Name: ___________________________
Date: _______________________
#: _______
English Period: _______
LITERARY ELEMENTS NOTES
-Literary elements are elements that make up a ________________ _______
______________________ (characters, characterization, conflict, setting, theme,
symbolism, point of view, mood, tone, and plot)
CHARACTERS AND CHARACTERIZATION
CHARACTERS
-Characters are ___________________ or _____________________ who take part in the
__________________ of a story.

Types of characters: _______________ characters, _______________ characters,
and _______________

_______________ Characters
o _____________________: _______________/_______________ character

Most _____________________ character in a story, poem, or play

_______________ of the story revolves around the _________________
o _____________________: character or _______________ that opposes the
protagonist
o Other Major Characters


Can provide a ___________________ of a story

Can have their own ____________________ within a story
_______________ Characters
o Characters who take place in the _______________ but are not the
_______________ of attention; they have a _______________ role

Extras
o Novels and movies need extra characters to ______________ a
_______________ _______________

Extra characters become part of the _______________; therefore, we
don’t mention them when discussing _____________________ in a novel

Static characters: characters that ______ ___________ ___________________
________ _________________ from the story’s inception to its _______________

Dynamic characters: characters that undergo _______________ over the course of a
story as a _______________ of their ___________________
o Most ______________________ are dynamic
CHARACTERIZATION
Characterization: the ways in which an author _______________ the _______________ of
characters to his/her ___________________

Direct characterization - _____________ the audience what the _________________
of the character is
o EX: “The patient boy and quiet girls were both well-mannered and did not disobey
their mother.”
o Explanation: The author is _______________ telling the audience the
_________________ of these two children. The boy is _________________
and the girl is _______________.


The author is using _________________ to describe the character.
Indirect characterization – a method of characterization that requires the reader to _______________ facts about a character’s ______________.
o Indirect characterization includes:

S_______________ - what does the character ___________? How does
the character _____________?

T_______________ - What is _________________ through the
character’s _______________ thoughts/feelings?

E_______________ on others toward the character: What is revealed
through the character’s _______________ on other _______________?
How do other characters _______________ or _______________ in
_______________ to the character?

A_______________ - What does the character ________? How does the
character _______________?

L_______________ - What does the character ___________ like? How
does the character _______________?

The author is using _______________ to detail the character
MORAL, THEME, AND MAIN IDEA
-Moral – The _______________ expressed in a _______________ story.

_______________ and _________________ are specifically designed to
_______________ a specific _______________, which often appears in a single
statement at the ____________.
-Theme – The _________________ that an author _______________ in a piece of
literature. Sometimes theme is _______________, while other times the reader must
_______________ _________________ about a work in order to identify theme.

In most stories, theme is __________ _______________ _______________. It is
_________________ stated through a character’s _______________ or
_______________, or through a sequence of _______________.

Theme is found is short stories, poems, novels, movies, television programs, and songs!

There can be ____________ ____________ __________ theme in a piece of
litereature.
-Main Idea – The _______________ idea about a passage or text.

The main idea is closely related to the _______________ of a passage and may
_______________ be stated in a _______________ __________________,
especially in shorter passages or paragraphs.

May be stated _______________ or _______________

Find the main idea by thinking about the _______________ _______________
o They often answer the questions: _______________, _______________,
_______________, _______________, _______________,
_______________
-THEME IS NOT…

_______________ _______________

The _______________ of a story’s _______________

___________ _______________

The same as a _______________
SYMBOLISM
-Symbol – something _______________ that stands for something _______________.

May be a _______________, _______________, _______________, or action.

It may stand for an idea, _______________, _______________, or attitude.

A symbol keeps its own _______________ while also _______________ for
_______________ _______________.

In literature, things aren’t always what they _______________.

The symbolism of colors
o Yellow – joy, happiness, _______________, hope, _______________, summer,
_______________, _______________, hazard and _______________
o White – purity, _______________, cleanliness, _______________, innocence,
_______________, winter, marriage (Western cultures), _______________
(Eastern cultures), cold, clinical
o Red - __________________, energy, _______________, love, desire, strength,
_______________, heat, aggression, danger, fire, blood, _________, violence, all
things _______________ and _______________
o Purple - _______________ and _______________
o Black - _______________, sophistication, _______________, mystery, fear,
_______________, unhappiness, depth, sadness, _______________, death
(Western cultures)

Symbolism in literature is used to _______________ writing

Symbolism can take many forms including:
o Characters, _______________, actions, events that have deeper meaning in a
story, _______________, allegories
SYMBOLISM IN LITERATURE
-Metaphors as Symbolism

Compares two _______________ things; says one thing is _______________
Example: Love is a jewel. This is symbolic because it suggests that ____________ is
___________ and _______________.
Example: He is a rock. This is symbolic because it suggest that he is _____________
and _______________.
-Symbolism in literature can give a literary work more _______________ and ___________
and can make the _______________ of the work _______________.
Examples:

Figures of speech (object, person, or situation has another meaning other than its
_______________ meaning)

Actions of characters, word, action, or event that have a _______________ meaning
in the context of the whole story.
-Allegory as Symbolism

Allegory – extended use of symbolism and _______________
o A story, a ___________, or even a whole book can be an _______________ and
the symbolism will permeate throughout.
CONFLICT
-Conflict

The single most _______________ element of a short story; without some sort of
_______________, a story has little ___________ to _______________ the reader

A _______________ between _______________ forces

Every story has a _______________ conflict; it shows up in the inciting incident of plot
mountain (we will learn more about this later)

Stories can also have __________ conflicts
-Two categories of conflict:

Internal Conflict
o Character vs. ____________ - a conflict in which the main character is at odds
with an _______________ _______________, such as fear, shyness, or guilt

External Conflict – one in which a character _______________ against some
_______________ ____________
o Character vs. _______________ - the main _______________ has a problem
with another _______________
o Character vs. _______________ - the main character must _______________
against a ___________ _______________ or natural disaster
o Character vs. _______________ - the main character faces a problem with a
part or the whole of society (e.g., _______________, tradition, ___________)
o Character vs. _______________ - the main character struggles with a
____________ that seems beyond the character’s _______________
o Character vs. _______________ - the main character struggles with a
____________ that is not of the _____________ ____________
FORESHADOWING, FLASHBACK, AND MOOD
-Foreshadowing – the use of ____________ early in a story to give ____________ about
events that will happen _____________
-Flashback – the technique authors use to ____________ readers about an _____________
that happened _____________ the current action of the story

Must be _______________

Must be _______________ by something
-Mood – the _______________ the author creates for the reader

How the reader _______________

Created by the author through writing (___________)

Can also be created in _______________ and when listening to _______________
Point of View
-Author – person who _______________ a story
-Narrator – the _______________ or _______________ who is _______________ the
story
-Point of View – the _______________ of the story’s narrator; stories can be told from
_______________ points of view

First Person POV – the narrator is a _______________ in the story who can reveal only
_______________ _______________ and _______________ and what he or she
____________ and is ___________ by other characters.
o He/she cannot tell us _______________ of other _______________
o Pronouns: __________________________

Third Person POV – the narrator is _______ a character in the story.
o He/she tells the story from the _______________
o Pronouns: ______________________________________________

Third Person Limited – the narrator is an _______________ who sees into the
________ of ________ of the _______________
o One meaning _______________ to _______ _______________

Third Person Omniscient – the narrator is an _______________ _______________
who can enter the _____________ of ____________ than one of the characters
o Omniscient meaning ________ _______________