LEARNING MODULE IN GE -6 ART APPRECIATION

LESSON 3. ELEMENTS OF LITERATURE

Literature is one of the arts that is expressive of human feelings. It shows well-expressed ideas or
feelings through symbolic presentation, usually through short stories, poetry, drama or play, essay, among
others.
Watch and learn by following these links
ENGAGE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9E6JJojgCew
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7c_SjKcGbE
Elements of literature, Part 1 and Part 2

Classification of Literature
Literature can be categorized into escape and interpretative literature. Escape literature is for
entertainment purposes, that is, to help us pass the time in an agreeable manner of life. Escape literature
enables us to temporarily forget our troubles. Interpretative literature enables us to understand our
troubles. The object of escape literature is pleasure while the object of interpretative literature is pleasure
plus understanding.
Uses of Literature
Literature has many uses. These are:
1. For moral values. Here, the purpose of literature is to present moral values for the reader to
understand and appreciate, the moral values may be directly or indirectly stated

I believe a leaf of grass is no less than the journey of the star,

And the pismire is equally perfect, and a grain of sand, and the egg of
The wren,
And the tree toad is a chef-d’oeuvre for the highest,
And the running blackberry would adorn the parlors of heavens,
And the narrowest hinge in my hand puts to scorn all the machinery,
And the cow crunching with depressed head surpasses any statue,
And a mouse is a miracle enough to stagger sextillions of infidels,
And I could come every afternoon of my life to look at the farmers
Girl boiling her iron teakettle and baking shortcake.
- An excerpt from Walr Whitmans Song of Myself

2. For propaganda. This kind of literature is found not only in history books and advertising and
marketing books but also in some books describing one’s personal success and achievements in
life.
3. For therapeutic value. It could be looked on as a sophisticated modern elaboration of the idea of
catharsis – an emotional relief experienced by the reader thereby helping him recover from a
previous pent-up emotion

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Activity 9. Read a sample of a short story and try to analyze it basing from
EXPLORE & the elements of a short story. Use the short story analysis form provided at
EXPLAIN the end of this lesson.

General Elements of a literature:

1. Emotional Appeal – is attained when the reader is emotionally moved or touched by any literary
work. Ex: The Freedom of the Moon, a poem by Robert Frost
2. Intellectual Appeal – add knowledge or information and remind the reader of what he has
forgotten. Ex. The Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo of Jose Rizal

A. Short Story
The short story as an art form deals with a single incident or situation. It is a coherent whole with
a single line of action and a single intended meaning. Thus, it does not allow for many themes and
subplots. As previously stated, literature can be classified as escape and interpretative literature. A story
becomes interpretative as it illuminates some aspects of human life or behavior. An interpretative story
presents us with an insight – large or small – into the nature and condition of our existence. It give us a
keeper awareness of what it is to be a human being in a universe that is sometimes friendly, sometimes
hostile. It helps us understand our neighbors and ourselves. A short story is a work of fiction that can be
read in one sitting (Mcdougal, 2006). Generally, a short story develops one major conflict. A short story
can be appreciated through and increase understanding of what a story is as well as the tools or elements
of the story.
Elements of a short story:
1. Plot – When we refer to the plot of a work of fiction, then, we are referring to the deliberately
arranged sequence of interrelated events that constitute the basic narrative structure of a novel
or a short story. Events of any kind, of course, inevitably involve people, and for this reason it is
virtually impossible to discuss plot in isolation from the character. Character and plot are, in fact,
intimately and reciprocally related, especially in modern fiction.
Plot is the sequential arrangement of related events and sections of which the story is
composed. Being the skeleton or blueprint of the story the series of such events, start from
exposition (beginning of the story), complication (action grows stronger) body to the turning
point fo the story (climax), and the resolution which leads to denouement and ending (Bascara,
2000).

The plot can be said to be the representation of characters in action, though as we will see the
action involved can be internal and psychological as well as external and physical.
In order for a plot to begin, some kind of catalyst (something that causes and important event to
happen) is necessary. An existing equilibrium or stasis must be broken that will generate a sequence of
events, provide direction to the plot and focus the attention of the reader. Most plot originates in some
kind of conflict. The conflict may be either external, when the protagonist (major character) is pitted
against some object outside himself or internal, in which case the issue to be resolved is one within the
protagonist’s psyche or personality (man vs. himself). External conflict may reflect a basic: Man vs.
nature, man vs. society, and man vs. man.

