Literary devices (1)

Literary 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
Man
Man
Man

vs.
vs.
vs.
vs.

Man
Himself

Society
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

 Most important
character in the
entire literary
work

Minor Characters
 Characters will a
lesser role but
whose role is
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
 A character that

grows and changes
as the literary
work develops

Static Characters
 A character who
does not change
throughout the
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?