Elements of

Fiction
 Review
Common Literary Genres
Poetry Drama Fiction Non-Fiction
form of text a form of narrative can also be
that follows text that is literary works called
a meter performed in whose “informational”
and rhythm front of an content is material. These
with each audience. It produced by types of books
lines and is also called the provide
syllables. a play. imagination information that is
and is not
factual.
necessarily
based on
facts.
 Elements of Fiction
1. Characters
• Are the representation of human being;
person involved in a conflict
 Types of Characters
• Round Character
– Dynamic character who recognize the
changes in circumstances
– Is a fully developed character with many
traits, good or bad, are shown in the story
 Types of Characters
• Flat Character
– Also known as the stock or the stereotype
character who does not grow or develop.
• Other types:
– Protagonist - hero/heroine
– Antagonist – a foil to the protagonist
– Deuteroganist – second in importance
– Fringe – one who is destroyed by his inner
conflict
– Minor Characters
2. Setting
• The locale (place) or period (time) in which
the action of the story takes place.
3. Conflict
• The struggle or complication involving the
characters, the opposition of persons or
forces upon which the action depends in
drama or fiction.
 Types of Conflict
1. Internal Conflict
– When the protagonist struggles within
himself or herself
2. Interpersonal Conflict
– Pits the protagonist against someone else
3. External Conflict
– Happens when the protagonist is in conflict
with the values of his or her society.
4. Plot
• The sequence of events which involves
the main character in conflict.

• Narrative order
– The sequence of events
 Types of Narrative Order
• Chronological
– Most common type of narrative order in
children’s books
• Flashback
– Occurs when the author narrates an event
that took place before the current time in the
story
• Time lapse
– Occurs when the story skips a period of time.
 Plot
• Acording to Aristotle, for a story to be
called a story, it must have a beginning,
middle and end.

• In the 19th century, Gustav Freytag (a

German Novelist) realized that plot of
stories and even novels have common
pattern which can be summarized in a
diagram.
Freytag’s Pyramid
 Freytag’s Pyramid
• Exposition(beginning)
– Introduces the time, place, setting and the
main characters
• Complication (Rising Action)
– Unfolds the problems and struggles that
would be encountered by the protagonist
• Climax(result of the crisis
– The highest point of the story; the problem or
the conflict is at its highest perk
• Falling Action
– events happen as a result of the climax and
we know that the story will soon end.
• Denouement
– (a French term, pronounced: day-noo-
moh) the ending.
5. Point of View
• Determines who tells the story; it identifies
who the narrator of the story is.
 Classification of Point of View
1. First Person
– The writer uses the pronoun “I”
– He/she could be a participant or a character
in his own work
2. Third Person
– The writer-narrator is a character in the story.
– He/she narrates base on on what he/she
observed.
3. Omniscient
– The writer-narrator sees all
– He can see into the mind of the character and
reports everyone's innermost thoughts.
6. Mood
• The atmosphere or emotional effect
generated by the words, images,
situations in a literary work.
7. Tone
• denote an attitude of feeling of the
speaker and author as conveyed by the
language in its artful arrangement
8. Symbolism
– Stands for something other than themselves, they
bring to mind not their own concrete qualities but the
idea or obstraction that is associated with them
9. Images
– Usually characterized by concrete qualities rather than
abstract meaning
10.Theme
– The central or dominating idea in a literary work.
 Assignment
• Using the Freytag’s Pyramid, choose (2)
novels or stories and identify the different
parts of the plot.

• Print it on a short bond paper. To be

submitted on Sep. 8