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The conflict, then, is the basic opposition, or tension that sets the plot of a novel or short story in
motion; it engages the reader, builds the suspense or mystery of the work and arouses expectation for the
events that are to follow.
The plot of the traditional short story is often conceived of as moving through five distinct section
or stages, which can be diagrammed as:

3. Climax or crisis

2. Rising action 4. Falling action

5. Denouement
1. Exposition (resolution)

Beginning Middle End

2. Character – The relationship between the plot and character is a vital and necessary one. Without
character, there would be no plot and, hence, no story. For most readers of fiction the primary attraction
lies in the characters, in the endlessly fascinating collection of men and women whose experiences and
adventures in life form the basis of the plots of novels and stories in which they appear.
When we speak of character in terms of literary analysis, we are concerned essentially with three
separate but closely connected activities. We are concerned, first of all, with being able to establish the
personalities of the characters themselves and to identify their intellectual, emotional and moral qualities.
Second, we are concerned with the techniques an author uses to create, develop and present characters to
the reader. Third, we are concerned with whether the characters so presented are credible and convincing.
a) Characters in Fiction – the term applies to any individual in a literary work.
The major or central character of the plot is the protagonist: his opponent, the character against
whom the protagonist struggles or contends is the antagonist. The protagonist is usually easy enough to
identify: he or she is the essential character without whom there would be no plot in the first place.
The terms protagonist and antagonist do not, however, imply a judgment about the moral worth
or either, for many protagonists and antagonists (like their counterparts in real life) embody a complex
mixture of both positive and negative qualities. For this reason, there are more suitable terms than hero,
heroine or villain, which connote a degree of moral absoluteness .
To describe the relative degree to which fictional characters are developed by their creators, E.M.
Foster distinguishes between what he calls flat and round characters. Flat characters are those who
embody or represent a single characteristic, trait or idea or at most a very limited number of such quality.
They are also referred to as type characters or one-dimensional characters. Flat characters are usually
minor actors in novels and stories.
Round characters are just the opposite. They embody a number of qualities and traits and are
complex multidimensional characters of considerable intellectual and emotional depth who have the
capacity to grow and change. Major characters in fiction are usually round characters and it is with the
very complexity of such characters that most of us become engrossed and fascinated.

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Characters in fiction can also be distinguished on the basis of whether they demonstrate the
capacity to develop or change as the result of their experiences. Dynamic characters exhibit a capacity to
change; static characters do not. Dynamic characters include the protagonists in most novels, which by
virtue of their size and scope provide excellent vehicles for illustrating the process of change.
Static characters leave the plot as they entered it, largely untouched by the events that have
taken place. Static characters tend to be minor characters.
b) Methods of Characterization – there are two methods of portrayal: direct and indirect. The direct
method describes a character in a straightforward enumeration of traits. Such direct enumeration has no
place in literature unless they are supplemented by concrete instances. The reader wants to be shown, to
see and hear a character manifest his personality as people do in life. They act out their personalities and
let us draw the conclusions. This is the indirect characterization and here are some ways it is done:

 By action – the author gives or describes the personality of the character by what the character
does or acts out. However, this is not as easy as it may seem. The author does not describe all the
actions but picks out those that are significant to shed light on to the hidden workings of the
character’s personality.

 By word – what a person says is a key to what he is. Moreover, people reveal their personality
not merely by what they say but how they say it. The words and accents of human speech are an
important clue to one’s background and feeling.

 By thought – here the story-teller has an advantage over ordinary mortals. None of us can read
minds, but the creative writer is allowed to take this liberty. The author can utter the character’s
thoughts.

 By physical appearance – a person’s face does not reveal everything about him. Convicts often
look like choir boys, and photographs of some archbishops would be at home in the Interpol files
alongside those of the American mafia. But physical features tell something, especially when
sketched by the sharp eye of the good writer.

 By what others say – this is the method of describing the character through the description of
others.

 By juxtaposition with other characters – painters set objects and heighten their features by
contrast. So do writers. In fact, minor characters are sometimes given a trait or even created with
the sole purpose or underlining an opposite trait in the main character.

c) A “Good Character”

 Plausibility – apparently reasonable and valid. Since literature is the mirror of life, the characters
must possess real life qualities.
 Sympathy – feeling with someone, getting under his skin, responding to his emotions,
responding to doubts, hesitancies, and internal struggles.
 Motivation – actions should spring from an internal mechanism. The character’s actions do not
appear out of the blue.

