LITERATURE

ELEMENTS OF A
LITERARY ANALYSIS
• The story, whether it is a short story, novel or
folk tale has the following general elements
that are used to analyze any written story:
 Character *Characterization
Setting * Diction
Plot * Denotation
Themes * Conotation
Style *Tone
Point of View * Mood
Motifs
• Theme – The message/es explored throughout a
work of literature.
• Motifs -- Repeated patterns in the story,
particularly the symbolic
• Plot – The arrangement of events; consider
chronology or use of flashback/flashforward.
• Setting – The time and place (or when and
where) of the story. It can be time period,
location, the time of day, the season, the
weather, the type of room or building. Three
types of setting to keep in mind are Physical,
Historical, and Atmospheric
• Character – is a person, animal, being, creature in
a story. Writers use characters to perform the
actions and speak dialogue, moving the story
along a plot line. Examples: Protagonist,
Antagonist
• Characterization - is a writer’s process used to
develop their characters throughout the story.
The author uses details to teach us about a
character. This is used over the course of a story
in order to tell the tale. There are two types of
characterization, Direct and Indirect.
• Point of view – The vantage point from
which the story is told. Who is telling the
story? There are three points of view a
story can be told from, First-person,
Second-person, and Third-person.
• Diction – Refers to word choice and
phrasing in any written or spoken text.
There are two types of diction: Formal and
Informal
• Mood- is the atmosphere of the story. The
reader determines the feel of the story.
• Denotation- Dictionary definition of a
word. Sometimes a word can have
multiple definitions. Consider the way
the word is used in context to the
story.
• Connotation - Feelings and images
associated with a word or phrase.
• Tone – is the author’s attitude
towards the subject they are writing
about.
 Types of
Elements:
Certain elements
have extensions
within them. Here
are a list of those
types of
elements.
 TYPES OF PLOT:
• Exposition – The opening of the story that
sets up the characters, setting, (time and
place), and basic information in introduced.
• Conflict – The protagonist struggles between
opposing forces. It can be external: person
vs. person, person vs. person vs. nature,
person vs. society, person vs. technology,
person vs. supernatural. It can be internal:
person vs. self
• Rising Action – The main character faces a
series of conflicts.
• Crisis – A significant turning point in the story
that determines how it must end.
• Climax – The highest point of tension or drama
in a narratives’ plot. Often climax is also when
the main problem of the story is faced and
solved by the main character or protagonist.
• Falling Action – The story begins to slow down
and work towards its end, tying up loose ends.
• Resolution/Denouement – The conclusion of
the story’s plot.
 TYPES OF SETTING:
• Physical - The place where the story occurs. Ex.
The setting of Trifles takes place in a farmhouse.
• Historical - The time period in history that either
surrounds the story. Ex: The Yellow Wallpaper
takes place around the nineteenth century,
which is important to why the protagonist is
treated a certain way by her husband.
• Atmospheric - The feeling, emotion, or mood
that an author creates in a narrative through
descriptive language
TYPES OF
CHARACTERTER
• Protagonist – This is the main character, around
which the whole story revolves.
• Antagonist – This character, or group of char-
acters, causes the conflict for the protagonist.
The antagonist could be the protagonist, who is
torn by a problem within.
• Foil – Opposite character traits from another,
character meant to help highlight or bring out
another’s positive or negative side.
• Static – Do not change throughout the story. A
major character can remain static through the
whole story
• Dynamic – Changes throughout the story.
They may learn a lesson, become bad, or
change in complex ways.
• Flat – Has one or two traits, usually only
all positive or negative. They are the
opposite of a round character. The flaw or
strength has its use in the story.
• Round – Opposite of the flat character.
Characters have many different traits,
good and bad, making them more
interesting
 TYPES OF
CHARACTERIZATION
• Direct: The author explicitly tells the
audience what he or she wants you to
know about the character.
• Indirect: The reader makes inferences
about a character based on their
actions, thoughts, personality, and
emotional affect on other characters.
There are five types of Indirect
characterization: Speech, Thoughts,
Effect on others, Actions, and Looks.
TYPES OF POINT
OF VIEW
• First-person: The story is told through the eyes of the
character telling the story.
• Second-person: The narrator is speaking to you. This
is seen mostly in poems, speeches, instructional
writing, and persuasive articles
• Third-person: The narrator is describing what’s seen,
but as a spectator. If the narrator is a character in the
story, then we are reading what he or she observes
as the story unfolds. The story can be told from an
omniscient (all-knowing) narrator who doesn’t
interact in the events, or a limited omniscient
character who knows only one other person’s
thoughts or feelings, or character who has a limited
perspective of the events unfolding
 TYPES OF DICTION
• Formal- Involves choosing words that
are polite and proper. Formal language
is often filled with descriptive words
that are quite precise, and sentences
may be longer.
• Informal- Generally uses shorter words.
