Module 4

VARIOUS ELEMENTS,
TECHNIQUES AND
LITERARY DEVICES IN
After going through this lesson, you are
expected to:

1. identify the various elements,

techniques, and literary devices in
various modes of fiction
(HUMSS_CW/MPIg-1-11)

2. appreciate some literary pieces which

used various identify the
various elements, techniques, and literary
devices.
 Directions:
Arrange the jumbled
letters to identify the
words that are relevant to
our topic. Definitions will
help you to determine the
hidden words. 3
Literature in the form of prose,
especially short stories and
novels, that describes imaginary
events and people.

INOTCFI FICTION
4
 A category of literary composition;
genres may be determined by
literary techniques, tone, content, or
even (as in the case of fiction)
length

ENRGE GENRE
5
The main events of a play, novel,
movie, or similar work, devised
and presented by the writer as an
interrelated sequence

TLOP PLOT
6
Literary or linguistic technique that
produces a specific effect, esp. a
figure of speech, narrative style, or
plot mechanism

ICEVDE DEVICE
7
 The complex interrelationship
between a text and other texts
taken as basic to the creation or
interpretation of the text
 
IYNTTILREEXTTUA
 
INTERTEXTUALITY
8
Literature
?
Literature, in its broadest sense,
is any written work;
etymologically, the term
derives from the Latin word
literatura/ litteratura which
means "writing formed
with letters", although
some definitions include
Importance of
Literature
⊹ Serves as an art form used
for expression
⊹ preserves cultural ideals,
customs, and morals.
⊹ gives us a deeper context
into the lives and livelihood
of people distinct from
ourselves. 10
 What is a
genre
⊹ \zhän-rə\
⊹ is a French word for "kind" or
"sort "
⊹ the term for any category of
literature or other forms of art or
entertainment, e.g. music,
whether written or spoken, audial
or visual, based on some set of
11
What is
Prose?
Prose is a form of language that
possesses ordinary syntax and
natural speech rather than rhythmic
structure; in which regard, along
with its measurement in sentences
rather than lines, it differs from
poetry.
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Verse
vs.
the
Prose
Form
13
 poetry verse from
a popular work of
Robert Frost:
“The woods are lovely, dark and
deep.
But I have promises to keep, And
miles to go before I sleep, And miles
to go before I sleep.”

(Stopping by Woods on a Snowy 14

Following is the same
sentiment written in
prose form:
“The woods look lovely against the
setting darkness and as I gaze into the
mysterious depths of the forest, I feel
like lingering here longer. However, I
have pending appointments to keep,
and much distance to cover before I
settle in for the night, or else I will be
late for all of them.” 15
Some Common
Types of Prose
Nonfictional Fictional Prose:
Prose: Holistically or
A literary work like partially
essays, biographies imagined stories
and like novels and
autobiographies stories.
that are mainly
based on fact,
16
Some Common
Types of Prose
Heroic Prose: Prose Poetry:
A literary work that A literary work that
might be recorded or shows poetic
recounted, and which characteristics and
utilizes a significant nature and utilizing
number of the standard passionate impacts
articulations found in and elevated
oral custom. Models are symbolism. However
legends and stories. these are written in
Epics and Legends may exposition rather than
be examples of this. section. 17
 ts of
Fiction
al
Prose
18
I. SETTING
The time and location in which a story takes place is
called the setting. There are several aspects of a story's
setting to consider when examining how setting
contributes to a story (some, or all, may be present in a
story):
a) place - Geographical location
b) time - When is the story taking place?
c) weather conditions - Is it rainy, sunny, stormy, etc?
d) social conditions - What is the daily life of the characters
like?
e) mood or atmosphere - What feeling is created at the
beginning of the story?
CHARACTE
R
– People who take part in the story
– Individuals that do the action in the story
– The representation of a person in the story
– Occasionally, it could be an animal or object
given human qualities
– There are two meanings for the word
character: The person in a work of fiction or
the characteristics of a person
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Protagonist – the chief figure who struggles against opposing
forces
Antagonist – the force, most often another character,
that opposes the protagonist
Static Character – one whose personality, attitudes, and
beliefs remain fixed, no matter what kinds of situations
he encounters
Dynamic Character – one whose attitudes and values
are affected by the events in the story
Flat Character – a character having only a single trait or quality
Round Character – a multi-dimensional or a complex character