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 Consistent – in good literature there are no miraculous transformations from the penny-pinching
miser to the jolly, generous philanthropist, from the coward to the hero. This does not mean that
all the characters must remain static, frozen in the features they had when they made their first
appearance, or that sudden changes will not occur. It means that those changes that do occur must
spring naturally from the personalities and events in the story. As an exception to the rule, it is
permissible for character to be inconsistent, provided he is consistently inconsistent.
 Vitality – some fictional characters are portrayed with such uncanny skill that they seem to come
alive on the page. We see and hear them almost as we do the human beings whom we meet in
life. They may be major character, full “rounded” with all the complexities of living persons; or
they may be minor characters who must, because of limitations of space, be finished off with a
stroke or two. Whichever they are, what they have in common is that they are not stereotypes, but
seem to be endowed with distinct personalities of their own. Characters are endowed with
vitality through their mode of characterization.

3. Setting – It is a term, in its broadest sense, encompasses both the physical locale that frames the action
and the time of day or year, the climate conditions, and the historical period during which the action takes
place. At its most basic, setting helps the reader visualize the characters. It helps, in other words, to
create and sustain the illusion of life, to provide what we call verisimilitude.
a) Functions of the setting

 it gives immediacy
 contributes to its emotional effect
 can enter directly into the meaning of the story

4. Theme – A theme is properly defined as a generalization about life or human character that a story
explicitly or implicitly embodies. Many people have common misapprehensions about what themes
are and its purpose:

 Theme is equal with moral message

 The theme is made explicit at some point in the story
 The theme must embody some startling new truth

Hints to figuring out the theme of a piece of literature:

 A theme should always be in the form of a proposition: with a subject and a predicate. “Poverty”
is not a theme. “Poverty leads people to misery and even pushes them to do humiliating acts” is.

 Many novels and some short stories have subordinate themes. Your first job is to find the central
theme.

 If you can find no theme at all, be honest. Perhaps the author attempted to impart a theme, but did
not succeed. But if it is a story that is highly reputed, at least give it the benefit of re-reading
before you draw this conclusion.

5. Point of view – A story must have a plot, characters and a setting. It must also have a storyteller: a
narrative voice, real or implied, that presents the story to the reader. When we talk about narrative voice,

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we are talking about point of view, which the story is told. The choice of point of view is the choice of
who is to tell the story, who talks to the reader.
a) Commonly used point of view

 Omniscient point of view – with this point of view the narrator firmly imposes himself between
the reader and the story and retains full and complete control over the narrative. The omniscient
narrator tells us directly what the characters are like and why they behave as they do; record their
words and conversations and dramatize their actions; or enter their minds to explore directly their
innermost thoughts and feelings.

 Limited omniscient point of view – with this point of view the narrator limits his ability to
penetrate the minds of characters by selecting a single character to act as the center of revelation.
What the reader knows and sees of events is always restricted to what this focal character knows
and see. At times the reader may be given direct access to this focal character’s own “voice” and
thoughts, insofar as these are reproduced through dialogue or presented dramatically through
monologue or stream of consciousness.

 First person point of view – as already noted, the movement from full to limited omniscience
essentially involves the narrator’s decision to limit his omniscience to what can be known by a
single character. First person point of view goes one step further by having that focal character
address the reader directly without an intermediary. This character refers to himself as “I.”

 Stream of consciousness point of view – this is a technique of characterization that renders from
the inside the conscious or unconscious content of the human mind and the myriad thoughts,
perceptions, feelings, and associations that ebb and flow there. It uses the first person point of
view, but that is not actually the character’s voice, rather, we are made to imagine the thought and
sensation of the character or what is going on in his or her head. Authors can also utilize the
omniscient and limited omniscient to use this point of view.

 Dramatic point of view – in this point of view, the story is told seemingly by no one. The
narrator, who to this point in our discussion has been visible, mediating authority, standing
between the reader and the work, now disappears completely and the story is allowed to present
itself dramatically through action and dialogue. With the disappearance of the narrator, telling is
replaced by showing, and the illusion is created that the reader is a direct and immediate witness
to an unfolding drama.

6. Symbol – A symbol, according to Webster’s Dictionary is something that stands for or suggests
something else by reason for relationship, association, convention or accidental resemblance… a visible
sign of something invisible.
a) Types of symbols

 Traditional symbols – those whose associations are the common property of a society or a
culture and are so widely recognized and accepted that they can be said to be almost universal.

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 Original symbols – those whose associations are neither immediate nor traditional; instead they
derive their meaning, largely if not exclusively, from the context of the work in which they are
used. Outside the work, they are just what they are.

 Private symbols – restrict the source of their meaning even more than original symbols. Just as
all of us have certain objects in our lives that call to mind a variety of private associations, certain
authors employ symbols that are the products of their own peculiar and personal systems of
philosophy or belief.

