Writing
About Literature: Know the Literary Elements!
To write about literature, you need a good understanding of literary elements, and you need to keep them clearly in mind. The elements below make your reading and writing more specific and sharp.
Plot - the novel/play's actions or series of events.
It is the conflict - the problem the characters face- that keeps the plot moving.
Conflicts can be external (struggles with people, nature, society).
Conflicts can be internal (struggles with the character's own beliefs or feelings)
The climax of the plot is the point of greatest emotional intensity or suspense in the plot.
Setting - the novel/play's time and place; it may include weather, clothes, landscape, buildings, cars -- many physical and social details.
It provides important background for understanding people and events.
It may also create conflict (a city struggling from famine).
It may also set an emotional mood or atmosphere (dark, foreboding, light,
joyous)
Characters - the individuals in a story (animals, aliens, people)
Characterization is the way the writer reveals their qualities and traits.
Writers can describe a character's personality directly.
Writers can also show a character's personality indirectly through
· What the character says
· How the character looks
· What the character thinks
· What the character does
· What others say about the character
To understand a character, you need to consider the character's reasons for their actions and decide if the character changes throughout the novel/play.
Point
of View - the angle from which a novel is told:
who tells it, how close this narrator is to the action, what is
told and
what
is not told
· First-person point of view - the narrator is a character in the novel and speaks as I. This character can only tell us what he/she sees and hears, is told, or believes. You must decide if the character is a reliable source for the information.
· Third-person point of view - the narrator is outside the novel-- not a character-- and does not use the words I, me, and mine, but does use he, she, him, her, and them.
· Third-person omniscient - narrator can tell the thoughts of any character, relate any event, and speak right to the reader or skip around in time; "all-knowing"
· Third-person limited point of view - narrator can only reveal the thoughts of one character. The novel's events are filtered through the thoughts of one person.
Foreshadowing - a hint or suggestion of coming events-- a kind of clue that heightens our interest or prepares us for significant actions.
Irony - a contrast between appearance or expectation and reality
· Verbal irony - when one thing is said but another is meant: A man who plans to kill his unsuspecting friend offers a toast "To your health!"
· Situational irony - what is expected is not what happens: A man attends a carnival with his friend expecting fun but instead meets his death
· Dramatic irony - the reader knows something that a character does not: Readers know that a man plans to murder his friend, but his unsuspecting friend does not know
Theme - an important idea about life or human nature revealed in a novel/play; an insight
· Authors do not usually state their themes directly; you must draw your own conclusions from characters, events, descriptions, and dialogue.
· You may find more than one theme in a novel/play.
Writing
About Literature: Ask The Right Questions!
Analyzing means examining in great detail. Here are a few questions that can help you analyze any work of literature.
1. What important conflict(s), external and/or internal, does/do the main character(s) face?
2. What is the novel/play's climax?
3. What is the outcome of the central conflict?
4. Where and when does the novel/play take place?
5. Does the setting help explain characters and events, cause a conflict, or set a mood? (More than one may apply) Explain your answer.
6. What is/are the main character(s) like? (Note appearance, speech, thoughts, actions, and the reactions of others.)
7. What motivates the main character(s) to act? Does/Do the character(s) change in the story? If so, how?
8. What is the point of view of the novel? Does the point of view affect what you know and fell? How?
9. Does foreshadowing help prepare for later events or situations? If so, give examples that you found effective.
10. Is irony-- verbal, situational, or dramatic-- at work in the novel/play? Give examples, and discuss its effect.
11. What important idea about life or people do you find in this story?
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