LITERARY

ELEMENTS, GENRES
AND TRADITIONS
21 s t Century Literature from the Philippines and the World
 HORIZON OVERVIEW
Learning Competency:
EN12Lit-IId-32 Explain the text in terms of literary
elements, genres and traditions.
By the end of this lesson, you are expected to:
 be familiar with the literary elements, genre and
traditions;
 respond critically to the story in terms of literary
elements, genre and traditions; and
 appreciate the use of literary elements, genre and
traditions in understanding a text.
 TESTING THE WATERS
DIRECTIONS: Choose the CAPITAL LETTER of
the best answer for each item.
1. What do you call the literary element that
refers to the angle from which the story is
told?
A. character
B. point of view
C. setting
D. conflict
 TESTING THE WATERS
2. ___________ may be determined
by literary technique, tone and
content.
A. literary elements
B. literary genre
C. literary traditions
D. literary types
 TESTING THE WATERS
3. A collection of works that have
an underlying interconnectedness
and coherence is ______.
A. literary elements
B. literary genre
C. literary traditions
D. literary types
 TESTING THE WATERS
4. An element of a plot that the
highest point of interest and
emotion is _____________.
A. climax
B. introduction
C. resolution
D. rising action
 TESTING THE WATERS

5. What is defined as the struggle

between opposing forces?
A. character
B. conflict
C. setting
D. theme
 LEAVING THE SHORE
DIRECTIONS: The following
cartoon reflects countries in
conflict. Analyze the cartoon
and reveal words associated
with it through configuration.
 LEAVING THE SHORE
TASK 1. CARTOON TALK
 ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Hi I am ANTHONY MARRA. I attended high
school at the Landon School, and graduated
with a bachelor's degree in creative writing
from the University of Southern California
Department of English, and the Iowa Writers'
Workshop at the University of Iowa with an
MFA. I was a 2011–2013 Stegner Fellow at
Stanford University. Currently, I am teaching
at Stanford University as the Jones Lecturer
in Fiction. I lived and studied in Eastern
Europe, and now reside in Oakland, CA.
 ABOUT THE AUTHOR
I am the winner of a Whiting Award, Pushcart
Prize, and the Narrative Prize. A Constellation of
Vital Phenomena won the National Book Critics
Circle's inaugural John Leonard Prize and the
Anisfield-Wolf Book Award in fiction, as well as
the inaugural Carla Furstenberg Cohen Fiction
Award. My novel was a National Book Award
long list selection as well as a shortlist selection
for the Flaherty-Dunnan first novel prize. In
addition, my work has been anthologized in The
Best American Nonrequired Reading 2012.
 ABOUT THE AUTHOR
I have contributed pieces to
The Atlantic, Narrative
Magazine, and MAKE Magazine.
My debut novel, A
Constellation of Vital
Phenomena, was published in
May 2013 by Hogarth.
from: https://www.amazon.com/Anthony-Marra
ROCK THE BOAT
 PLOTTING THE COURSE
DIRECTION: The story was quite interesting, now answer the
questions that follow to test you understanding.
1. What descriptions were given about the setting of the story?
2. What seems to be the conflict surrounding the story?
3. What was the deal made by Sonja and Akhmed?
4. What change in attitude was evident in the main character of
the story at the be-ginning and at the end?
5. Why was it important for the writer to narrate the events that
happened during the wars to reveal traditions in Chechnya?
 PLOTTING THE COURSE
1. What descriptions were given about the setting of the
story?
The story happened in a hospital in Chechnya. The story
implies that this happened during the war.
2. What seems to be the conflict surrounding the story?
The conflict evident in the story is the external conflict
surrounding the country of Chechnya. This conflict affects
the people in the community especially the main character
Sonja. There is also an internal conflict within Sonja whether
to take the little girl or not.
 PLOTTING THE COURSE
3. What was the deal made by Sonja and Akhmed?
The deal made by Sonja and Ahkmed is that if Sonja adopts
his daughter, he will work in the hospital as a helper.
4. What change in attitude was evident in the main
character of the story at the be-ginning and at the end?
The main character had a big change in attitude from the
beginning compared to the end. The story reveals that the
loss of her sister to the war is partly the rea-son for her
indifference towards her job.
 PLOTTING THE COURSE
5. Why was it important for the writer to
narrate the events that happened during
the wars to reveal traditions in Chechnya?
The importance of the writer narrating the
events is that it gave the readers ide-as on
how difficult those times in the hospital
during the war that eventually changed the
characters’ outlook in life.
 KEEPING THE TRACK
LITERARY ELEMENTS
 Setting
The setting of a piece of literature is the time and place in
which the story takes place. It can also include social statuses,
weather, historical period, and de-tails about immediate
surroundings. The setting provides the backdraft to the story
and helps create mood.
Examples:
cozy waterfront cottage in a peaceful country…
I was sitting at my desk at work when…
It was sometime past midnight and…
The rain was howling outside…
 KEEPING THE TRACK
LITERARY ELEMENTS
 Character
A character can be defined as any person, animal, or figure
represented in a literary work. There are many types of characters that
exist in literature, each with its own development and function.
Dynamic vs. Static Characters
The concept of dynamic and static characters is closely tied to
character development. A dynamic character is one who goes through
some sort of change; they show character development. A protagonist
is usually a dynamic character. Static characters, on the other hand,
are those who do not change throughout the course of the story. They
serve to show contrast to dynamic ones, refusing to grow and
remaining in one place or mentality.
 KEEPING THE TRACK
LITERARY ELEMENTS
 Theme
Theme is defined as a main idea or an underlying meaning
of a literary work, which may be stated directly or indirectly.
Major and Minor Themes
Major and minor themes are two types of themes that
appear in literary works. A major theme is an idea that a writer
repeats in his literary work, making it the most significant idea
in the work. A minor theme, on the other hand, refers to an
idea that appears in a work briefly, giving way to another minor
theme. Examples of theme are love, friendship, and affection.
 KEEPING THE TRACK
LITERARY ELEMENTS
 Point of View
In literature, point of view is the mode of narration that an author employs to
let the readers “hear” and “see” what takes place in a story, poem, or essay. Point of
view is a reflection of the opinion an individual from real life or fiction has.
Examples of point of view belong to one of these three major kinds:
1. First person point of view involves the use of either of the two pronouns “I” or
“we.”
“I felt like I was getting drowned with shame and disgrace.”
2. Second person point of view employs the pronoun “you.”
“Sometimes you cannot clearly discern between anger and frustration.”
3. Third person point of view uses pronouns like “he,” “she,” “it,” “they,” or a name.
“Stewart is a principled man. He acts by the book and never lets you deceive
him easily.”
 KEEPING THE TRACK
LITERARY ELEMENTS
 Conflict
A conflict in literature is defined as any struggle between opposing
forces. Usually, the main character struggles against some other force.
There are two types of conflict that can drive a story. The first is an
internal conflict. In this case, the struggle actually occurs inside a
character. With internal conflicts, the character could be struggling with
a decision he must make or with his own weaknesses in his personality.
The second type of conflict is an external conflict. This conflict
takes place outside of the main character. The main type of external
conflict occurs when the main character struggles against another.
However, other types of external conflicts can also arise due to other
characters, acts of nature, or society itself in which the character lives.
 KEEPING THE TRACK
LITERARY ELEMENTS
 Plot
Plot is a literary term used to describe the events that make up a story,
or the main part of a story. These events relate to each other in a pattern or a
sequence. It is meant to organize information and events in a logical manner.
Primary Elements of a Plot
 Exposition or Introduction - This is the beginning of the story, where
characters and setting are established. The conflict or main problem is
introduced as well.
 Rising Action - which occurs when a series of events build up to the
conflict. The main characters are established by the time the rising action of
a plot occurs, and at the same time, events begin to get complicated. It is
during this part of a story that excitement, tension, or crisis is encountered.
 KEEPING THE TRACK
 Climax - In the climax, or the main point of the plot,
there is a turning point of the story. This is meant to be
the moment of highest interest and emotion, leaving the
reader wondering what is going to happen next.
 Falling action - the winding up of the story, occurs when
events and complications begin to resolve. The result of
the actions of the main characters are put forward.
 Resolution - or the conclusion, is the end of a story,
which may occur with either a happy or a tragic ending.
APPROACHING DESTINATION
 APPROACHING DESTINATION

