ENG 16: Survey in

English and American

Literature
Prepared by:
Elaine J. Riñon, LPT
INTRODUCTION
WHAT IS ART and BEAUTY?

▪ Art (Fine Arts) – expression of beauty

▪ Beauty – anything which when contemplated pleases and
arouses in man a noble emotion
Elements of Beauty
– Object – concrete and sensible thing perceived by the senses
– Idea - thought represented or suggested by the object to man’s
intellect
– Noble Emotion – an ennobling or uplifting feeling awakened by
the idea and the object, that is, the idea embodied visibly by the
object
What is LITERATURE?

▪ An art expressing beauty through the medium of language.

▪ A re-creation through language of human situation and
experience
▪ The orchestration of the manifold but elemental
experiences of man blended to harmonious and desired
patterns of expressions
▪ A faithful reproduction of life executed in an artistic
pattern.
LITERATURE is a written
account of man’s most
significant experiences.
 Major Divisions of Literature

▪ Prose – written in sentences and paragraphs; language

used is generally denotative- explicit or dictionary
meaning. The prose includes longer novels and shorter
essays.
▪ Poetry – written in lines/verses and stanzas; language used
is generally connotative- implied or suggested
▪ Plays or dramas – the oldest form of literature, a script for
stage performances.
 Approaches to Literature/Methods of
Studying Literature

▪ Historical Approach – considers literary works in

chronological sequence, stresses the influence of one
writer on another and the development of modes and sub-
modes.
▪ Social-Psychological Approach – relates literary works to
milieus in which they were written, exploring the biography
of the writer and the political and social conditions under
which he wrote, in an effort to explain how the work came
to be what it is.
 Approaches to Literature/Methods of
Studying Literature

▪ Formal Approach – groups work according to their

modes (short stories, lyric poems, etc.) and studies
each mode separately.
▪ Thematic Approach – study of literature according
to subject matter and theme
 Elements of a Story

▪ Setting - time and place or locale of the story

▪ Characters - are the people or sometimes the
animals who participate in the action of a literary
work
▪ Plot - sequence of interrelated actions and events
in the story
▪ Conflict - clash of opposing forces in the story
▪ Resolution - conflict is solved
 Elements of a Story

▪ Mood - the feeling, or atmosphere, that a writer creates for a reader.

connotative words, sensory images, and figurative language,
contribute to the mood of a selection, as do the sound and rhythm of
the language
▪ Moral – an exhortation to good behavior; some rule of conduct
regarded as applicable to one’s life; may take the form of a maxim, a
proverbial formula that tells us how to get along in life
▪ Point of view – the narrative method used in a short story, novel or
nonfiction selection
 Elements of a Story

▪ Most Common Points of View

– First-Person Point of View – the narrator is a character in the
story, narrating the action as he or she understands it. First person
POV is indicated by pronoun I
– Third-Person Point of View – indicated by pronoun he, she and
they. A 3rd person narrator is not a participant in the action and thus
maintains a certain distance from the characters
– Third-Person Omniscient Point of View – the narrator is all-
knowing about the thoughts and feelings of the characters. With
this POV, the writer can reveal the emotional responses of all the
characters and can comment at will on the events taking place
 Elements of a Story

▪ Suspense – the tension or excitement felt by the reader as she or he becomes

involved in a narrative and eager to know either the outcome of a conflict or
how the outcome occurred.
▪ Symbol – a person, place or object that represents something beyond itself
▪ Theme – the main idea of message in a work of literature. It is a writer’s
perception about life or humanity shared with a reader. It is a generalization
about life or human character that a story explicitly or implicitly embodies. A
theme should always be in the form of proposition with a subject and a
predicate. Ex. “Poverty degrades.”
▪ Tone – the attitude a writer takes towards a subject. All the elements in a
work of literature together create its tone, which might be humorous, serious,
bitter, angry, or detached, among other possibilities.
 Other Story Elements

▪ Allusion – a reference to a historical or literary person, place or event

with which the reader is assumed familiar
▪ Flashback – the entire scene is shifted to an earlier time by means of
recollections of a character, the narrator’s commentary, a dream
episode
▪ Foreshadowing – a writer’s use of hints or clues to indicate events
that will occur later in the narrative
▪ Imagery – words and phrases that create vivid sensory experiences
for the reader
 Other Plot/Story Elements

▪ Irony – a discrepancy between what seems and what is

– Verbal Irony – a discrepancy between what a speaker says and
what he means; he says one thing and he means another
– Dramatic Irony – a discrepancy between the meaning intended by
the fictional character and another meaning that the audience or
the reader can simultaneously find in the same words
– Irony of Situation – a discrepancy between expectations and
result, intention and outcome, illusion and reality
 Methods of Characterization

▪ Direct or Expository Method – the author or

another character describes a character with a
straightforward enumeration of his traits
▪ Indirect or Dramatic Method – character acts out
his personality by his physical appearance, speech,
action, and recorded thoughts
 Methods of Characterization

According to Change Undergone in the Story

▪ Static – does not change; same sort of person at the end as in the
beginning
▪ Developing/Dynamic – undergoes a permanent change in some
aspect of his personality or outlook. Change may be large or small,
for better or worse but it is something basic or important; more than
just a change in condition or a minor change in opinion. Any
development will be shown in decisions involving moral choices the
character makes
 Kinds of Character that can be
Portrayed

According to Roles Played

▪ Major Characters – make important decisions.
– Protagonist – the central character in a story. He is called
the hero when he embodies certain noble ideas of man
– Antagonist – the character or force against which the
protagonist is pitted. An antagonist may be another
character, society, nature, or one side of the character
that battles another side in an internal conflict
 Kinds of Character that can be
Portrayed

▪ Minor/Supporting Character
– Confidant – a character to whom the protagonist
or another character reveals his reflections or
hopes
– Foil – a character who provides a striking contrast
to another character.
– Stock/Type – shows qualities of national, social,
or occupational group to which he belongs
Kinds of Character that can be
Portrayed

According to Fullness of Development

▪ Flat – simply depicted; stock; characterized by one
or two traits; can be summed up in one sentence;
sketched in the briefest outlines
▪ Round – three-dimensional; complex; many-sided;
fully developed personality
Plot Diagram