Literary Terms

How to approach Literature!

Calandlyceum 2022-23

What We Do With Literature: Three Tips

1. Take a literary work on its own terms. Adjust to the work; don’t make the work adjust to
you. Be prepared to hear things you do not want to hear. Not all works are about your
ideas, nor will they always present emotions you want to feel. But be tolerant and listen
to the work first; later you can explore the ways you do or don’t agree with it.
2. Assume there is a reason for everything. Writers do make mistakes, but when a work
shows some degree of verbal control it is usually safest to assume that the writer chose
each word carefully; if the choice seems peculiar, you may be missing something. Try to
account for everything in a work, see what kind of sense you can make of it, and figure
out a coherent pattern that explains the text as it stands.
3. Remember that literary texts exist in time, and times change. Not only the meanings of
words, but whole ways of looking at the universe vary in different ages. Consciousness
of time works two ways: Your knowledge of history provides a context for reading the
work, and the work may modify your notion of a particular age.
 Questions, you should ask yourself, about the Elements of Fiction

• Expectations: What do you expect?

° from the title? The cover? from the first sentence or paragraph?
° after the first events or interactions of characters?
° as the conflict is resolved?

• What happens in the story?

° Do the characters or the situation change from the beginning to the end?
° Can you summarize the plot?
° Is it a recognizable kind or genre of narrative?

• How is the story narrated?

° Is the narrator identified as a character?
° Is it narrated in the past or present tense?
° Is it narrated in the first, second, or third person?
° Do you know what every character is thinking, or only some characters, or none?

• Who are the characters?

° Who is the protagonist(s) (hero, heroine)?
° Who is the antagonist(s) (villain, opponent, obstacle)?
° Who are the other characters? What is their role in the story?
° Do your expectations change with those of the characters, or do you know more or
less than each of the characters?

• What is the setting of the story?

° When does the story take place?
° Where does it take place?
° Does the story move from one setting to another?
° Does it move in one direction only or back and forth in time and place?

• What do you notice about how the story is written?

° What is the style of the prose? Are the sentences and the vocabulary simple or complex?
° Are there any images, figures of speech, motifs or symbols?
° What is the tone or mood? Does the reader feel sad, amused, worried, curious?

• What does the story mean? Can you express/explain one or more of its theme or themes?
° Answers to these big questions may be found in many instances in your answers to
the previous questions. The story’s meaning or theme depends on all its features.
Plot structure

As a concentrated form of narrative prose fiction, the short story has been theorised through the
traditional elements of dramatic structure: 

Exposition Introduces the characters, the setting, the time and place. Provides background
information necesary to understand the characters and their actions.
Short stories don’t always take the time for long descriptions (as a book would) so look at
descriptions of clothing, the kinds of transportation (horses, cars or space ships) and other
descriptions that let you know where and when the story takes place.
Rising Action The series of events that lead up to the conflict or height of the story.
Conflict is the struggle found in fiction. Conflict may be internal or external and is best seen in (1)
Man in conflict with another Man: (2) Man in conflict in Nature; (3) Man in conflict with self. The
problem or complication the protagonist (maincharacter) struggles to resolve.
Climax The point of highest dramatic interest, or a major turning point in the action in a story. It
is often the point in the story where the Protagonist makes the most important decision. That
point of greatest emotional intensity, interest, or suspense in a narrative.
* This can be tricky to find because it is not always in the middle of the story. It can be nearer the
beginning or nearer the end.
Falling Action: All the action in a story that follows the climax where the results of the
Protagonist’s decision are shown. All of the action in a play that follows the turning point. The
falling action leads to the resolution or conclusion of the play.
*Ask yourself, what are the consequences of the decision and what happened because of it.
Resolution- This is the outcome of the story when what happens to the characters becomes
clear.

Because of their length, short stories may or may not follow this pattern. For example, modern
short stories only occasionally have an exposition, more typically beginning in the middle of the
action (in medias res).

As with longer stories, plots of short stories also have a climax, crisis, or turning point. However,
the endings of many short stories are abrupt and open, have no falling actions and may or may
not have a moral or practical lesson. As with any art form, the exact characteristics of a short story
will vary by creator.