21
 TS

HARRY
frodo POTTER
baggins
The Lord
of the
Rings
22
ANTAGONI ANTAGONI
ST ST
mr. darcy SCAR
pride and The lion
prejudice king 23
 STATIC
CHARACTE
R DYNAMIC
Lord CHARACTER
ANAKIN
Farquaad SKYWALKER
Shrek Star wars 24
 STATIC
CHARACTE
R DYNAMIC
ROMEO CHARACTER
MONTAGUE KATNISS
EVERDEEN
ROMEO THE HUNGER
AND JULIET GAMES 25
 FLAT
CHARAC
TERS
CRABBE ROUND
CHARACTER
AND SHERLOCK
GOYLE HOLMES
Harry The adventures of
Potter Sherlock Holmes
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Characterization
 
- The development of
characters as done by the
short story writer. The
way in which an author
presents and reveals
his/her characters.
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Ways to do Characterization
Direct presentation
- the author makes explicit/outright statements or
explanations about the characters

Examples:
 As the years passed, Makato grew tall and handsome.
 He never idled. He never complained and was always
satisfied.
 He did every kind of work—carrying
heavy things, clearing away the forest,
or feeding pigs.
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Indirect presentation
- the author reveals the
characters through actions and
dialogues
Example:
 “I would like to go on a
journey for an adventure,”
said Makato.
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III. PLOT
The plot is an organized logical
series of events having a
beginning, middle, and end.

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Kinds of
Plot
1. Linear Plot
In literature, a linear plot begins at a
certain point, moves through a series of
events to a climax and then ends up at
another point.
Also known as the plot structure of
Aristotle, it is possible to represent a linear
plot line with the drawing of an arc.

32
 The primary advantage of using a linear plot
is that the reader knows, or at least has an idea,
of where the plot goes next, and the reader is
guaranteed to get a beginning and ending.

a) Introduction - The beginning of the story

where the characters and the setting is revealed.
b) Rising Action - This is where the events
in the story become complicated and the conflict
in the story is revealed (events between the
introduction and climax).
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c) Climax - This is the highest point of interest
and the turning point of the story. The reader
wonders what will happen next; will the conflict
be resolved or not?
d) Falling action - The events and complications
begin to resolve themselves. The reader knows
what has happened next and if the conflict was
resolved or not (events between climax and
denouement).
e) Denouement - This is the final outcome or
untangling of events in the story.
34
2. Modular Plot

Events are portrayed, for example out of

chronological order, or in other ways where
the narrative does not follow the direct
causality pattern of the events featured, such
as parallel distinctive plot lines, dream
immersions or narrating another story inside
the main plot-line. It is often used to mimic
the structure and recall of human memory,
but has been applied for other reasons as
well.
35
3. Episodic Plot

Made up of a series of
chapters or stories linked
together by the same character,
place, or theme but held apart
by their individual plot,
purpose, and subtext.
36
CONFLICT
Conflict is essential to plot. It is the
opposition of forces which ties one
incident to another and makes the
plot move. Within a short story there
may be only one central struggle, or
there may be one dominant struggle
with many minor ones.
37
 There are two types of Conflict:

1)External - A struggle with a

force outside one's self.
2)Internal - A struggle
within one's self; a person
must make some decision,
overcome pain, quiet their
temper, resist an urge, etc.
38
 There are various kinds of conflict:

1) Man vs. Man (physical) - The leading

character struggles with his physical
strength against other men, forces of nature,
or animals. A character struggles with
another character.
Protagonist vs. Antagonist
The classic “good guy” vs. “bad guy”
situation.
 
Example: Spiderman. This is the story of
Peter Parker who is nerdy high-schooler. 39
 One day while on an excursion to a laboratory a
runway radioactive spider bites him... And his life
changes in a way no one could have imagined. Peter
acquires a muscle-bound physique, clear vision, ability to
cling to surfaces and crawl over walls, shooting webs
from his wrist... But the fun isn’t going to last.
An eccentric millionaire Norman Osborn
administers a performance enhancing drug on himself
and his maniacal alter ego Green Goblin emerges. Now
Peter Parker has to become a Spider-Man and take
Green Goblin to the task... Or else Goblin will kill him.
They come face to face and the war begins in which only
one of them will survive at the end.
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2) Man vs. Circumstances (classical) - The leading
character struggles against fate, or the circumstances of
life facing him/her.
 
