SETTING

When and where a story takes place

Setting is generally a physical locale
that shapes the story’s mood, it’s
emotional aura and quality.
Whether real or
imagined, setting is
the emotional
backdrop of a story.
 Setting is important because…

Setting shows internal and external conflicts

Setting highlights potential contrasts between

characters or ideas
 Setting can also…
• Determine the fate of the protagonist
• Reflect character and embody theme
• If Victor Frankenstein
does all his
experiments in a
“solitary chamber, or
rather a cell at the top
of the house, and
separated from all
other apartments by a
staircase” we may
conclude that there is
something anti-social,
isolated, stale, and
even unnatural about
his character.
Types of Setting
 PHYSICAL SETTING

Time of Day
Weather /
Temperature
Season
Indoors /
Outdoors
Imagery: 5
Senses
 GEOGRAPHICAL

Location
Neighborhood
Street
City
Floor / Level/ Apartment
Urban / Rural / Suburban
CULTURAL
SETTING

The
values,
attitudes,
and beliefs
of a place
 Two Types of Cultural Setting
• Physical • Non-Physical
Education
Dialogue Social Standing
Clothing Religious Beliefs
Iconography
Decoration
Routines
Customs
 HISTORICAL
SETTING

This is setting that

incorporates past
events, disasters, and
people. It is a specific
time.
Practice: Past Paper Week 1.