Exploring Literary Elements in Writing: A Comprehensive Guide

1. Chapter 18Writing About Literature Lecture by Vivian Johnson

2. Questions you might be asked… • Show how an author handled one element of a short story, play, or poem. • Compare how two different works treat a particular element. • Weigh several elements and then determine the writer’s intention.* • Air your reactions to some work.*

3. What are the benefits to writing about literature?

4. Do you know any of the 7 Elements of literature?

5. 7 Elements of Literature • Plot • Point of view • Character • Setting • Symbols • Irony • Theme

6. PLOT

7. Definition of Plot • Definition: Plot is the series of events that moves a narrative along. • This is where the writer hints at later developments, creating interest and building suspense.

8. Plot Factors • A conventional plot introduces important characters and sets the stage for what happens. • Then, one or more conflicts develop, by putting person against person, or setting characters against society, nature, fate, or themselves. • Action gradually builds to a climax, where events take a decisive turn.

9. Plot conclusion • The ending can do a number of things. • For example….. clear up unanswered questions, state a theme, reestablish some sort of relationship, or hint at the future.

10. What are the key events in the story? Do they unfold in some fashion? Does the writer use foreshadowing or flashback? Is the plot believable and effective? Is it similar to the plot of another story or some type of story? What examples from the story would support my contentions? Writing about PlotKey questions to remember before you begin to write.

11. POINT OF VIEW

12. Definition of Point of View • Definition: The vantage point from which the writer of a literary work views its events. • A writer may adapt either a first- person or a third- person point of view.

13. Point of View Factors • First- person narration is when someone tells what happens and is identified by words like: I, me, mine, and my. • Third- person narrator stays completely out of the story and is never mentioned in any way.

14. What point of view is used and why? Is the point of view used suitable for this situation? If the story used first- person narration, is the narrator reliable? What focus would produce an effective paper? Writing about Point of ViewKey questions to remember before you begin to write.

15. CHARACTER

16. Character Factors Characters in literary work function in various ways, such as…… • Centers of physical and mental action, • Provide humor, • Act as narrators, • Provide needed information, • Act as foils who highlight more important characters, • Serve as symbols, or simply populate the landscape (extras).

17. What characters offer the potential for a paper? What are their most important features? Do the characters undergo any changes? Are the characters believable? What focus would produce an effective paper? What textual evidence could support the discussion? Writing about CharacterKey questions to remember before you begin to write.

18. SETTING

19. Setting Factors • Setting locates characters in a time, place, and culture so they can think, feel, and act against this background. • Writers can generate feelings and moods by describing settings.

20. Settings • Sunny spring landscapes signal hope or happiness. • Dark alleys are foreboding. • Thunderstorms suggest violent possibilities.

21. What are its key features? What does it accomplish?... Create mood? Reveal character? Serve as a symbol? Reinforce the story’s point? How does it do these things? Does the setting seem realistic? What focus would produce an effective paper? What textual evidence would support it? Writing about SettingKey questions to remember before you begin to write.

22. SYMBOLS

23. Symbol Factors • Used to strengthen and deepen their messages. • Writer’s use symbols such as: names, persons, objects, places, colors, or actions. • Example of a symbol used…(”Mr. Grimm”)

24. IRONY

25. Irony Factors • Irony features some discrepancy, some difference between appearance and reality, expectation and outcome. • Sometimes a character says one thing but means something else. • Irony also results when the reader or a character recognizes something as important, but another character does not.

26. THEME

27. Theme Factors • The theme of literary work is its controlling idea, some observation or insight about life or the conditions and terms of living, such as the prevalence of evil, the foolishness of pride, or the healing power of love. • Theme is central to a work of literature, usually all of the other elements help develop and support it.

28. Ethical Issues Key questions to remember before you begin to write. • Have I read the entire work carefully? • Is my interpretation supported by the preponderance of textual evidence? • Have I avoided using quotations that are atypical or taken out of context? • Is my interpretation fair to the text and the author rather than distorting events to promote an agenda?

29. Writing a Paper on Literature5 Steps in this process • The writing procedure. (Focusing, gathering information, organizing, writing, revising, and editing– the same procedure leads to success in a literature paper as in any other type.) • Handling Quotations. (Just like aspirin, only use when necessary, but not to excess. Cite brief, relevant passages to support key ideas. Fight the urge to quote huge blocks of material.) • Documentation. (Follow MLA guidelines when quoting from outside sources. ) • Tense. (Always write your essay in the present rather than the past tense.) • Include the views of others. (Gather info from secondary sources and jot down any insights you find helpful. Avoid Plagiarism!)

30. Works cited page notes • For fiction, cite the page # of which the quotation appeared: (92). • For Poetry, cite the word “line” or “lines” and the appropriate numbers: (lines 23- 24) • For Plays, cite act, scene, and line numbers separated by periods: (1.3.18-19) 1 Represents the act # 3 Represents the scene # 18-19 Represents the line #

31. We’re almost done!

32. A Street Car Named Desire • I need 11 volunteers to assist me in the reading of this play. • Please keep in mind the 7 Elements of literature. Notice how the writer uses each of these elements while you listen to this wonderful play.

33. Thank you! The end Lectured by Vivian Johnson