Sentences may be incomplete or ignore
some finer points of grammar and usage
 Here is a list of literary devices to consider
when analyzing your essay.
• Symbolism – The use of symbols to signify ideas
and qualities, by giving them symbolic meanings
that are different from their literal sense. Symbols
can be universal, conventional, and con textual.
• Figurative Language – Used to describe someone
or something by comparing to another or using
words for description that do not have a literal
meaning. Examples: Metaphor and Simile.
• Imagery – Evokes the five senses. What does the
character or narrator make the reader touch, see,
hear, feel, smell, taste?
 Extensions of Literary Devices:
The following are extensions of literary devices
you can use throughout your essay
 TYPES OF SYMBOLS
• Universal – A word or object that most
every-one agrees on the meaning.
• Conventional - Widely recognized by a
society or culture. Ex: Christian cross, the
Star of Da-vid, a swastika, or a nation’s
flag.
• Contextual - A word or object that stands
for something else just in the story or
situation
TYPES OF FIGURATIVE
LANGUAGE
 Metaphor (Pagwawangis o Metapora)
• Makes a comparison of two
unrelated things often using “is.”
• Example: But soft! What light
through yonder window breaks?
It is the east, and Juliet is the sun.
– The Tragedy of Romeo and
Juliet.
 Metaphor
• My love for you is a raging fire.
• Raging fire emphasizes the
passion and heat and “out-of-
controlness” that comes with
being in love. It easily out-
intensifies very much.
Hyperbole (Pagmamalabis)
• Hyperbole is a purposeful
exaggeration not meant to be
taken literally. It is used to
emphasize or draw attention
to a certain element in a story.
Simile (Pagtutulad o Simili)
• Makes a comparison of two
unrelated things to show
common quality between them
using “like” or “as.”
• Example: “She smiles like the
sun”
 Simile
• As cold as ice
• As busy as a bee
• As light as a feather
• Swim like a fish
• Fight like cats and dogs
• As black as coal
• Brave as a lion
 Personification (Pagsasatao o
Personipikasyon)
• A thing- an idea or an animal – is
given human attributes.
• Example: “I find it hovering in the
dining-room, skulking in the
parlor, hiding in the hall, lying in
wait for me on the stairs.” – “The
Yellow Wallpaper”
 Allegory
• The characters are representative of
some larger humanistic trait and attempt
to convey some larger lesson or meaning
in life.
• such forms as fable and parable may
have meaning on two or more levels that
the reader can understand only through
an interpretive process.
 Allusion
•A reference to
something in
history, culture, or
literature
 Literature
Any collection of written or oral work,
but it more commonly and narrowly
refers to writings specifically considered
to be an art form.
 Latin word “littera/litteratura” meaning
letters and referring to an acquaintance
with the written word.
 Literature
 It is commonly refers to works of the
creative imagination, including poetry,
drama, fiction, nonfiction and in some
instances journalism and song.
As an art form can also include works in
various non-fiction genres such as
autobiography, diaries, memoir (author’s
personal memory), letters and the essay.
 Importance of Literature
 One of the chief purposes of literature is a
means of exploring what is to be human.
 A way of communicating with others about
a huge range of ideas and concerns.
 Allows a person to step back in time and
learn about life on Earth from the ones
who walked before us.
 Importance of Literature
 Appreciation for other cultures and beliefs.
 Literature improves your command of
language.
 It teaches you about the life, cultures and
experiences of people in other parts of the
world.
 It makes you a wiser and more experienced
person by forcing you to judge, sympathize
with, or criticize the characters you read about.
 Kinds of Literature
 Literature is divided into two (2) kinds
namely:
1. Fictional
2. Non-Fictional
 Fictional Literature is imaginary
composed writing or work of art that is
meant to provide information, education,
and entertainment to the reader.
 Kinds of Literature
 In other words, fictional literature is
based on the writer’s imagination rather
than reality.
 Non – fictional Literature is factual
writing or written work that is gives facts
that can be proved as it provides real
places, events, characters, times or reality
rather than imaginary things.
Examples of Fictional Literature
Plays
 Poems
 Short stories
 Novels
 Oral or traditional literature
 Songs
Examples of Non- Fictional Literature

 Autobiographies
 Biographies
 Essays
 Diaries
 Journals
 Magazines
 Newspaper
 Subject text books (Geography,
History and Civic Education)
ASIAN LITERATURE
• Asian literature is a compact of ideas
wherein culture, belief,religion, and
values collide. This can be reflected
from the different writers or authors
all over Asia who wants to share thier
views, ideas, emotion through
different literary pieces.
• Asian literature mirrors not only the
customs and traditions of Asian
countries but also. their philosophy
of life which on the whole are deeply
and predominantly contemplative
and. hauntingly sweet. It is a
reflection of the storm and stress of
developing nations seeking a place.