Literary Devices

Point of View Types 1st Person 2nd Person 3rd Person Omniscient Limited Objective or Dramatic

Point of View Raise Questions to Discover Ideas How is the narration made to seem real or probable? Are the actions and speeches reported authentically, as they might be seen and reported in life? Is the narrator/speaker identifiable? What are the narrator’s qualifications as an observer? How much of the story seems to result from the imaginative or creative powers of the narrator? How does the narrator/speaker perceive the time of the actions? If the predominant tense is the past, what relationship, if any, does the narrator establish between the past and the present (…providing explanations, making conclusions)? If the tense is present, what effect does this tense have on your understanding of the story? To what extent does point of view make the work interesting and effective?

Point of View First-Person Point of View What prompts the speaker to tell the story? What does the story tell us about the experience and interests of the narrator/speaker? Is the speaker talking to the reader, a listener, or herself? How does her audience affect what she is saying? Is the level of language appropriate to her and the situation? How much does she tell about herself? To what degree is the narrator involved in the action (…as a major participant or major mover, minor participant, or nonparticipating observer)? Does he make himself the center of humor or admiration? How? Does he seem aware of changes he undergoes? Does the speaker criticize other characters? Why? Does she seem to report fairly and accurately what others have told her? How reliable is the speaker? Does the speaker seem to have anything to hide? Does it seem that he may be suing the story for self-justification or exoneration? What effect does the this complexity have on the story?

Point of View Second-Person Point of View What situation prompts the use of the second person? How does the speaker acquire the authority to explain things to the listener? How directly involved is the listener? What is the relationship between the speaker and listener if the listener is indefinite, what does the speaker choose to use “you” as the basis of the narration?

Point of View Third-Person Point of View Does the author speak in an authorial voice, or does it seem that the author has adopted a special but unnamed voice for the work? What is the speaker’s level of language (formal and grammatical, informal or intimate and ungrammatical)? Are actions, speeches, and explanations made fully or sparsely? From what apparent vantage point does the speaker report action and speeches? Does this vantage point make the characters seem distant or close? How much sympathy does the speaker express for the characters? To what degree is your interest centered on a particular character? Does the speaker give you thoughts and responses of this character (limited 3rd person)? If the work is 3rd person omniscient, how extensive is the omniscience (all the characters or just a few)? Generally, what limitations or freedoms can be attributed to this point of view? What special kinds of knowledge does the narrator assume that the listeners or readers possess (Familiarity with are, religion, politics, history, navigation, music, current or past social conditions)? How much dialogue is used in the story? Is the dialogue presented directly, as dramatic speech, or indirectly, as past-tense reports of speeches? What is your perception of the story’s events as a result of the use of dialogue?

Character Traits Types Round Flat Dynamic Static Protagonist/Antagonist

Character Writing about Character/Questions to Raise Who is the major character? What do you learn about this character from his or her actions and speeches? From the speeches and actions of other characters? How else do you learn about the character? How important is the character to the work’s principal action? Which characters oppose the major character? How do the major character and the opposing character(s) interact? What effects do these interactions create? What actions bring out important traits of the main character? To what degree is the character creating events and to what degree is he or she just responding to them? Describe the main character’s actions: Are they good or bad, intelligent or stupid, deliberate or spontaneous? How do they help you to understand the character? What do they show about the character as a person?

Character Writing about Character/Questions to Raise cont. Describe and explain the traits, both major and minor, of the character you plan to discuss. To what extent do the traits permit you to judge the character? What is your judgment? What descriptions (if any) of how the character looks do you discover in the story? What does this appearance demonstrate about him or her? In what ways is the character’s major trait a strength or a weakness? As the story progresses, to what degree does the trait become more (or less) prominent? Is the character round and dynamic? How does the character recognize, change with, or adjust to circumstances?

Character Writing about Character/Questions to Raise cont. If the character you are analyzing is flat or static, what function does he or she perform in the story (for example, by doing a task or by bringing out qualities of the major character)? If the character is a stereotype, to what type does he or she belong? To what degree does the character stay in the stereotypical role or rise above it? How? What do any of the other characters do, say, or think to give you understanding of the character you are analyzing? What does the character say or think about himself/herself? What does the storyteller or narrator say? How valid are these comments and insights? How helpful are they in providing insights into the character? Is the character lifelike or unreal? Consistent or inconsistent? Believable or not believable?