Literary Terms Study Guide for the English Basics

Literary Elements

Literary elements are the foundations of a text. They are the pieces used to compose a piece of literature. Here are some examples of literary elements.

Plot

Every good story needs a good storyline. That’s what the plot is: the series of related events that make up a story and move the reader from the beginning to the middle to the end of the action.

Character

A character is a person, animal, or figure to whom the action or events of a story happen. Characters come in all shapes and sizes; they can be loved or loathed by a reader, be static or dynamic, and be main players in the action or be less involved in the plot.

Theme

The theme of a text is the main idea or central topic it covers. Authors may choose to state the theme directly or indirectly, allowing the reader to determine the intended message. Although there can be some personal interpretation involved with identifying theme, the reader must use textual clues and common sense to determine the theme. If, for example, a text is about fish in the ocean, the reader cannot claim that the theme is the dangers of deforestation.

Setting

Setting refers to the time and place in which a text is set. The setting of a science fiction novel might be on the planet Mars in the year 3015. The setting of a poem might be in a field of flowers on a spring morning. Setting includes not only where, but when a story is set to take place. Sometimes the time is ambiguous and the story could be taking place at any time, but it is important to consider when and where in order to fully appreciate the story.

Protagonist

The protagonist is the main character in a text. Although protagonists are often seen as the “hero,” whether or not they are successful in their endeavors, not all protagonists are “good guys” and many will show their humanity by being a mix of good and evil.

Antagonist

The antagonist in a text is the character who plays opposite the protagonist. The antagonist is generally the character responsible for bringing the conflict in a text. They may be the “bad guy” to the protagonist’s “good guy” image.

Conflict

Conflict refers to the problems or obstacles that a character faces during the course of the plot. Conflict moves the story forward and forces the protagonist to make decisions or take action with regard to the conflict that determine the outcome of the story. The challenges or obstacles a character faces may be internal or external.

With internal conflict, a character struggles with a personality trait or internal conflict of some sort. For example, in Romeo and Juliet, Juliet struggles with her love for the young man who is supposed to be her enemy. Her heart loves him, but her mind questions whether or not a relationship can work.

External conflict describes a struggle with an outside force. Rather than a character struggling with his or her emotions or conscience (internal conflict), external conflicts involve issues that arise with another character, society, or nature. For example, a character gets lost in the mountains while hiking. He is unprepared to spend the night outdoors and then a storm moves into the area and temperatures plummet. This would be an external conflict of “man vs. nature” where the character must struggle against the challenges set out by the natural world.

Climax

The climax of a text is the high point. It is the moment at which all the conflict has come to a head, the protagonist must make a key choice, and that choice will determine the outcome of the plot. The climax tends to be a turning point for the plot and the decision a character makes at this intense moment determines the mood of the rest of the story. If you map the events of a story as a mountain (“plot mountain”), the climax is the pinnacle.

Resolution/Denouement

The resolution or denouement describes the action of the story after the climax is reached. It is how things turn out and resolve themselves. Once a character makes that decision or determination or takes an action at the point of climax, what happens, as a result, is the resolution. Most authors like to have a full sense of resolution for the reader by the end of the story. If they don’t, it may be because a sequel is coming and the author wants you to read the next installment.

Point of View

In literature, the point of view refers to the perspective from which a story is told. Authors may choose to have a story told from the first-person point of view, which means that the narrator is a character in the story and refers to him- or herself as “I.” First-person point of view gets the reader into the action of the story but the understanding of other characters may be limited because we only follow the narrator and know his or her thoughts.

An author may also choose to use a third-person point of view to tell a story. This may be done through third-person limited or third-person omniscient narration. In third-person limited, the narrator is not a character in the story, but follows one of the characters. Almost as though hovering on that character’s shoulder, the reader knows only what this character is feeling or thinking and cannot get into the head of any other character. A third-person omniscient narrator is like a person sitting on a hilltop overlooking a town in the valley below. The narrator can see into everyone’s minds and thoughts, and the reader is exposed to the thoughts and feelings of all of the characters.

Mood

In literature, mood refers to the emotions that are evoked in a reader through the text. It is how a text makes the reader feel. The mood is created through the author’s use of setting, theme, tone, and diction. Although the mood may be slightly different for different readers depending on their past experiences and their state of mind when they read, the mood is generally universal for all readers, though what brings them to that emotional determination may be slightly different.