1. ELEMENTS OF LITERATURE
Definitions

2. ELEMENTS OF LITERATURE:
1st Person POV: The narrator is a character in the text (using I, me, we, us)
2nd Person POV: The narrator speaks directly to the reader (using you, your)
3rd Person POV: The narrator is NOT a character in the text (using they, he, she)
Adjective: A word to describe a noun
Alliteration: The repetition of consonant sounds

3. ELEMENTS OF LITERATURE:
Allusion: Referencing something in a story or essay
Analogy: A similarity between like features of two things, on which a comparison may be based
Antagonist: The person who is against the good guy (bad guy)
Argumentative Text: Writing about a claim that is supported by evidence
Atmosphere: The emotion of the setting

4. ELEMENTS OF LITERATURE:
Climax: The turning point of the story
Compare: How two or more things are similar
Conflict: A problem that occurs in a story
Connotation: Cultural/personal understanding of a word
Context: The words in a written work that make up the meaning

5. ELEMENTS OF LITERATURE:
Contrast: How two or more things are different
Denotation: Dictionary definition of a word
Dialogue: When two or more characters have a conversation in a story
Diction: The specific words chosen by an author in a text
Euphemism: Substituting a word/phrase with a similar meaning

6. ELEMENTS OF LITERATURE:
Exposition: The beginning of a story where the protagonist, main conflict, and setting are introduced
Explanatory Text: Informational writing that explains a topic through research
Explicit: Fully and clearly stated
Expressive Text: Writing based on a personal experience (a narrative)
Falling Action: The action after the climax when events begin to calm down

7. ELEMENTS OF LITERATURE:
Fiction: A work of the imagination (fake)
Flashback: When a character in a story retells a memory from his/her past
Foreshadowing: When the author gives you hints on what will occur later
Functional Text: Writing that holds a purpose in everyday life
Hyperbole: An extreme exaggeration

8. ELEMENTS OF LITERATURE:
Imagery: When something you read is so descriptive you can picture it in your head
Implicit: To state without being specific
Inference: An explanation based on experience rather than a direct observation
Irony: The use of words to create meaning that is opposite its explicit meaning
Metaphor: Comparing two things not using like or as

9. ELEMENTS OF LITERATURE:
Mood: The emotion of the story
Narrator: The individual who is telling a story
Non-Fiction: A work based on fact and research
Noun: A person, place, or thing
Omniscient: A narrator that is god-like or all- knowing

10. ELEMENTS OF LITERATURE:
Onomatopoeia: A written sound effect
Oxymoron: Two words that imply an exact opposite meaning
Paradox: A contradictory argument
Parallelism: The repetition of a phrase, structure, or idea in a text
Personification: Giving human qualities to objects

11. ELEMENTS OF LITERATURE:
Plot: The structure of a story, the storyline
Poetry: Writing focusing on the use of rhythm to heighten emotional impact in the reader
Primary Source: A source that relates information first-hand
Protagonist: The central character who matures in a story (good guy)
Reference: A cited source that supports an author’s opinion

12. ELEMENTS OF LITERATURE:
Repetition: A word repeated in a sentence
Resolution: The end solution to the conflicts in a story
Rising Action: The series of conflicts that build to the climax
Secondary Source: A source that relates information second-hand
Setting: When and where a story takes place

13. ELEMENTS OF LITERATURE:
Simile: Comparing two things using like or as
Symbolism: Representing an emotion or feeling with a symbol
Theme: The central idea of a story
Tone: The author’s attitude in his or her writing
Verb: an action – it’s what you do

14. Practice and Application
Let’s remember one critical fact: our character cannot be anything without a conflict. Our conflict cannot be defined without a setting. A theme is not possible without all characteristics.
If I wanted to analyze the X-Men films, what elements could I analyze?