B. Elements of the Novel

The novel is long work of prose fiction dealing with characters, situations, and scenes that represent
real life and the setting and action is in the form of a plot. The purpose of fiction, whether long (the
novel) or short (the short story), is to give us moral lessons and brings us pleasure.
Novels, like the other genres, have the elements of setting, plot, characters, theme, and at times, a
moral lesson.
1. Setting covers the time, the place, and the background. It involves not only geography but
also the entire climate of beliefs, habits, and values of a particular region and historical
period. Sometimes, it emphasizes a certain locality like Chinatown in Sta.Cruz, Manila in
Edgardo Reye’s “Sa Mga Kuko ng Liwanag.” It is essential that the setting be in keeping with
the story that is told.
2. Plot is the skeleton or framework which gives shape and proportion to the novel. It can also
be described as the order of events or happenings in the novel. Conflict is an important
element of the plot. It may be caused by the physical environment like hostile nature, social
environment like the conventions, customs or traditions that exist in a cultural community,
other characters, or it may be a physical, emotional , and mental handicap within the main
character himself.
3. Theme of the novel is compared to the subject of painting. It is the universal truth found in
the novel, the main idea or topic. In Boris Pasternak’s “Dr. Zhivago” the theme is man’s
humanity to man. Theme does not mean moral value, for the latter is the message that teaches
the reader.
4. Characters are the moving spirit of the novel. They do not only act but also manifest the
moral, emotional, and intellectual qualities endowed to them by the author.

C. Elements of Poetry
Poetry is a branch of the humanities that imaginatively and figuratively expresses mans thoughts and
feelings, usually in verse form. Its theme is generally personal – love, death, frustration, hatred, faith in
God and man, human sufferings, culture and traditions, etc. its elements are:
1. Language refers to the poet who uses every resource of language: denotative language
(actual meaning), connotative language (implied meaning), poetic language (language that
considers diction, vocabulary and level – simple or conventional), and figurative language
(most often simile and metaphor).
Kite Days
A kite, a sky, and a good firm breeze,
And acres of ground away from trees.

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And one hundred yards of clean, strong string –

O boy, O boy! I call that spring!
 Mark Sawyer
2. Tone refers to the atmosphere, feeling, attitude, stance, or the way the poet looks at his
subject or the world. Such feeling or atmosphere may either be serious, ironic, bitter, joyful,
resigned, etc. Tone conveys the speaker’s implied attitude toward the poem’s subject. Tone is
an abstraction we make from the details of a poem’s language: the use of meter and rhyme (or
lack of them); the inclusion of certain kinds of details and exclusion of other kinds; particular
choices of words and sentence pattern, or imagery and figurative language (diction). Another
important element of tone is the order of words in sentences, phrases, or clauses (syntax).

3. Imagery is the representation of sense experience or the total sensory suggestion of poetry –
visual, auditory, tactile, gustatory, and bodily images. The poet is an image-maker who
reinforces his thoughts with concrete words. An “image” is the mental duplication of a sense
impression. The most common imagery is visual, as we are made to see what the author is
talking about.
Imagery is the concrete representation of a sense impression, feeling, or idea that triggers our
imaginative ere-enactment of a sensory experience. Images may be visual (something seen),
aural (something heard), tactile (something felt), olfactory (something smelled), or gustatory
(something tasted). Imagery may also refer to a pattern of related details in a poem. Rhyme is
the repetition of identical or similar concluding syllables in different words, most often at the
ends of lines.
Preludes
The winter evening settles down A lonely cab-horse streams and
With smell of steaks in stamps.
Passageways. And then the lightning of the lamps
Six o’clock. The morning comes to
The burnt-out ends of smoky consciousness
Days. Of faint stale smells of beer
And now a gusty shower wraps From the sawdust-trampled street
The grimy scraps With all its muddy feet that press
Of withered leaves about your To early coffee-stands.
Feet. With the other masquerades
And newspapers from vacant That time resumes,
Lots; One thinks of all the hands
The showers beat That are raising dingy shades
On broken blinds and In a thousand furnished rooms.
Chimney-pots,
And at the corner of the street
 T.S. Eliot
4. Sounds are characterized either as pleasant (full, open vowel sounds) or unpleasant (short,
abrupt, vowel sounds which are irritating).
5. Rhythm and meter is related to the “beats of our hearts” and the “flow of air from our
lungs.” Rhythm is the regular and irregular patterns of stressed and unstressed syllables,

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metrical, or historical stress. A meter is the accents that arranged as to occur at approximately
equal intervals of time.
Rhythm is the term used to refer to the recurrence of stressed and unstressed sounds in
poetry. Poets rely heavily on rhythm to express meaning and convey feeling. Caesura is a
strong pause within a line of poetry that contributes to the rhythm of the line. When a line has
a pause at its end, it is called an end-stopped line. Such pauses reflect normal speech patterns
and are often marked by punctuation. A line that ends without a pause and continues into the
next line for its meaning is called a run-on line or enjambment.

