Universidad de La Frontera

Departamento de Lenguas, Literatura y Comunicación

Pedagogía en Inglés ELL 699

LITERARY ELEMENTS
 What are Literary Elements?
•They are common structures on fictional texts that make up the components of literature.

• We use these devices to help us interpret and analyze literary works.

•Literary elements are the essential parts of storytelling that are found in almost all types of
literary and narrative writing.
 What is the plot?
The plot deals with the way the author arranges events to develop his basic idea.
It is the sequence of events in a story . 
The plot is a planned, logical series of events having a beginning, middle, and end. 
There are five essential parts  in the plot:
Exposition
Rising action
Climax
 Falling action
Resolution ( denouement)
Plot structure Gustav Freytag’s Pyramid
Exposition
On this stage of the plot, the characters and the setting are revealed to the reader.

It is a device to introduce background information about events, settings, characters, or other
elements of a literary work to the reader.

Example1
“A long time ago in a galaxy far away, far away…” (Stars Wars)
Example 2
Harry was used to getting onto platform nine and three-quarters by now. It was a simple matter
of walking straight through the apparently solid barrier dividing platforms nine and ten. The only
tricky part was doing this in an unobtrusive way, so as to avoid attracting Muggle attention. They
did it in groups today; Harry, Ron, and Hermione…went first; they leaned casually against the
barrier, chatting unconcernedly, and slide sideways through it…and as they did so, platform nine
and three-quarters materialized in front of them.
Harry Potter and the Goblet of fire by J. K. Rowling
Rising action (s)
A series of relevant incidents that create suspense, interest, and tension in a narrative.

This is the part of the story were a conflict is revealed. This is the section of the story which
leads to the conflict (complication)

The rising action is all the events between the introduction and the climax
Example:
Romeo and Juliet meet at a party and fall in love, despite the fact that their families are
enemies.
 Climax
This is the highest point of tension in the story

It is the turning point of the story or the moment of greatest suspense.
 
The reader wonders what will happen next.

Will the conflict be resolved or not?

Example:
When Tybalt kills Mercutio and Romeo kills Tybalt, then flees, leading to the tragic death of both
lovers.
Climax example
Voldemort had raised his wand. His head was still tiled to one side, like a curious child,
wondering what would happen if he proceeded. Harry looked back into the red eyes, and
wanted it to happen now, quickly, while he could still stand, before he lost control, before he
betrayed fear—
He saw the mouth move and a flash of green light, and everything was gone.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling
Falling actions
Falling action (s) takes place right after the climax, when the main problem of the story
resolves.

 Falling action wraps up the narrative.

It resolves its loose ends, and leads toward the closure.
Example:
 Romeo thinks Juliet is dead and drinks the potion. Juliet wakes up and stabs herself with his
dagger. Both die.
Resolution or denoument
This is the final outcome or untangling of events in the story or the final “state of affairs”

The resolution may also be called the denouement.

It may occur with either a happy or a tragic ending.

The reader may have some sense of "closure.”

Example: The parents are informed of the events involving the deaths of Romeo and Juliet;
afterwards, they reconcile and agree to build a statue of the young lovers.
Example
But that is the beginning of a new story—the story of the gradual renewal of a man, the story of

his gradual regeneration, of his passing from one world into another, of his initiation into a new

unknown life. That might be the subject of a new story, but our present story is ended.
(Crime and Punishment , Fyodor Dostoyevsky)
Especial Plot techniques
1. Suspense: feeling of excitement or tension the reader experiences as the plot unfolds.
Writers create suspense by raising questions in the reader's mind.
2. Foreshadowing - a hint or clue about an event that will occur later in the story.

3. Flashback - a section of the story that is interrupted to tell about an earlier event.

4. Surprise ending - an ending that catches the reader off guard with something unexpected.

5.In Media Res :"in the midst of things", action kicks off somewhere in the middle of the plot.
 Characters and Characterization in a
story
Types of characters
Protagonist (hero): the central figure with whom we usually sympathize or identify.
Example: Romeo
Antagonist (villain): the figure who opposes the protagonist and creates the conflict.
Example: Tybalt (but the feud between Capulet and Montague families is actually the primary
antagonist.
Foil Character: the figure whose personality traits are the opposite of the main character’s. This is a
supporting character and usually made to shine the protagonist. Putting the foil and main character in close
proximity helps draw readers’ attention to the latter’s attributes.
Example 1 Draco Malfoy is a classic foil. Both Draco and Harry are wizards, but Malfoy’s lust for evil
reinforces Harry’s determination to use his powers for good.
 Example 2: Romeo is a romantic person, hopelessly romantic in Mercutio’s eyes. Mercutio, on the other
hand, is witty and not at all romantic; he sees love as a physical pursuit rather than an emotional one.
 Setting
Setting generally provides the time and place of a specific scene or chapter, the entire story, a
play or a narrative poem.

Setting can also include the mood of the time period, situation or event.

Setting can also be the social, political, environmental or emotional climate.

Setting can also include the emotional state of a character.

 The ways characters are portrayed
Flat Characters (, static characters or stereotypes)
they have no depth and no change.
we only see one side or aspect of them. 
Most supporting characters are portrayed in this way, for example, a strict teacher, a helpful
policeman, and an evil stepmother.
Benvolio in Romeo and Juliet
Round Characters (dynamic character)
they have more fully developed personalities.
 They express a variety of emotions and changes throughout the narrative, usually toward greater
maturity.
The ways characters are revealed:
What the narrator says about the character

What the other characters say about the character

What the character says about himself or herself

What the character actually does
Sources
https://www.hohschools.org/cms/lib/NY01913703/Centricity/Domain/378/LITERARYELEMENTS
BESTSHEET.pdf
retrieved on August 10th 2020

https://users.aber.ac.uk/jpm/ellsa/ellsa_elements.html retrieved on August 10, 2020

https://literarydevices.net/literary-devices/ retrieved on August 10, 2020