Literary

Literary Devices
Devices
Melanie Goings
Woodruff Middle School
 Elements of Literature
• Plot
• Conflict
• Setting
• Character
• Point of View
• Theme
 What is Plot?
• Plot is the sequence of events within
a literary work.
• The plot of a literary work can be
divided into five distinct sections
that can even be graphed on a
diagram.
 A Closer Look at Plot:
What are the Five Divisions of Plot?

• Exposition
• Rising Action
• Climax
• Falling Action
• Resolution
 What Drive the Plot
Within a Literary Work?
• Conflict
– The struggle
between opposing
forces
• Man vs. Man
• Man vs. Himself
• Man vs. Society
• Man vs. Nature
What Type of Conflict Does
this Picture Represent?
 Answer…

• Man vs. Society…

This picture depicts racial discrimination.
It was law that African Americans use
separate facilities because of their race.
Therefore, this is an example of man vs. a
rule of society.
What type of Conflict does
this picture represent?
 Answer…
• Man vs. Man

This 1942 picture illustrates two men

in a boxing match
 What is Setting?
• Setting is the time and place of the action
• Setting include all details of a place and
time—the year, the time of day, even the
weather.
• Details such as dialect, clothing, customs,
and modes of transportation are often
used to establish setting within a literary
work.
Describe the Setting
Here within the next
picture…
What is the setting
here?
 What is Character?
• Character is a person or an animal
that takes part in the action of a
literary work
• Characters can be classified into
several groups:
• Major or Minor
• Flat or Round
• Dynamic or Static
 Major Characters vs.
Minor Character
Major Characters Minor Characters
 Most important  Characters will a
character in the lesser role but
entire literary whose role is
work necessary for the
story to develop
 Flat Characters vs. Round
Characters

Flat Characters Round Characters

 Characters who are  Characters that
often one-sided are fully developed
and often and exhibit many
stereotypical traits
 Dynamic Characters vs.
Static Characters

Dynamic Characters Static Characters

 A character that  A character who
grows and changes does not change
as the literary throughout the
work develops literary work
 What is Point of View?
• The perspective or
vantage point from
which a story is
told.
– 1st person POV
– 3rd person limited
– 3rd person omniscient
 What is Theme?
• The central message, concern, or purpose of a
literary work.
• The theme can be expressed as a generalization,
or general statement, about people or life.
• The theme is often revealed indirectly and the
reader may have to look carefully at what the
work reveals about people or about life.
What are some themes to
literary works you have
already read?