6. Thought or meaning refers to the experience the poem expresses (What it feels like to…?).
Two meanings are distinguished: the total meaning and the prose meaning. The total meaning
of a poem is the idea in a poem, a portion of the total experience it communicates. The prose
meaning is the value and worth of the poem, the total experience it communicates.
7. Shape of the poem refers to the pattern of arrangement of the words on the page (Abuan,
2000). Most poems consist of lines grouped into stanzas. Each stanza hast its distinct features
of thought similar to a paragraph.
8. Speaker. According to Abuan (2000), all poems have a speaker, the voice that talks to the
readers. In some poems, the speaker identifies himself as “I “ and “me” while in others the
speaker remains in the background. The speaker may or may not be the poet or author/writer.

Alliteration is a repetition of the same consonant sounds in a sequence of words, usually at the beginning
of a word or stressed syllable: “descending dew drops;” “luscious lemons.” Alliteration is based on the
sounds of letters, rather than the spelling of words; for example, “keen” and “car” alliterate, but “car” and
“cite” do not.
Assonance is the repetition of similar internal vowel sounds in a sentence or a line of poetry, as in “I rose
and told him of my woe.”
Figurative language is a form of language use in which the writers and speakers mean something other
than the literal meaning of their words. Two figures of speech that are particularly important for poetry
are simile and metaphor.
A simile involves a comparison between unlike things using like or as. For instance, “My love is
like a red, red rose.”
A metaphor is a comparison between essentially unlike things without a word such as like or as.
For example, “My love is a red, red rose.”
Synecdoche is a type of metaphor in which part of something is used to signify the whole, as
when a gossip is called a “wagging tongue.”
Metonymy is a type of metaphor in which something closely associated with a subject is
substituted for it, such as saying the “silver screen” to mean motion pictures.
9. Rhyme is predominantly a function of sound rather than spelling; thus, words that end with
the same vowel sounds rhyme, for instance, day, prey, bouquet, weigh, and words with the
same consonant ending rhyme, for instance vain, rein, lane. The rhyme scheme of a poem,
describes the pattern of end rhymes. Rhyme schemes are mapped out by noting patterns of

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rhyme with small letters: the first rhyme sound is designated a, the second becomes b, the
third c, and so on.

10. Stanza is a grouping of lines, set off by a space, which usually has a set pattern of meter and
rhyme.

Questions to ask to evaluate the quality of poetry

 1.Does it have figurative language and imagery?

 2.Does it create images? (pictures, sounds, smells, tastes, touching sensations)
 3.Is what the author says or doesn’t say helpful in creating imagery?
 Does it move from the familiar to the unfamiliar or unfamiliar to familiar in a manner that enlightens
and/or amazes?
 Is it understandable? (literally, interpretively, and emotionally) Alone or with help?
 Does it appeal to me? To who else would it appeal?
 Does the poem touch people emotionally?
 Are words combined in a mixture that communicates both a literal and suggested meaning.
 Not so precise as to limit the imagination or so suggestive as to not communicate? (denotation and
connotation).
 Does it get to the heart of an idea?
 Is it creative with language? Use language and words in interesting ways? (metaphors, similes,
personifications).
 Are words used in a highly powerful manner? Is there a lot of zap with few words?
 Is it a language of simplicity?
 Does it sing to you? [sounds (alliteration, assonance, onomatopoeia), verse, rhythm, patterns, beat (words,
phrases), rhyme (end of line, inline, and/or link rhyme)
 Does it include ideas that people can use?

D. Elements of Drama

Drama is a presentation made up of words, sounds, and actions of characters. Some dramas are in the
form of poetry – but all dramas must be performed or acted out by character on stage, on film, radio,
television, or outdoors. The two aspects of drama are drama as a script and drama as a play. The drama as
a script is a dialogue read by the persons and representing characters while the drama as a play is a script
coming to life and is the director’s interpretation of a script and acted out by the actual participants.
Drama may either be a tragedy (a story of struggle against circumstances and sufferings) and comedy (a
story of achievement, of self-deception, of optimistic view of life). The elements of the drama are:
1. Plot is the soul of the drama, or its summary. It is concerned with what happens in the story; the
overall structure of a play. The plot is divided into: exposition/introduction (author introduces the
character, provides information about earlier events and present situation); inciting action
(situation moves toward a point) rising action (part of the complication); crisis or turning point
where choices and decisions lead to the inevitable; falling action in which incidents follow from
the turning point without decrease in intensity; and the denouement or resolution which clarifies
and relaxes the tension.

