The purpose of this page is to serve as a reference to literary elements that we have covered in class and will need for the future.
Plot is the series of events in a story that explain to the reader what is happening. One of the easiest ways to understand plot is to look at the mountain shaped plot diagram and think of story in terms of climbing a mountain. Please refer to the corresponding image to see the diagram and its labels.
Stage 1 - Exposition
Stage 1 - Exposition
- Exposition is at the base of the mountain or the beginning of the story. This is where the author sets up the story including characters, setting, and main conflicts.
- The Rising Action occurs as you begin to move throughout the story. This is where conflicts start to build just like when you climb a mountain you are moving further along.
- The Climax is the turning point of the story. You have reached the top of the mountain and you cannot go any further, you have to turn and go down. This point in the story is when things finally start to move in a different direction and it may not always be a positive direction.
- Falling Action occurs after the climax as things start to work themselves out in the story. You are coming down the mountain just as you are coming down from the excitement of the climax.
- The Resolution is the solution to the problem as you have reached the bottom of the mountain. The solution might not be what you want, but the conflict has been resolved.
Conflict
Conflict Every story has a conflict - a struggle between two opposing forces. The conflict may be between two people or it may be between a person and some other force, regardless, every story revolves around conflict and it's important for you to understand the various kinds of conflict.
- Internal Conflict is a struggle that occurs within the main character. This struggle happens within the character's own mind.
- External Conflict is a struggle that the main character has with another character, with society, technology/machine or with a natural force.
Point of View:
Definition of Point of View-Point of view is the angle of considering things, which shows us the opinion, or feelings of the individuals involved in a situation. In literature, point of view is the mode of narration that an author employs to let the readers “hear” and “see” what takes place in a story, poem, essay etc. Point of view is a reflection of the opinion an individual from real life or fiction can have. Examples of point of view belong to one of these three major kinds: 1. First person point of view involves the use of either of the two pronouns “I” and “we”.
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