Download Elements of Nonfiction

ELEMENTS OF FICTION
PLOT STRUCTURE:
 Exposition: Exposition takes place at the beginning of the story. The setting, characters and background
information is discussed.
 Rising Action: The author discusses the conflict or problem and the characters attempt to solve the problem.
 Climax: The problem or conflict is at its worst, and the characters begin to solve the problem.
 Falling Action: The characters solve the problem.
 Resolution: The conflict comes to an end, or the problem is solved. This is the story’s ending where loose ends
are tied up.
POINT OF VIEW: The perspective from which a narrative is told
 1st person POV: The narrator is the character in the story.
 3rd person omniscient: All knowing. The narrator or person telling the story knows everything that is going on
in the story, including the thoughts of each character.
 3rd person limited POV: The narrator is outside the story - like omniscient - but tells the story from the vantage
point of only one character. Therefore, the reader does not know what the other characters are thinking.
QUEST: an adventurous journey undergone by the main character or protagonist of a story. The protagonist usually
meets with and overcomes a series of obstacles, returning in the end with the benefits of knowledge and experience.
CONFLICT:: The struggle between opposing forces or characters in a story. (i.e. Romeo fighting Capulet in Shakespeare's
"Romeo and Juliet")

conflict - external conflict
Can exist between two people (man vs. man), between a person and nature (man vs. nature) or a machine
(man vs. technology) or between a person and a whole society (man vs. society).(i.e. Romeo fighting Capulet in
Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet")

conflict - internal conflict
Involves opposing forces within a person's mind (man vs. self). "i.e. Edgar Allan Poe's "The Tell-Tall Heart", the
protagonist ends up struggling with his own guilt after comminting murder)
CHARACTERIZATION: The process by which the writer reveals the personality of a character.(i.e. "The patient boy and
quiet girl were both well mannered and did not disobey their mother."

characterization - direct characterization
Writer tells reader directly what the character is like and/or what the character's motives are. (i.e. "The patient
boy and quiet girl were both well mannered and did not disobey their mother.")

characterization - dynamic character
Changes in some important way as a result of the story's action. (i.e. The Capulets and Montegues are all
dynamic. By the end of the story they have changed and have stopped hating each other)

characterization - flat character
Have few personality traits and can be summed up by a single phrase (wicked stepmother, nosy neighbor). (i.e.
Snow White's evil stepsisters)

characterization - indirect characterization
Reader must exercise judgment to put clues together to infer what a character is like, using the character's
actions, words, or thoughts. (i.e. In the "Cat in the Hat", any of the words spoken by the cat at the beginning of
the story are ubeat. For instance, the cat says to the children, "But we can have/Lots of fun that is funny!")

characterization - round character
Have more dimensions to their personalities; they are complex as real people are. (i.e. Romeo is a round
character, we see sensitive, romantic, and aggressive sides of him)