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2. Character/dramatics personae are make-believe, persons, either protagonists or antagonists and

whose personalities are carefully brought out by their appearance, speech, actions and what other
characters say of them.
3. Conflict. In drama we find a struggle, clash of wills and conflicts.
4. Irony arises from a recognition of discrepancy between the expected and actual, the apparent and
real.
5. Theme or idea refers to the dramatic situation that may be taken from the Bible, myth, legend,
history, or anything familiar to the audience. This is what the story means. It is a conviction about
the real world we live in, and it may be complex with contradictory evaluations.
6. Climax. The climax is the scene or incident that is the fruition of the accumulated suspense, and
that stirs the most intense feelings or emotions. It can also be described as the turning point of the
story. It is very likely to be the most elaborately presented scheme in the play.
7. Music and Spectacle is a theater convention which is a part of the total appeal of the drama, and
which shows the relationship of script, actor, audience, author producer, society, genre, stage and
others. Aside from “background” music, there is music of speech and of movement. Spectacle
intensifies emotions, whatever these emotion are. In theater arts, the element of a spectacle
heightens the atmosphere, whether of vitality or terror or sorrow.
8. Costumes and Make-Up. Every costume should be comfortable and securely put together so the
performer doesn’t have to worry about it once it is on. Before the dress rehearsal, all the parts of
each costume should be hung together and tagged in one specific dressing area. The make-up
crew should be allowed plenty of time to their work after each actor dressed. Everything in the
make-up area should have its own place and be covered when not in use.
9. Dialogue is the conversation between and among the characters of the drama.
10. Setting. Scenery, and Lightning. Scenery and lightning, furniture, painted, backdrops, or large
props, should appear real. The scenery may be simple, for it is supposed only to suggest the
scene. Proper lightning can add a great deal to the realism of the play. Consider brightness, color,
and direction in lightning the play considers the holding of the play, daytime or night time? Stage
lightning is always electrical, and only the assigned and responsible persons should touch the
electrical equipment. An open flame such as a candle or a lantern is never used on the stage.
Types of Drama
Let us consider a few popular types of drama:

 Comedy – Comedies are lighter in tone than ordinary works, and provide a happy conclusion.
The intention of dramatists in comedies is to make their audience laugh. Hence, they use quaint
circumstances, unusual characters, and witty remarks.
 Tragedy – Tragic dramas use darker themes, such as disaster, pain, and death. Protagonists often
have a tragic flaw — a characteristic that leads them to their downfall.
 Farce – Generally, a farce is a nonsensical genre of drama, which often overacts or engages
slapstick humor.
 Melodrama – Melodrama is an exaggerated drama, which is sensational and appeals directly to
the senses of the audience. Just like the farce, the characters are of a single dimension and simple,
or may be stereotyped.
 Musical Drama – In musical dramas, dramatists not only tell their stories through acting and
dialogue, but through dance as well as music. Often the story may be comedic, though it may also
involve serious subjects.
 Forrest Gump

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How to Analyze Drama

Some questions to help you study and understand Drama

CHARACTER:

1. What is each character like? Background? Social or Cultural class? Experiences? Thoughts? Any
prejudices or biases? Emotions? Psychology? What supporting evidence can you find in the text that
supports your opinion or your answer to each question?

2. What does the character look like? Is there any specific evidence in the text that helps establish the
character's appearance and physical behavior? If not, why do you imagine the character in the way that
you do? What sort of clothes does the character wear? Explain why you chose that particular sort of attire,
including even things like color and style. Remember that plays from the historical past can always be
staged in "modern" ways, with modern or contemporary settings and costuming. Why might a director
choose to use a setting and a "look" that is different from that of the original play? How do different sorts
of costumes (and costuming choices) affect the ways in which audiences "see" and react to the play?

3. What sort of gestures do you imagine that the character uses? Gestures -- and even physical postures
and movements -- are often just as revealing of character as words (dialogue) are, and they often signal to
the audience how the character's words are to be understood. Sometimes gestures are suggested in the
stage directions, but most often they are not. So how does an actor (or a director) decide what gestures to
use?

