Elements of Fiction - Quick Reference

Setting

  • Time and place of the story; consider: place, time, weather, social conditions, mood

Character

  • People who take part; two meanings: (1) a person in the story; (2) the traits of a person
  • Protagonist: main figure; Antagonist: opposing force
  • Character types: Dynamic, Flat, Round, Static
  • Characterization: Direct presentation vs Indirect presentation

Plot

  • Plot: logical arrangement of events; has beginning, middle, end
  • Kinds: Linear Plot, Modular Plot (nonlinear), Episodic Plot
  • Linear Plot stages: Introduction, Rising Action, Climax, Falling Action, Denouement

Conflict

  • Essential to plot; External vs Internal
  • Types: Man vs Man, Man vs Circumstances, Man vs Nature, Man vs Society, Man vs Self, Man vs Supernatural, Man vs Fate, Man vs Technology

Point of View (POV)

  • Third Person: narrator not in the story
  • First Person: narrator is a character (I/we)
  • Omniscient: all-knowing narrator; variants: Limited (knows only some) and Objective (camera-like)

Theme, Tone, Motifs

  • Theme: central idea or insight; can be conveyed via title, figures of speech
  • Tone: emotional weather of the piece; attitude toward subject/audience
  • Motifs: meaningful repeated elements; often tied to theme; not always a separate theme
  • Theme vs Subject: subject is topic; theme is idea about that topic

Prose and Types of Prose

  • Prose: language with ordinary syntax; prose vs verse; common in novels, essays, speeches
  • Nonfiction Prose: essays, biographies, autobiographies (fact-based)
  • Fictional Prose: novels, short stories
  • Prose Poetry: prose with poetic qualities

Techniques and Literary Devices

  • Plot Devices: Flashing Arrow (focus attention on an object), Red Herring (misleads reader), Deathtrap (protagonist at risk), In medias res (start in middle), Reverse chronology (start at end)
  • Vision Devices: Dream Sequence, Analepsis/Flashback, Prolepsis/Flash-forward, Prophecy, Foreshadowing
  • Endings: Cliff-hanger, Twist Ending, Happy Ending, Deus ex Machina (god-solution)

The Last Leaf (Example Piece)

  • Characters: Johnsy, Sue, Behrman; setting: Greenwich Village studio
  • Plot arc: Johnsy sick with pneumonia; ivy leaf as symbol; Behrman paints last leaf as his masterpiece to save her; Behrman dies of pneumonia; Johnsy recovers
  • Theme: hope, sacrifice; Behrman’s act as art/compassion

Quick recall: Key terms

  • Setting, Character, Plot, Conflict, POV, Theme, Tone, Motifs, Plot Devices, Vision, Ending