English 7 Notes

Literary Elements and Devices

Denotation

• Dictionary definition of a word.

Connotation

• The shade or tone of a word and what the specific word suggests according to social meaning.

• Connotations can be positive, negative, or even neutral.

Allegory

• An extended metaphor in which characters, events, and situations are symbolic.

  • Allegorical plots have two levels:

    • Literal

    • Metaphorical

      • This underlying meaning can have moral, social, religious, or political significance.

Satire

• Definition:

  • Mockery of a philosophy, a specific group, or flaws of humanity in general.

  • The author's aim, by criticizing, is to inspire social change.

    • NOTE: Satire is NOT parody.

      • Parody: Poking fun at a subject's flaws for entertainment's sake.

Motif and Theme

• In a literary work, a motif can be seen as an image, sound, action, or other figure that has a symbolic significance, and contributes toward the development of a theme.

• Motif and theme are linked in a literary work, but there is a difference between them.

• In a literary piece, a motif is a recurrent image, idea, or symbol that develops or explains a theme, while a theme is a central idea or message.

Motif and Symbol

• Sometimes, examples of motifs are mistakenly identified as examples of symbols.

• Symbols are images, ideas, sounds, or words that represent something else and help to understand an idea or a thing.

• Motifs, on the other hand, are images, ideas, sounds, or words that help to explain the central idea of a literary work - the theme.

• A symbol may appear once or twice in a literary work, whereas a motif is a recurring element.

Plot Structure

Definition

• The literary element that describes the structure of a story.

  • It shows the arrangement of events and actions within a story.

• Plot consists of five components that don't necessarily need to follow the same order (according to genre).

  • Exposition

    • Start of the story / before the action starts

    • Inciting incident - this will trigger the conflict or action in the story.

  • Rising Action - this will follow the inciting incident - the pace will not be as fast.

  • Climax

    • Series of conflicts and crises leading to the climax.

    • Turning point, most intense moment (either physically or mentally).

  • Falling Action - the pace will be brisk (means quickly).

    • All action that follows the climax.

  • Resolution

    • Conclusion/Tying together of the story's threads (aka - "denouement").

      • Two types of resolutions:

        • Open-Ended: Open to different interpretations.

        • Closed: The story has a definite conclusion.

Importance of Plot

• If one element of plot is weak, the story may be considered weak overall.

• Most essential elements of plot:

  • Character

  • Conflict

Parallel Structure

Summary

• This handout describes and provides examples of parallel structure (similar patterns of words).

• Parallel structure means using the same pattern of words to show that two or more ideas have the same level of importance.

• This can happen at the word, phrase, or clause level.

• The usual way to join parallel structures is with the use of coordinating conjunctions such as "and" or "or."

Words and Phrases

• With the -ing form (gerund) of words:

  • Parallel:

    • Mary likes hiking, swimming, and bicycling.

• With infinitive phrases:

  • Parallel:

    • Mary likes to hike, to swim, and to ride a bicycle.

    • OR

    • Mary likes to hike, swim, and ride a bicycle.

      • (Note: You can use "to" before all the verbs in a sentence or only before the first one.)

• Do not mix forms.

  • Example 1

    • Not Parallel:

      • Mary likes hiking, swimming, and to ride a bicycle.

    • Parallel:

      • Mary likes hiking, swimming, and riding a bicycle.

Clauses

• A parallel structure that begins with clauses must keep on with clauses.

• Changing to another pattern or changing the voice of the verb (from active to passive or vice versa) will break the parallelism.

• Example 1

  • Not Parallel:

    • The coach told the players that they should get a lot of sleep, that they should not eat too much, and to do some warm-up exercises before the game.

  • Parallel:

    • The coach told the players that they should get a lot of sleep, that they should not eat too much, and that they should do some warm-up exercises before the game.

  • -or-

  • Parallel:

    • The coach told the players that they should get a lot of sleep, not eat too much, and do some warm-up exercises before the game.

• Example 2

  • Not Parallel:

    • The salesman expected that he would present his product at the meeting, that there would be time for him to show his slide presentation, and that questions would be asked by prospective buyers. (passive)

  • Parallel:

    • The salesman expected that he would present his product at the meeting, that there would be time for him to show his slide presentation, and that prospective buyers would ask him questions.

Lists After a Colon

• Be sure to keep all the elements in a list in the same form.

• Example 1

Not Parallel:

• The teacher said that he was a poor student because he waited until the last minute to study for the exam, completed his lab problems in a careless manner, and his motivation was low.

Parallel:

• The teacher said that he was a poor student because he waited until the last minute to study for the exam, completed his lab problems in a careless manner, and lacked motivation.