theme Structure Point of view Conflict Diction Foreshadowing Plot Plot is the serial arrangement of incidents, ideas or events. In literature, the plot encompasses all the incidents and provides aesthetic pleasure. The story of the novel progresses through various plots and conflicts. Plots of dramas are divided into Acts and Scenes.Drama has five all important(p) parts. These are Introduction of the story where the characters and setting are introduced Rising action flood Falling action Denouement Playwrights use dialogue to develop their plots. They reveal information about their characters such as their mise en scene and personality. Character Character plays a pivotal role in a drama, novel, short story and all kinds of narratives. In drama, character reflects the personality of the protagonist and other link characters. The method of conveying information about characters in art is called characterization.Characters can be fictional or based on real, historical entities. It can be human, supernatural, mythical, divine, animal or personifications of an abstraction. There are round characters, jejune characters, stereotypical stock characters, etc. In Marlowes drama The tragical History of Dr. Faustus, Faustus is the main character of the play. Setting It refers to geographical location of the story, time period, daily lifestyle of the characters and climate of the story. In a novel, the setting plays an important role. In short stories, sometimes it plays an important role, while for others it is not.Settings of literary forms have been changing according to theme of the literary piece, for example, Shakespeares tragedies and comedies have the setting of palaces, castles whereas modern and post-modern dramas have setting of houses of common people. There were supernatural elements in earlier literature and nowadays absurdity rules the literature. Setting can take place in a house, school, castle, forest, hospital or anywhere that the writers necessitate to extend their scenes. Theme Theme is another prime element of literature, which contains the rudimentary idea of all literary forms such as a novel, drama and short story.It reflects innocence, experience, life, death, reality, fate, madness, sanity, love, society, individual, etc. Thus, it reflects the society as a whole, for example, the theme of stouthearteds novel The Mayor of Casterbridge reflects the role of fate in our life. Likewise, in a drama, theme represents the brief idea of the drama. Structure Structure is another important element of a drama, novel or short story. In dramas, there are plots and subplots. These also are divided into acts and scenes. Here the separate subplots give the main plot an additional perspective.Likewise, novels have different chapters and scenes. Point of view Point of view is another element of the narrative, through which a writer tells the story. Authors use first-person point of view or third-person point of view. First-person point of view in dicates that the main character is telling the story, whereas the third-person point of view directs that the narrator is telling the story. A novel can be written in the first-person narrative, third-person narrative, omniscient point of view, limited omniscient point of view, stream of sense and objective point of view.These points of view play an important role in the distinct structure of the story or a play. Conflict Be it a short story, drama or novel, conflict is the essential element of all these literary forms. A plot becomes interesting and intriguing when it has its function of inbuilt conflict and twists. Conflict can be internal conflict or external. It can take place between two men, between the character and his psychology, between the character and circumstances or between character and society. Use of language or diction Diction is another essential element of drama.A playwright exhibits the thoughts of characters through dialogue. Dialogue has come from the class ic word dialogosa which means conversation. Shakespeare use this to portray the thoughts, emotions and feelings of the character. This also provides clues to their background and personalities. Diction also helps in advancing the plot. Greek philosophers like Aristotle utilise dialogue as the best way to instruct their students. Foreshadowing Foreshadowing is another important element of literature that is applied as hints or clues to suggest what will happen later in the story.It creates suspense and encourages the reader to go on and find out more about the event that is universe foreshadowed. Foreshadowing is utilize to make a narrative more authentic. Elements of Poetry Poetry is literature in a metrical form. However, free-verse became the normal style towards the modern and post modern age. Like fiction, it may not have plots, setting, etc, yet it has a structured method of writing. There are various kinds of poetry such as ballad, sonnet, etc. All these forms have some e lements such as style, theme, rhyme, rhythm, metaphor, etc. that are described belowStyle Style refers to the way the poem is written. Poems are written in various styles, such as free verse, ballad, sonnet, etc. , which have different meters and number of stanzas. Symbol Symbol represents the idea and thought of the poem. It can be an object, person, situation or action. For example, a national flag is the symbol of that nation. Theme Like other forms of literature, poetry has a theme of its own. Theme contains the message, point of view and idea of the poem. Imagery Imagery is another important element that a poet often uses in poems that appeal to our senses. In the age of modernism, T.S. Eliot utilize images of urban life in his poems. Wordsworth used nature as poetic images in his poems. Rhyme and rhythm Rhyme is an element that is often used in poetry. Its a recurrence of an accented sound or sounds in a piece of literature. Poets and lyricists use this device in various ways to rhyme within a verse. There is internal rhyme, click rhyme, random rhyme and mixed rhyme. It gives the poem flow and rhythm. It contains the syllables in a poem. Every poem has a rhythm in it. Its about how the words resonate with each other, how the words flow when they are linked with one another in a poem.Meter This is an important regular structure of poetry. It is described as sequence of feet, each foot being a specific series of syllable types such as stressed/unstressed and makes the poetry more melodious. Alliteration Alliteration is another element used in poetry for the sound effect. It indicates two or more words with same repetition of initial earn, for example, dressy daffodils. Here the sound of the letter d is repeated. Simile A simile is a figure of speech used for comparison in the poetry with the words like or as, for example, as black as coal. parable Metaphor is used in poetry to make an implicit comparison. Unlike simile, here the comparison is implied, for example, Her laughter, a babbling brook. Onomatopoeia This is one important element of poetry, which refers to words that sound like their meaning, for example, buzz, moo and paw. Element of literature includes all the elements that are essential to create a piece of literature. These elements help a writer to create splendid poetry, superb drama and soul-touching novel. These elements are used to form the structure of a literary piece.