3) Man vs. Nature - A character struggles with a force
of nature (natural disaster, desolation, animal, etc.)
Usually, the character is struggling to survive.
Example: San Andreas. In the movie, A series of
massive earthquakes hits Nevada and California.
Caught in the middle is a helicopter rescue pilot,
Raymond Gaines. Flying his helicopter, he must first
rescue his ex-wife, Emma, and his daughter, Blake.
Meanwhile, a pre-eminent seismologist, Dr. Lawrence
Hayes, is trying to predict where the next earthquake
will hit.
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4) Man vs. Society - In this conflict, a character, or a
group of characters fight against the society in which they
live. The character fights against social traditions or rules
(fight for freedom, rights, for a cause etc.) Society becomes
a “character” of its own. Usually used to comment on
positive or negative aspects for real society. (SATIRE)
Example: Avatar. In the movie Avatar a man is put into
an army to get rid of a civilization of blue creatures.
They want the civilization to move to another location
cause their town is built over rich treasures. But the
civilization prays to their God in that one location. Jake
Scully (main character) is told to go into a replica of a
body from civilization. After getting used to how they
live he wants to help them fight for their land, so he
starts a war to help keep their land.
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5) Man vs. Self - The character’s struggle takes
place in his/her own mind. Usually has something
to do with a choice (choosing between right or
wrong), or it may have to do with overcoming
emotions or mixed feelings.
Example: Tangled (Rapunzel). In the movie
Tangled, Rapunzel experiences man vs. self
throughout the movie. She cannot decide if she
want to stay in the tower or defy her mother’s
wishes and leave the tower. When she finally
decides to leave, she is very hesitant and does
not know if what her “mother” has told her is
true or not. She goes back and forth with herself
wondering what will happen if she continues.
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6) Man vs. Supernatural - is a conflict between a
character and something that is not normal in some way.
Supernatural elements include ghosts, omens, and
superstitions.
Example: Predator
- The U.S government hires a team of commandos. The
group goes to Guatemala. There, they battle the
invisible extraterrestrial with superhuman strength.

7) Man vs. Fate - This type of conflict occurs when the character
is trapped by an inevitable destiny or freedom.
Example: Fahrenheit 451
- In part of Fahrenheit 451, “Burning Bright,” Montag’s fate is to be
hunted and killed. The Hound, programmed to kill Montag, is
chasing him, and has the TV says, “The Mechanical Hound never
fails” (page numbers vary by edition)..
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8) Man vs. Technology - The protagonist must overcome
a machine or technology. Most often the encounter with the
machine or technology is through the character's own doing.
For example, it may be technology or a machine that they
created, purchased, or owned with the assumption that it
would make their life easier. Over time, the protagonist
must overcome the technology, in some instances,
destroying it before it destroys them.
Example: The Matrix. Thomas A. Anderson is a man
living two lives. By day he is an average computer
programmer and by night a hacker know as Neo. Neo has
always questioned his reality, but the truth is far beyond
his imagination. Neo finds himself targeted by the police
when he is contacted by Morpheus, a legendary
computer hacker branded a terrorist by the government.

45
IV. POINT OF
VIEW
Point of view, or P.O.V., is defined as
the angle from which the story is told.

1. Third Person P.O.V – The narrator

does not participate in the action of the
story as one of the characters but let us
know exactly what the characters feel.
(uses third personal pronoun he, she, it,
they)
46
2. First Person - The story is told by
the protagonist or one of the
characters who interacts closely with
the protagonist or other characters
(using pronouns I, me, we, etc).
The reader sees the story through
this person's eyes as he/she
experiences it and only knows what
he/she knows or feels.
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3. Omniscient- A narrator who knows everything
about the characters is all knowing or omniscient.
a) Omniscient Limited - The author tells the story in
third person (using pronouns they, she, he, it, etc). We
know only what the character knows and what the
author allows him/her to tell us. We can see the
thoughts and feelings of characters if the author
chooses to reveal them to us.
b) Omniscient Objective – The author tells the story in
the third person. It appears a camera is following the
characters, going anywhere, and recording only what
is seen and heard. No interpretations are offered. The
reader placed in the position of spectator without the
author there to explain. The reader must interpret
events on his own. 48
 v. Theme
The theme in a piece of fiction is its controlling idea or
its central insight. It is the author's underlying meaning
or main idea that he is trying to convey. The theme
may be the author's thoughts about a topic or view of
human nature. The title of the short story usually
points to what the writer is saying, and he may use
various figures of speech to emphasize his theme, such
as: symbol, allusion, simile, metaphor, hyperbole, or
irony.

49
 Some simple examples of common
themes from literature, TV, and film
are:
- Things are not always as they
appear to be
- Love is blind
- Believe in yourself
- People are afraid of change
- Don't judge a book by its cover
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 vi. tone
• When you speak, your tone of voice suggests your attitude.
• In fact, it suggests two attitudes: one concerning the people
you’re addressing (your audience) and the other concerning the
thing you’re talking about (your subject).
• Tone can also mean the general emotional weather of the
poem.
Example: “And the trees all died. They were orange trees. I
don’t know why they died, they just died. Something wrong with
the soil possibly or maybe the stuff we got from the nursery
wasn’t the best. We complained about it. So we’ve got thirty kids
there, each kid had his or her own little tree to plant and we’ve
got these thirty dead trees. All these kids looking at these little
brown sticks, it was depressing.”

