ELEMENTS OF LITERATURE

PLOT: In literature,it is the interplay and sequence of events in a story,play or novel which are artfully arranged so that the author may attain the desired aesthetic or artistic effect.

SETTING:It is the time,location,and circumstances in which the story takes place.In some cases ,setting becomes the character itself ,and set the tone of astory.There are two types of setting:The physical setting which refers to the place"WHERE",and the chronological setting which refers to the time"WHEN".

CHARACTER:Aperson in astory.Character also denotes the beliefs and habits of mind and moral choices.It may also reflects the behaviour of the real human beings.It can be either Flat or Round;Major or Minor.Ther is astrong relation between characters and setting ,and how this setting can affect on these characters.For example,in "Moll Flanders" the Newgate's prison represents not only her natural birth ,but also the life of her penitent life.

CONFLICT:There are two types of conflict:External and Enternal conflict.
The external one can be between man and nature,woman and society..."Characters and nature ,cercumstances,fate...".
The enternal one can be INSIDE the character between consciousness and unconsciousness,love and duty,reason and emotion...."Between characters and their thoughts ,emotions,ideas..."

SYMBOL:Aword,phrase or image that stands for a large idea.For example,
Rose symbolizes love
Fire,red,blood symbolise war
West,gray,brown symbolize death....
Man is a symbol of the patriarchal society..

POINT OF VIEW"Narrative point of view"
How the story is told and Who tells it"
There are four types of view:

The Omniscient point of view:Here the story is told in the third person narrator whose knowledge about the events and other character is UNLIMITED.He knows every thing about the characters from the inside and outside ,and sometimes makes comments on events.
The Limited omniscient point of view:Here the story is told in the point of view of the third person from the point of view of the CENTRAL character"The central character is the narrator" .He has an access to the mind of the central character not to the other characters.
The First person narrator :In this kind of narration,the story begins with "I,We".The narrator disappears into one of the characters.He could be either minor or major; participant or observer.This point of view offers REALITY.
The Objective point of view:The narrator is the third person narrator,but he doesn't hide within acharacter but in acamera showing what they feel or say.He can't interpret or comment on what is going inside the characters' mind.

THEME:It is the main idea the writer wants the reader to understand and remember.In other words ,it is the controlling idea that informs the work.It can be "Moral,revenge,love...".But remember that NOT all the themes are POSITIVE.

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