Short stories tend to be less complex than novels. Usually a short story focuses on one incident;
has a single plot, a single setting, and a small number of characters; and covers a short period of
time.

The modern short story form emerged from oral story-telling traditions, the brief moralistic
narratives of parables and fables, and the prose anecdote, all of these being forms of a swiftly
sketched situation that quickly comes to its point.

Setting determines the period and location in which and at which the story takes place.
Writers describe the world they know. Sights, sounds, colors, and textures are all vividly painted in
words as an artist paints images on canvas. A writer imagines a story to be happening in a place
that is rooted in his or her mind. The location of a story's actions, along with the time in which it
occurs, is the setting.

Historical context refers to the moods, attitudes, and conditions that existed in a certain time.
Theme

The main idea/message behind an essay, story or novel. The message may be about life, society,
or human nature. Themes often explore timeless universal ideas and are often implied rather than
stated explicitly. Some stories have more than one theme and novels can have many themes. A
simple theme can often be stated in a single sentence.
 Identifying theme(s), here are some ways how to:

 Check out the title; sometimes it tells you a lot about the possible theme.
 Notice repeating patterns and symbols. Sometimes these lead you to the theme.
 What are the details and particulars in the story? What greater meaning may they have? What was
the writer’s objective when he wrote the story (which is, of course, to some extent a personal
interpretation)?

Remember that theme, plot, and structure are inseparable, all helping to inform and reflect back
on each other. Also, be aware that a theme we have identified never completely explains the
story. It is simply one of the elements that make up the whole.

Motifs

Recurring structures, contrasts, and literary devices that can help to develop and inform the text’s
major themes.

A motif is an element or idea that is repeated throughout a particular piece of literature. A motif
could be expressed by a collection of related symbols. For example, the motif of fragmentation (of
a family, for instance) could come from several symbols that appear in a book:
 shattered glass
 an unfaithful spouse
 a runaway (pet, teen, car)

Sometimes a motif can be a contrast, like "light and dark." A series of symbols that could
represent this motif might be:
 moon shadows (shades of darkness)
 a candle (a light in the darkness)
 storm clouds (temporary darkness)
 a ray of sunshine (emerging from darkness)

Motifs you discover in your reading will lead to the understanding of an overall theme of your
book. To find the theme of a book, you should look for an overall message or (life)lesson. If you
do encounter the motif of "light and dark" in a book, you should think about the message that the
author is trying to give you.

Symbols

Objects, characters, figures, and colors used to represent abstract ideas or concepts.
Narrative style

Ab ovo (Latin, "from the egg"): This phrase refers to a narrative that starts at the beginning of
the plot, and then moves chronologically through a sequence of events to the tale's conclusion.
In medias res is Latin for "into the middle of things." It usually describes a narrative that begins,
not at the beginning of a story, but somewhere in the middle — usually at some crucial point in
the action, and then proceeds to explain earlier events through the characters' dialogue,
memories, or flashbacks. It is a convention used in epic poetry and sometimes novels, short
stories, drama, and narrative poetry designed to attract immediate attention from and secure the
prompt interest of the reader or audience. The main advantage of in medias res is to open the
story with dramatic action rather than exposition which sets up the characters and situation.
Post rem The author starts the story at the ending. All the information that follows happened
before in the story. You hardly come across this style in literature.

Time / Chronology

Flashback A device that allows the writer to present events that happened before the time of the
current narration or the current events in fiction. Flashback techniques include memories, dreams,
stories of the past. Flashback is action that interrupts the narrative to show an event that
happened at an earlier time which is necessary to mention for better understanding. Also a
flashback is useful (for exposition) to fill in the reader about a character or place, or about the
background to a conflict.
Flashforward is an interjected scene that takes the narrative forward in time from the current
point of the story. Flashforwards are often used to represent events expected, projected, or
imagined to occur in the future. They may also reveal significant parts of the story that have not
yet occurred, but soon will in greater detail. Chronological order, a story is told in the order that
the events actually happened. Non-Chronological just means that events are not in sequence or
out of order.

Genre: is a category of literary composition. Most general genres in literature are: epic, tragedy,
comedy, novel, fiction, non-fiction, horror, science fiction or thriller.

