Elements

Elements of a
Short Story
 OBJECTIVES
• Identify elements of a short story
• Define elements of a short story
• Demonstrate mastery of short
story elements
 OVERVIEW
Short stories often contain structural
and character elements that should
be familiar to you.
These elements can be used as guides
to help you think about the actions,
themes, and contexts of the story.
• Theme • Plot
- exposition statement
• Setting
- rising action
• Characters - conflict
• Point of view - climax
- falling action
• Characterization
- resolution
THEME
• The main idea of a literary work,
usually expressed as a generalization.
- is the meaning behind events
and characters’ actions in a
story.
- is the central idea, message, or
purpose in a short story.
- can be expressed as a general
statement about people or life.
SETTING
•The time and place in
which a work of
literature happens.
 CHARACTERS
• The people (or actors) in the
story.

POINT OF VIEW
• The story teller from whose
point of view the story is
being told, the narrator.
 POINT OF VIEW
• First-person PoV
-the main character is telling the story.
-Uses the word “I”
• Second-person POV
- is told from the perspective of "you".
• Third-person PoV
-narrator is not a character in the story.
-uses the "he/she/it" narrator
-the most commonly used POV in writing.
CHARACTERIZATION
The description of the
personalities of the
characters in the story
and the way in which an
author reveals their
personalities.
 PLOT
• The sequence or order of events in a
story. The plot includes:
- Exposition Statement - The part of
the plot that tells how the story begins.
- Rising Action - The action in the story
leading up to the climax.
- Conflict - Struggles or problems
between opposing forces.
 More PLOT
- Climax - The point of crisis in the
plot. It may be the reader’s point of
highest interest.
- Falling action - The action in the
story after the climax is revealed.
- Resolution - The part of the plot that
reveals the final outcome.
 PLOT DIAGRAM
Climax

on

Fa
ti

llin
Ac

Conflict

gA
ng

cti o
si
Ri

n
Exposition Resolution
THE FROG PRINCE
CONCLUSION
The
Set
PoV
C
C
P
 CONCLUSION
Theme
Setting
Point of View
Characters
Characterization
Plot
 CONCLUSION
Now that we have identified
and defined the elements of
a short story, let us use the
elements to analyze a
familiar fairytale. You may
use your notes from the
PowerPoint presentation or
consult the newsletter
handout, “Analyzing a
Short Story.”
A.
1. 
The time and location in which a
story takes place
A. Plot
B. Setting
C. Conflict
D. Characterization
2.
There are ___________ kinds
of conflict.
– A. 2
– B. 3
– C. 4
– D. 5
3. The angle from which the story is
told.
– A. Camera view
– B. Character view
– C. Point of view
– D. None of the above
4. The moral or lesson to be learned in
a story is called the
 a. Conflict.
 b. Mood.
 c. Sequencing.
 d. Theme.
5. The most exciting part of a story is
called the
 a. Conflict.
 b. Falling action.
 c. Resolution.
 d. Climax.
B. Enumerate the elements of short
story.
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- -
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 Bibliography
Bibliography
Dinneen, K. Elements of the Short Story. Retrieved Jun.
19, 2003, from Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute:
http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/1983/3/83.03.09.x.html

Five Elements of a Story. Retrieved Jun. 19, 2003,

http://www.teachervision.com/lesson-plans/lesson-2277.html

Guevin, D. Short Story Elements. Retrieved Jun. 19, 2003,

http://www.uvm.edu/~dguevin/Elements.html