1. Introduction. How did the story begin?

2. Rising Action. What part of the story shows a rise in
excitement or tension?
3. Climax. What is the highest interest and emotion in the story?
4. Falling action. What event in the story leads to the solution of
the conflict?
5. Resolution. How did the story end?
6. The story falls upon the Literary Genre, Tragedy. Sight
instances in the story that reveals tragic incidents implied in
the story.
 APPROACHING DESTINATION

 Setting - The story happened in a hospital during the Chechnyan war.

 Characters - The main characters in the story are Sonja and Ahkmed.
Sonja is a dynamic character wherein she underwent a change in
disposition in life due to the passing of her sister. Ahkmed is a
determined father and also a dynamic character as shown in the end the
story wherein he was saddened by the realities happening in the
hospital.
 Point-of-View - The story used an omniscient point-of-view wherein the
story has a narrator.
 Conflict - The conflict of the story is external conflict around the
country of Chechnya and internal conflict within Sonja.
 Theme - The theme of the story is indifference and hope in times of war.
 APPROACHING DESTINATION

Plot
 Introduction - The story began with Sonja going through his normal routine
in the hospital.
 Rising Action – There in a build-up in conflict when Ahkmed came to the
hospital to ask Sonja to take care of his daughter.
 Climax – The part of the story with the highest emotion is the time wherein
Sonja agrees to take care of Havaa.
 Falling Action - The event leading to the end of the story is when Ahkmed
put on a hospital scrub and helped in the hospital
 Resolution – The story ended with both Sonja and Ahkmed realized that the
hospital has more patients dying rather than giving birth.
 Literary Genre - The events in the story showing tragedy are (1) when the
sister of Sonja died, (2) Ahkmed brought his daughter to the hospital because
he cannot care for her any-more and (3) The main characters realized that
the war produced more deaths than births in the hospital.
 SEEING THE LIGHTHOUSE

DIRECTIONS: Share with us what you

learned. Complete the following sentences
below using the writing prompts.
1. In this lesson, I learned that literary
elements are
2. I learned that a literary genre is
3. I learned that literary traditions are
 DROPPING THE ANCHOR
DIRECTIONS: Read the following statements
carefully. Write the CAPITAL LETTER of the correct
answer.
1. What do you call an element of a short story
that refers to the main idea or an underlying
meaning of a literary work?
A. character
B. point of view
C. setting
D. theme
 DROPPING THE ANCHOR

2. The ___________ describes the

events that make up a story.
A. character
B. plot
C. point of view
D. setting
 DROPPING THE ANCHOR

3. General genres in literature

include the following except _____.
A. epic
B. comedy
C. cartoon
D. tragedy
 DROPPING THE ANCHOR
4. A ________________ character is
one who goes through some sort of
change.
A. dynamic
B. flat
C. round
D. static
 DROPPING THE ANCHOR
5. What is defined as the end of a
story, which may occur with either
a happy or a tragic ending?
A. climax
B. introduction
C. resolution
D. rising action