Explanation or analysis of the (book)title:

The title often tells us something about the theme or the content of the narrative. You always
need to try to explain/analyse the title of your book (story); sometimes this will be obvious, but
sometimes you have to use symbolism to explain the title.
 Point of View

An automobile accident occurs. Two drivers are involved. Witnesses include four sidewalk
spectators, a policeman, a man with a video camera who happened to be shooting the scene, and
the pilot of a helicopter that was flying overhead. Here we have nine different points of view and,
most likely, nine different descriptions of the accident.
In short fiction, the character who tells the story and how it is told are critical issues for an author
to decide. The tone and feel of the story, and even its meaning, can change radically depending
on who is telling the story.

Remember, someone is always between the reader and the action of the story. That someone is
telling the story from his or her own point of view. This angle of vision, the point of view from
which the people, events, and details of a story are viewed, is important to consider when reading
a story.

Types of Point of View:

 Objective Point of View
With the objective point of view, the writer tells what happens without stating more than can be
inferred from the story's action and dialogue. The narrator never discloses anything about what
the characters think or feel, remaining a detached observer.
 Third Person Point of View
Here the narrator does not participate in the action of the story as one of the characters, but lets
us know exactly how the characters feel. We learn about the characters through this outside voice.
 First Person Point of View
In the first person point of view, the narrator does participate in the action of the story. When
reading stories in the first person, we need to realize that what the narrator is recounting might
not be the objective truth. We should question the trustworthiness of the accounting.
 Omniscient and Limited Omniscient Points of View
A narrator who knows everything about all the characters is all knowing, or omniscient; a narrator
whose knowledge is limited to one character, either major or minor, has a limited omniscient point
of view.

As you read a piece of fiction always consider the following:

 How does the point of view affect your responses to the characters?
 How is your response influenced by how much the narrator knows and how objective he or she is?
First person narrators are not always trustworthy. It is up to you to determine what is the truth
and what is not.
 Characterization

The method used by a writer to develop a character.

This method includes:

(1) showing the character's appearance,
(2) displaying the character's actions,
(3) revealing the character's thoughts,
(4) letting the character speak, and
(5) getting the reactions of others.

Memorable characters come alive for us while we read. They live on the page and in our hearts
and minds. Characters are extremely important because they are the medium through which a
reader interacts with a piece of literature. Every character has his or her own personality, which a
creative author uses to assist in forming the plot of a story or creating a mood.
Be alert to characters in the same way you are when you meet someone. Observe their actions.
Listen closely to what they say and how they say it. Notice how they relate to other characters and
how other characters respond to them. Look for clues as to their purpose and significance in the
story.

Learning About Characters:

Characters are either major or minor and either static (unchanging) or dynamic (changing).
The character who dominates the story is the major character.
Static characters are minor characters in a work of fiction who do not undergo substantial
change or growth in the course of a story. Also referred to as "two-dimensional characters" or
"flat characters," they play a supporting role to the main character, who as a rule should be
round, or complex. A dynamic, or round, character is a major character in a work of fiction who
encounters conflict and is changed by it. Dynamic characters tend to be more fully developed and
described than flat, or static, characters. If you think of the characters you most love in fiction,
they probably seem as real to you as people you know in real life.
There are no limits on the types of characters who can inhabit a story: male or female, rich or
poor, young or old, prince or pauper. What is important is that the characters in a story all have
the same set of emotions as the reader: happiness, sorrow, disappointment, pain, joy, and love.
Antagonist: a character in a story or poem who deceives, frustrates, or works again the main
character, or protagonist, in some way. The antagonist doesn’t necessarily have to be an person.
It could be death, the devil, an illness, or any challenge that prevents the main character from
living “happily ever after." In fact, the antagonist could be a character of virtue in a literary work
where the protagonist represents evil.
An antagonist in the story of Genesis is the serpent. He convinces Eve to disobey God, setting off a
chain of events that leads to Adam and Eve being banished from paradise.
Protagonist: is considered to be the main character or lead figure in a novel. It may also be
referred to as the "hero" of a work. In some literature today it may be difficult to decide who is
playing the role of the protagonist. This can lead to multiple interpretations of the same work and
different ways of appreciating a single piece of literature.