4. Is the character sympathetic? Unsympathetic? Some combination of the two? Please explain your
answer. Does the character see herself or himself the way that other characters do? If not, why not?

5. Have you known someone like the character? How does this personal experience of your own affect
the way in which you respond to the character? How about to the play as a whole?

6. Are the characters in the play generally "true" to life, and to people you have known, and to what you
believe is "real life"? If they do not seem to be "true to life," why is that?

7. Has the author presented all the characters in more or less the same way? That is, are they all realistic?
all symbolic? all "round" (developed)? all "flat" (undeveloped)? Is each character presented in the same
way throughout the play? If not, what are the differences and how can you account for them?
SETTING:

1. What is the stage setting? Has the author indicated what the stage is supposed to look like? If so, how
would you imagine carrying out the author's wishes if you were responsible for staging the play? If the
author has not specified all the physical details of the setting, how do you imagine that setting? If you
were producing this play, would you want a realistic setting (and perhaps a lot of props and "period"
costumes), or a relatively bare stage and relatively few "extras"? How does the setting affect the way the
audience responds to the play? Can the setting actually become part of the play's meaning for the
audience?

2. At what period of time and in what place is the play set? What is the effect of setting a play in the
immediate present? in the past? in the future? Most authors tend to choose a historical setting (that is, a

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setting that identifies a particular time and place) in order to say something about their own times. If this
seems to be the case with the play you are reading, what does the historical setting tell us about what the
author wants to say about her or his own time?

3. Is the stage setting realistic or symbolic? If symbolic, what does it symbolize? And how do you know?

STRUCTURE:

1. Work out the dramatic structure of the play, including the overall diagram of exposition, rising action,
climax, and falling action. Is the play composed of a number of small actions leading up to one big one?
Does it consist only of several "big" actions? Is there some other kind of dramatic structure? Is the
structure directly related to what is happening to the protagonist? What does the structure of the play
suggest about the way the playwright views the world?

2. Is there a major confrontation in the play? If so, what sort of confrontation is it? Who or what is
involved? Does the confrontation lead to any recognition or change in awareness on the protagonist's part,
either about herself/himself or about the world she/he inhabits?

3. Is the action of the play "realistic"? That is, does the play portray something one might have a fair
chance of encountering in "real life"? If so, explain how the action(s) reflect the major intellectual
concerns of the play. If not, discuss the effect upon the audience of the play's deliberately unrealistic
performance values.

4. What do a character's actions reveal about her or his personality? background? class? assumptions and
expectations?

LANGUAGE:
1. Does the dialogue strike you as realistic? Like something you have heard or might hear, even if the
language is "old" because the play comes from a much earlier period?
2. Are there any words, phrases, or images that appear repeatedly? If so, what are they? Why are they
repeated? Do they seem to reflect some central concern or preoccupation, some major theme, or some
pervasive mood within the play?
3. Try to explain why each character speaks as she or he does. What was the playwright trying to
accomplish by giving each character that particular dialogue and speech pattern?

THEME:

1. What is the central intellectual concern (or theme) of the play? State it in a declarative sentence. Is the
author trying to make some point about people? about life? about society? about something else?

2. Most dramas involve a central "problem" that is revealed as some sort of conflict. How does the author
represent this conflict in the play? How does the author resolve the conflict?

3. What is the point of reading a play that is "old" (Oedipus Rex is 2400 years old, for example, and
Hamlet is 400 years old, and A Doll's House is 100 years old). Do "old" plays have anything of value to
say to us today, or is performing them simply like keeping them stored in a museum for us to visit
occasionally? Are the concerns in "old" plays relevant only to the times in which they were written, or do

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they remain relevant to us today?

4. Should plays deal with "universal" issues and problems? Or should they concern themselves primarily
with issues and problems that are unique to the times in which they are written? What makes a play
"relevant" or "out of date"?

ELABORATE &
EVALUATE

ART ACTIVITY NO. 13 – LITERARY ANALYSIS

Perform an analysis of the following literary pieces using the templates indicated in this lesson. Use
the activity form in doing this activity.
1. Short Story: The Necklace” by Guy De Maupassant
2. Drama – Forrest Gump (comedy drama/film)
3. Poem –“ If” by Rudyard Kipling

A. Analysis Form (For short story and novel)

Story: “__________________________________”

1. How would you describe the tone of the story?

2. What foreshadowing is present in the story?

3. What is an example of dramatic irony or situational irony in the story?

4. What is an example of imagery (description that appeals to the senses)?

5. What point of view is the story told from?

6. What would you say the climax of the story is?

7. What items or people in the story could be symbols for other ideas?

8. What is the main conflict of the story?

9. Is there any direct or indirect characterization in the story?

10. Were there any details that you had to infer about the story?

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DICTION/VOCABULARY (Define 5 difficult/unfamiliar words that you find in the story and write the
meaning.)

