Lit Elements
Literary Elements / Terms / Devices
1. Parts of a story
Exposition : used to introduce background information about events, settings, characters, or other elements of a work to the audience or readers.
Rising Action : a series of relevant incidents that create suspense, interest, and tension in a narrative. In literary works, a rising action includes all decisions, characters’ flaws, and background circumstances that together create turns and twists leading to a climax.
Climax : high point of interest or suspense in a literary work. Often, the climax is also the crisis in the plot, the point at which the protagonist changes his or her understanding of the situation. Sometimes, the climax coincides with the resolution, the point at which the central conflict happens.
Falling Action : occurs right after the climax, when the main problem of the story starts to resolve.
Resolution : the story is resolved.
2. Genre : category of artistic, musical, or literary composition characterized by a particular style, form, or content.
3. Plot : a sequence of events in literary work. Two primary elements of any plot are characters and a conflict.
4. Characterization : act of creating and developing a character. A writer uses direct characterization when he or she describes a character’s trait explicitly. Writers also use indirect characterization. A character’s traits can be revealed indirectly in what he or she says, thinks, or does; in a description of his or her appearance ; or in the statements, thoughts, or actions of other characters.
5. Setting : time or place of the action of a literary work. A setting can provide a backdrop for the action. It can be the force that the protagonist struggles against, and this the source of the central conflict. It can also be used to create an atmosphere. In many works, the setting symbolizes a point that the author wishes to emphasize.
6. Conflict : struggle between opposing forces. Sometimes, this struggle is internal, or within a character. At other times, the struggle is external, or between the character and some outside force. The outside force may be another character, nature, or some element of society such as a custom or a political institution. Often the conflict in a work combines several of these possibilities.
Man vs. God/Fate/Supernatural : This could be any supernatural force that is outside the understanding of the protagonist, including monsters, aliens, or deities.
Man vs. Man : is the most fundamental type of external conflict. This form of external conflict occurs when a character struggles against another character. These struggles may be born from moral, religious or social differences and may be emotional, verbal or physical conflicts
Man vs. Nature : occur when a character, or characters, finds themselves at odds with forces of nature.
Man vs. Self : Internal conflict is that which exists inside the character. Struggles with morality, fate, desire and belief, to name a few. This form of conflict is central to the character, or characters and must be resolved by the character alone.
Man vs. Society : This external conflict exists when characters struggle against the morays of their culture and government. Works where character's battle evil, oppressive cultures are characteristic of man versus society conflict.
Man vs. Technology : places a character against man-made entities which may possess "artificial intelligence".
7. Connotation : the associations that a word calls to mind in addition to its dictionary meaning.
8. Denotation : objective meaning of a word- that to which the word refers, independent of other associations that the word calls to mind. Dictionaries list the denotative meanings of words.
9. Theme : the central idea, concern, or purpose in a literary work. In an essay, the theme might be directly stated in what is known as the thesis statement. In a serious literary work, the theme is usually expressed indirectly rather than directly.
10. Symbolism : a sign, word, phrase, image, or other object that stands for or represents something else.
11. Protagonist : the leading character or one of the major characters in a drama, movie, novel, or other fictional text.
12. Antagonist : a person who actively opposes or is hostile to someone or something; an adversary.
13. Irony
Dramatic irony : the expression of one's meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite, typically for humorous or emphatic effect.
Situational irony : literary device that you can easily identify in literary works. Simply, it occurs when incongruity appears between expectations of something to happen, and what actually happens instead.
Verbal irony : is when words express something contrary to truth or someone says the opposite of what they really feel or mean. Verbal irony is often sarcastic.
14. Diction : a writer’s word choice. It can be a major determinant or the writer’s style. Diction can be described as formal or informal, abstract or concrete, plain or ornate, ordinary or technical.
15. Dialect : a form of language spoken by people in a particular region or group. Dialects differ from one another in grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation.
16. Dialogue : a conversation between characters. Writers use dialogue to reveal character, to present events, to add variety to narratives, and to interest readers. Dialogue in a story is usually set off by quotation marks and paragraphing. Dialogue in a play script generally follows the name of the speaker.
17. Figurative language : writing or speech not meant to be interpreted literally. Poets and other writers use figurative language to paint vivid word pictures, to make their writing emotionally intense and concerned, and to state their ideas in new and unusual ways. Examples of figures of speech making up figurative language are hyperbole, irony, metaphor, metonymy, oxymoron, onomatopoeia, paradox, personification, simile, and synecdoche.
