Organization of the lecture

 Plot
 Character
 Point of view
 Setting
 Topic and Theme
 Irony
 Style, Diction and Tone
PLOT
- Exposition: background info
- Complication (or development of conflict/rising action)
- Climax: the highest point of conflict
- Falling action
- Conclusion (or resolution/outcome/denouement)
CONFLICTS
- External: Man>< Man, Man><Environment
- Internal: Physical, Mental, Emotional, Moral(đạo đức)
CHARACTERS
- Round character: also called protagonist or central character (the hero/heroine)
-> seen in different angles; both good and bad traits
- Flat character: also called supporting character, for it helps to bring out the
importance of a round character.
- Antagonist: the adversary of the hero/heroine or the protagonist
- Types: also called stock characters, persons that present perfectly or in the
best way a class or a category, e.g. a clumsy body, a superstitious fellow, a fool,
a witty servant, etc
Types of characters (cont.)
 Static:This type of character does not change during the course of the story
 Dynamic:This type of character develops and grows during the course of the story
POINTS OF VIEW
* First person:
- Participant; first-person: Narrator as main character
- First-person observer: Narrator as minor character
* Second person: address the reader
* Third person
- Omniscient author: Knowing-all narrator
- Dramatic narrator: Objective narrator
- Limited Narrator: a character tells the story
SETTING: The locale (place) or the period (time) in which the action occurs
- Narrow setting: e.g. narrow space of a small room
- Broad setting: the large area of a whole era (social and historical setting)
Values and Roles of Setting
 helping to advance plot and interpret characters
 even going beyond the description of time and place to embody a larger meaning, a
theme, or an idea that is implied in the story
 foreshadowing the outcome
 makes a story credible or believable
 also aids in establishing a mood or an atmosphere in the reader
 develops a source of CONFLICT
 develops characterization of a performer in a story
TOPIC:
- the subject of a writer’s discourse
- a certain aspect of life
- a specific area of human experience the writer is supposed to deal with
- being of a wide range
- helping to make the theme
THEME:
1/ May mean "topic" or “What the story is about?”
2/ Also means the controlling idea or the central insight of a piece of fiction (a
message the author wants to convey to readers)
- either directly or indirectly
- Is the author’s exploration of, and his attitude towards, the topic he selects
for artistic treatment
Theme may be expressed through
1. Action and Event: e.g. a natural disaster, a journey
2. Symbolism: something that has a dual significance or conveys an added layer of
meaning (literal sense vs. symbolic meaning)
3. Imagery: various kinds of descriptive and figurative language which an author
uses to convey feelings and attitudes to the reader.
4. Character: especially the depiction of the main character
IRONY
- Verbal irony: When an author says one thing and means something else
- Situational irony: Incongruity between what is expected or intended and what
actually occurs
- Dramatic irony: when an audience perceives something that a character in the
literature does not know
TONE
 formal or easy
 arrogant (kiêu ngạo) or modest
 detached or sentimental(đa cảm)
 straightforward or ironic(mỉa mai)