Unit One: Literary Elements Plot, Conflict, Setting, Mood, Tone, Theme

Definition Setting: Setting is the time and place of a short story, drama, novel, narrative poem, or narrative nonfiction work. Sometimes setting includes the larger historical or cultural contexts of a narrative. Setting often plays an important role in what happens and why.

Definition Plot: The sequence of events in a story is called the plot. A plot focuses on a central conflict or problem faced by the main character(s). The actions that the characters take to resolve the conflict build toward a climax. Plot typically resolves in 5 stages: Exposition, Rising Action, Climax, Falling Action, Resolution.

Definition Conflict: A struggle between opposing forces. Almost every story has a main conflict. An external conflict involves a character pitted against an outside force: man v. nature, man v. man, man v. society, or a literal obstacle. The conflict may also be internal: man v. himself.

Definitions Mood: The feeling or atmosphere that a writer creates for the reader. Tone: The attitude a writer takes toward a subject. It reflects the feelings of the writer.

Definitions Theme: the central message of a literary work. Subject: a general topic of a work which can be expressed in a word or two. The theme is the idea the author wishes to convey about that subject. It is expressed in a sentence or general statement about life or human nature. A literary work may have more than one theme, and most themes are not directly stated but implied. The reader must think about all the elements of the work and use them to make inferences, or reasonable guesses, as to which themes seem to be implied. Examples of a SUBJECT: Courage, Survival, War, Fear, Pride. An example of a theme on the subject of pride might be that pride often precedes a fall.