18. Metaphor : figure of speech in which one thing is spoken of as though it were something else, as in “death, that long sleep.” Through this identification of dissimilar things, a comparison is suggested or implied.
19. Simile : a figure of speech that compares two apparently dissimilar things using like or as
20. Personification : figure of speech in which a nonhuman subject is given human characteristics.
21. Hyperbole : a deliberate exaggeration or overstatement.
22. Onomatopoeia : a word which imitates the natural sounds of a thing. It creates a sound effect that mimics the thing described, making the description more expressive and interesting.
23. Oxymoron : a figure of speech that fuses two contradictory ideas, such as “happy grief” thus suggesting a paradox in just a few words.
24. Paradox : a statement that seems to be contradictory but that actually presents a truth.
25. Point of View
First person point of view : a character within the story narrates.
Third person point of view : a voice from outside the story is the narrator.
Limited point of view : knowledge of the storyteller is limited to the internal states of one character.
Omniscient point of view : a storyteller’s knowledge extends to the internal states of all the characters.
26. Narrator : the narrative is told by a character or speaker called the narrator.
27. Allusion : a reference to a well known person, place, event, literary work, or work of art.
28. Apostrophe : a speaker directly addresses an absent person or a personified quality, object, or idea.
29. Juxtaposition : two or more ideas, places, characters, and their actions are placed side by side in a narrative or a poem, for the purpose of developing comparisons and contrasts.
30. Foil character : a character that shows qualities that are in contrast with the qualities of another character. The objective is to highlight the traits of the other character.
31. Archetype : also known as “universal symbol,” may be a character, a theme, a symbol, or even a setting. Many literary critics are of the opinion that archetypes – which have a common and recurring representation in a particular human culture, or entire human race – shape the structure and function of a literary work.
32. Comedic effect : one or two humorous characters and scenes to lighten the overall tense mood of the work.
33. Tragedy : type of drama or literature that shows the downfall or destruction of a noble or outstanding person, traditionally one who possesses a character weakness called a tragic flaw.
34. Tragic flaw : a trait in a character leading to his downfall, and the character is often the hero of the literary piece. This trait could be the lack of self-knowledge, lack of judgment, and often it is hubris (pride)
35. Tragic hero : a person who faces adversity, or demonstrates courage, in the face of danger. However, sometimes he faces downfall as well. When a hero confronts downfall, he is recognized as a tragic hero or protagonist.
36. Imagery : descriptive language used in literature to recreate sensory experiences. Imagery enriches writing by making it more vivid, setting a tone, suggesting emotions, and guiding readers’ reactions.
37. Foreshadowing : a writer gives an advance hint of what is to come later in the story. Foreshadowing often appears at the beginning of a story, or a chapter, and helps the reader develop expectations about the coming events in a story.
38. Flashback : interruptions that writers do to insert past events, in order to provide background or context to the current events of a narrative. By using flashbacks, writers allow their readers to gain insight into a character’s motivations, and provide a background to a current conflict. Dream sequences and memories are methods used to present flashbacks.
39. Mood : the atmosphere of a literary piece, as it creates an emotional setting that surrounds the readers. Mood is developed in a literary piece through various methods, including setting, theme, tone, and diction.
40. Tone : the writer’s attitude toward the reader and toward the subject, it may be formal or informal, friendly or distant, personal or pompous.
41. Motif : an image, sound, action, or other figure that has a symbolic significance, and contributes toward the development of a theme.
42. Monologue : a speech or performance given entirely by one person or by one character.
43. Soliloquy : a long speech in a play or in a prose work made by a character alone, and thus reveals private thoughts and feelings to the audience or reader.
44. Aside : a short comment or speech that a character delivers directly to the audience, or to himself, while other actors on the stage appear not to hear.
45. Parody : an imitation of a particular writer, artist, or genre, exaggerating it deliberately to produce a comic effect.
46. Satire : writing that ridicules or holds up to contempt the faults of individuals or groups.
47. Epiphany : a sudden revelation or flash of insight in which a character recognizes the truth.
48. Rhetorical language : literary elements used to convince or persuade audiences using logos, pathos, and ethos. The appropriate use makes the text rich, lifelike and enjoyable in prose and poetry.
49. Gothic : a term used to describe literary works that make extensive use of primitive, medieval, wild, mysterious, or natural elements. Gothic novels often depict horrifying events set in gloomy castles with paranormal entities.
50. Coming of age : genre of literature or film that focuses on the growth of a protagonist from youth to adulthood. Coming-of-age stories tend to emphasize dialogue or internal monologue over action, and are often set in the past.