characterization - static character
Is not changed by or through the course of events in a story. (i.e. The evil step-mother in Cinderella is a static
character, she is still evil at the end and throughout the story)
IRONY: A contrast or discrepancy between expectation and reality
 Dramatic irony: when the audience or the reader knows something important that a character in the play or
story does not know
 Situational irony: when there is a contradiction between what we expect to happen and what really does take
place
 Verbal irony: when a writer or speaker says one thing but really means something completely different
Allusion: A reference to a mythological, literary, or historical person, place, or thing. (i.e. "Boy at the Window" by
Richard Wilbur)
Atmosphere/mood: The predominant emotion a reader perceives in a literary work. (i.e. Shakespeare start's his play
"Othello" on a dark street of Venice at night with a heated argument between two characters. The reader feels a sense
of foreboding and it establishes a sinister mood) (i.e. Shakespeare's play "Othello" takes place on a dark street in Venice,
creating a sinister mood)
Connotation: The associations and emotional overtones that have become attached to a word or phrase, in addition to
its strict dictionary definition, called denotation. (i.e. "She gazed at me" vs. "She glared at me" - gazed has a positive
overtone, glared a negative one. If one were simply to say "She looked at me," there is no connotation.)
Epiphany: A moment of sudden insight or revelation that a character experiences. (i.e. In Nancy Drew novels, Nancy
epiphanies when she finally realizes who the real criminal is)
Flashback: A scene that interrupts the action of a work to show a previous event. (i.e. Henry Flemming in "Red Badge of
Courage" flashbacks to fleeing in battle)
Foil A character who acts as a contrast to another character. (i.e. In Shakespeare's "Hamlet", Hamlet and Laertes are
foils)
Foreshadowing: The use of hints or clues in a narrative to suggest future action. (i.e. In Romeo and Juliet by
Shakespeare, The Chorus's first speech declaring the Romero and Juliet are doomed to die and "star-crossed")
Genre: A term used to describe various types of literature. ( i.e. prose can be divided into fiction, autobiography,
biography, history, essays, letters, etc.)
Imagery: Consists of the words or phrases a writer uses to represent persons, objects, actions, feelings, and ideas
descriptively by appealing to the senses. (i.e. When the evening is spread out against the sky" by T.S. Elliot's "The Love
Song of J. Alfred Prufrock")
Motif: A word, character, object, image, metaphor, or idea that recurs in a work or in several works. (i.e. Cinderella
Protagonist/antagonist: The central character of a drama, novel, short story, or narrative poem. Conversely, the
antagonist is the character who stands directly opposed to the protagonist. (i.e. The protagonist of Shakespeare's
"Hamlet" is Hamlet, since most of the action revolves around him)
Setting: The time and place in which events in a short story, novel, play, or narrative poem take place. (i.e. Act 1 Scene 1
of "Romeo and Juliet" is in a public square in Verona, Italy.)
Symbol: Any object, person, place or action that has both a meaning in itself and that stands for something larger than
itself, such as a quality, attitude, belief, or value. (i.e. "Little lamb, who made thee?/ He is called by thy name/For he
calls himself a lamb;" - from William Blake's "The Lamb". Lamb is a symbol that stands for Jesus Christ (Lamb of God))
Theme: The central message of a literary work. It is not the same as the subject, which can be expressed in a word or
two. (i.e. George Orwell's "1984", has a theme of social dangers of totalitarianism)
Tone: The writer’s/speaker’s attitude toward a subject, character, or audience is conveyed through the author’s choice
of words and detail. Tone can be serious, humorous, sarcastic, indignant, objective, etc. (i.e. serious, humorous,
sarcastic, indignant, objective, etc.)
Voice: The dominating ethos or tone of a literary work. The voice existing in a literary work is not always identifiable
with the actual words of the author. In writing, voice is simply the way you, the writer, projects yourself artistically. (i.e.
The voice in Orwell's "1984" is dark and pessimistic)
Elements of Nonfiction
Nonfiction: writing about real people, places, things and ideas.
Purposes:
 To inform
 To give an opinion
 To persuade
 To entertain
Types of Nonfiction:
 Biography – true story of a real person’s life
 Autobiography – true account of a person’s life told by that person
 Personal Narrative – when a writer presents only one incident from his or her life
 Informative Article – gives facts about a specific subject
 True-Life Adventure – true tales of heroic deeds or exciting adventures, usually told chronologically
 Essay – short work on one subject. The writer might give an opinion, persuade, or simply narrate an interesting
event.
Formal – examine a topic in a thorough, serious, and highly organized manner
Informal – reflects the writer’s feelings and personality
 Newspaper Column – a regular feature, usually appearing daily or weekly in a newspaper, in which a certain
writer gives his or her views about the news or about life in general.
Elements of Poetry
Form: The way a poem looks and is arranged on a page.
 Lines: The words are written in lines, which may or may not be sentences.
 Stanzas: In some poems, lines are grouped into stanzas which may have a uniform number of lines, or the
number of lines may vary.
Sound:
 Rhyme: repetition of the same sound at the end of words. Many traditional poems contain rhyme at the end
of lines. This pattern is called the rhyme scheme.
 Rhythm: the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables. Poems where the rhythm is like everyday
conversation without a definite pattern are called free verse.



Alliteration: repetition of consonant sounds at the beginnings of words (Black gloves, a broad, black hat…)
Assonance: repetition of vowel sounds within words (And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side)
Imagery: language that appeals to the reader’s sense of sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste. Creates visual
images for the reader.
 Figurative Language: describes ordinary things in a new way. Often used to compare one thing to another
(simile, metaphor, personification)
 Speaker: the voice that talks to the reader. May or may not be the voice of the poet.
 Theme: the message about life or human nature that the poet shares with the reader
Analyzing Poetry:
Title: Ponder the title before reading the poem. Predict what the poem may be about.
 Paraphrase: Translate the poem into your own words.
 Connotation: Contemplate the poem for meaning beyond the literal. What are the implications, hints,
suggestions of particular word choices?
 Devices: Examine poetic devices, focusing on how they contribute to or enhance the meaning, effect, of the
poem.
 Attitude: Observe both the speaker and the poet’s attitude (tone). Diction, images, and details suggest the
speaker’s attitude and contribute to the meaning.
 Shifts: Notes shifts in speaker and in attitudes. As with most of us, the poet’s understanding of an experience
is a gradual realization, and the poem is a reflection of that epiphany. Trace the changing feelings of the
speaker from the beginning to end, paying particular attention to the conclusion. Watch for the following:
 Title: Examine the title again, this time on an interpretive level.
 Theme: Determine what the poet is saying. Recognize the human experience, motivation, or condition
suggested.
ELEMENTS OF DRAMA
DRAMA: literature meant to be performed for an audience in the form of a play
CAST OF CHARACTERS: usually listed in the order in which they will appear
AUDIENCE: Theatre requires an audience. The physical presence of an audience can change a performance, inspire
actors, and create expectations.
DIALOGUE: a conversation between characters. Brings characters to life bvy revealing their personalities and by showing
what they are thinking and feeling as they react to other characters.
ACT: Scenes are grouped into acts, like chapters in a book.
SCENE: a subdivision of an act in a play. Each scene usually takes place in a specific setting and time.
STAGE DIRECTIONS: a set of instructions (often in italics) explaining where and how the actors should speak, describing
scenery and/or props, providing instructions on lighting, costuming, music, or sound effects.
SOLILOQUY: a long speech delivered by a character who is alone on stage. Typically reveals the private thoughts and
emotions of the character.
ASIDE: Comment(s) made by a character, but not heard by the other characters onstage. Usually the character speaks
directly to the audience. Provides information to the audience, revealing the private thoughts of the character.
FOIL: a character who provides a strong contrast to another character. May emphasize another character’s distinctive
traits or make a character look better or worse by comparison.