51
TECHNIQUES
ANDA literary LITERARY
device is a
technique that shapes narrative
DEVICES
to produce an effect on the
reader like a figure of speech,
narrative style, or plot
mechanism.
A. PLOT
DEVICE
an object, character or a concept introduced into
the story by the author to introduce its plot.
 
1. Flashing arrow - technique used to focus the
reader’s, but not the characters’ attention on an
object, or location.
Example: The Shutter
A man wonders on his consistent neck ache without
knowing that he is carrying the ghost all those
times.
2. Red herring - it distracts the reader’s attention from the plot
twist. It is used to maintain tension and uncertainty.
Example: Professor Snape of Harry Potter
In Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone,
Severus Snape is a red herring, sneaky and
behaving suspiciously. In fact, Snape's chequered
path through the books is littered with red
herrings. Less ambiguously, Sirius Black is
painted as an evil character, to be feared, which is
undermined when he finally meets Harry.

3. Deathtrap - device that the villain uses to try to

kill the protagonist and satisfy his own sadistic
desires.
Example: Different Death scenes in Final
Destination stories
54
4. Reverse chronology - is a technique where the story
begins at the end and works back toward the beginning.
Example: The White House Story where the story
begins at the end and progressed the story while taking
the story backward.
5. ‘In medias res’ - the narrative starts in the middle of
the story instead of from its beginning. Other events are
often introduced through a series of flashbacks.
Example: The Odyssey of Homer. The story
started in the middle instead of the beginning of the
story. Flashbacks were used to introduce the initial
events in the story.
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B. VISION
character share with the reader visions of the past or the
future to explain a character’s motives.
 
1. Dream sequence - series of dreams which allows
the character to see events that occur or have
occurred in another time
Example: The Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
Ebenezer Scrooge had a series of dreams which
allowed him to see the events happened in another
time with the help of the Christmas ghosts of the
past, present and future and led him to change his
attitude.
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2. Analepsis (flashback) - prevents events from
before the current time frame. Flashbacks are
usually presented as characters’ memories and
are used to explain their background.
Example: Titanic
The story used Rose, the main character, to
tell the events happened to Titanic.
3. Prolepsis (flash-forward) - presents
events that will occur in the future.
Example: Final Destination seeing
what will happen in the future.
57
4. Prophecy - is often used in science fiction to
underline their futuristic structures.
Example: Breaking Dawn’s Final Rival Scene
between the Volturi and Bella Swan and Edward
Cullen’s family. Alice who has a premonition,
presented the prophecy, the possible event that can
happen once the action will be continued.
5. Foreshadowing - is a premonition, much like a
flash-forward, but only hints at the future.
Example: Toy Story 2
The use of Buzz’s glass space helmet to ignite the
rocket string was foreshadowed when Buzz was
accidentally burnt because of the glass lens.
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C. ENDING
refers to story endings

1. Cliff-hanger - an abrupt ending that leaves

the plot incomplete and without
denouement. It often leaves characters in a
precarious or difficult situation which hint
at the possibility of a sequel. Films with
sequel are examples of this.

59
2. Twist ending - is an unexpected finale
that gives an entirely new vision on the
entire plot. It is a powerful technique but
may leave the reader dissatisfied and
frustrated.
Example: Planet of the Apes
Twist: As Taylor escapes with mute
companion Nova (Linda Harrison), he
is stunned to discover that he didn't
land on a distant planet, he was back
on Earth, centuries into the future.
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3. Happy ending - a finale
when everything ends in the
best way for the hero.
Example: Since the target
audience are the children,
Disney Movies have happy
endings.
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4. Deus ex machina - plot dating back to
ancient Greek theater, where the conflict is
resolve through a means (god, or dues) that
seem unrelated to the story. This allows the
author to end the story as desired without
following the logic and continuity of the
story.
Perfect example of Deus ex machina
is the Fairy Godmother of Cinderella
who helped her during the moment
that the reader thought that no one
could help the main character.
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For a plot device to be a Deus Ex Machina, it has to satisfy
the following conditions:

 The plot is facing an impossible and hopeless problem,

no existing characters can solve.
 A new element is introduced.
 The element itself usually doesn't have any plot/ character
development to set it up.
 Even if the element was previously mentioned, it was
never used in such fashion, or never explained to have
such power.
 The element is here to solve this problem and disappear
again. The element's power was never used to solve other
problems, even the situation is similar.
 The element is independent of character choices made in the
story. 63
“ Literature adds to reality, it does
not simply describe it. It enriches
the necessary competencies that
daily life requires and provides; and
in this respect, it irrigates the
deserts that our lives have already
become."

- C.S. Lewis, a British scholar and

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novelist.
- End
-
Any
questions 65