ENGLISH_TOPIC_LITERARY_ELEMENTS_ENG_8.pdf

The Literary Elements in English.

4. SETTING
IDEA
It is when or where a
story takes place.
IDEA
It is the time, place and
environment in which a
story takes place.

5. CHARACTERS
PROTAGONIST
The main character
of the story or the
hero.
ANTAGONIST
Against the main
character of the
story or the villain.
•Characters are the population of the story.

6. PLOT
•The plot of the story is the series of events that make up a story.
CLIMAX
Rising Action Falling Action
Exposition Resolution
The best part
of the story
Begins in the conflict
where the main
character’s struggle to
overcome the conflict.
The beginning
of the story.
Everything that takes
place after the
climax.
The conclusion
of the story’s
plot.

7. CONFLICT
Conflict in literature is the central struggle
of the main character. Conflict drives a
story forward by providing a sense of
purpose or motivation. A story’s conflict
can occur between characters or between
a main character and a force of nature or
a social structure or even within
themselves. Keep in mind that a conflict
doesn’t always mean an overt fight.
Sometimes conflict in literature shows up
as a subtle tension or point of resistance

8. NARRATOR
The narrator is a central figure through which
the story is told. A narrator can be a single
person, like Nick Carraway in The Great
Gatsby, an omniscient entity, or a nonhuman
narrator like an insect or animal. An example
of the latter is The Art of Racing in the Rain,
by Garth Stein, where the narrator is a loyal
dog named Enzo

9. THEME
A theme is a central idea, concept, or
message that is explored throughout a story.
Themes are often a bigger, broader, or
deeper message than an author can write
about coherently, so they use the other
literary elements—like plot, character, and
conflict—to guide the reader along. For
example, some of the most common themes
in literature are love, loss, coming of age,
freedom, and power. These are huge
concepts that can underpin a story.

10. MOOD
Mood is the general feeling or
atmosphere that a piece within the
reader. Mood is produced most effectively
though the use of setting, them, voice
and tone

11. TONE
Tone typically refers to the mood implied by
an author’s word choice and the way that
the text can make a reader feel.