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

LITERARY TERMS: (Find 5 examples of 5 different literary terms within the text.)

1.

2.
3.
4.
.5.

THEME: What theme do you think the text has? (A theme is a life-lesson or overall idea that you can
take away from the work.

B. Poetry Analysis Template

Introduction

Title of poem:
Name of poet
Date of Publication
Other relevant background
information

Form:

Form of poem:
Structure of poem:
Rhyme scheme:

Meaning:

Overall Meaning:

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How the poem relates to life in

general, and/or my life:

Figurative Language and Poetic Techniques:

Device/Technique Quote/s Meaning/Significance

SUMMARY:
The visual art terms separate into the elements and principles of art. The elements of art are color, form,
line, shape, space, and texture. The principles of art are scale, proportion, unity, variety, rhythm, mass,
shape, space, balance, volume, perspective, and depth. In addition to the elements and principles of
design, art materials include paint, clay, bronze, pastels, chalk, charcoal, ink, lightening, as some
examples. This comprehensive list is for reference and explained in all the lessons of this module..
Understanding the art methods will help define and determine how the culture created the art and for what
use. The elements of art are the building blocks of an artwork: color, line, shape, form, value, texture, and
space. They are the tools artists use when creating an artwork . The principles of design are how those
building blocks are arranged: contrast, rhythm, proportion, balance, unity, emphasis, movement, and
variety.
A visual element is any characteristic that we can see, including line, shape, direction, size,
texture, color, and value. The design principles for using these elements include balance, gradation,
repetition, contrast, harmony, dominance, and unity.

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t can be any situation that

involves four basic elements:
time, space, the
performer's body, or presence
in a medium, and a
relationship between
performer and audience.
Performance art can happen
anywhere, in any type
of venue or setting and for any
length of time.
What are the characteristics of
performance art?
A defining charac

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t can be any situation that

involves four basic elements:
time, space, the
performer's body, or presence
in a medium, and a
relationship between
performer and audience.
Performance art can happen
anywhere, in any type
of venue or setting and for any
length of time.
What are the characteristics of
performance art?
A defining charac
Performing arts are basically arts or skills that require a performance in front of a public
audience. Examples are acting, singing and dancing. Other forms of the Performing Arts include opera,
theatre, magic or illusion performances, mime, spoken word, recitation and public speaking. The
performing arts encourages children to explore their emotions, expand their imagination and helps them

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develop their own, unique voice. Each discipline of music, dance and drama engage a child’s brain, body
and emotions in different ways to encourage their confidence and find joy in self-expression.
There are different ways in which literature can be portrayed – a novel, drama, poetry, biography,
non-fictional prose, an essay, an epic, or short stories. All these entities have elements. To complete a
piece, a writer, dramatist, or a novelist needs to use certain elements, like a plot, character, theme, etc.
However, elements of fiction and elements of drama differ from elements of poetry. These elements have
been thoroughly discussed in this module that include plot, character, setting, theme, structure, point of
view, conflict, diction, and foreshadowing. Literary analysis templates have been provided in this module
for your reference,

REFERENCES:

1. Ariola, Mariano. (2015) Introduction to Art Appreciation and Aesthetics

2. Caslib Jr., Bernardo Nicolas, (2018), ART APPRECIATION, Manila. Rex Book Store
3. Leano, Roman D., (2018) ART APPRECIATION FOR COLLEGE STUDENTS, Manila,
Mindshapers Co., Inc
4. Solmerano, Ernest Thaddeus M., (2019) , ART APPRECIATION, First edition, Manila,
Books Atbp, Inc.
5. Zulueta, Francisco M., (2008) THE HUMANITIES, Revised edition, Manila, National Book
Store

ONLINE SOURCES:

- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pTyJEwUtjEhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQhuN1iR_9Q
Elements of art

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9Mo-bkl4ko
Elements of music

https://www.lee.k12.nc.us/cms/lib/NC01001912/Centricity/Domain/1747/Curriculum%20Guide
%203rd%20G%20Arts.pdf
Curriculum Guide 3rd G Arts.pdf

https://www.education.gov.pg/TISER/documents/pastep/ssd-ea-1-2-performing-arts-student.pdf
EA1.2 Performing Arts Student.doc

- https://penlighten.com/elements-of-literature
Elements of literature

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