Elements of a Short Story
OBJECTIVES
• Identify elements of a short story • Define elements of a short story • Demonstrate mastery of short story elements
OVERVIEW
Short stories often contain structural and character elements that should be familiar to you. These elements can be used as guides to help you think about the actions, themes, and contexts of the story.
• Theme • • • •
• Plot - exposition statement Setting - rising action Characters - conflict - climax Point of view - falling action Characterizatio - resolution n
THEME
• The main idea of a literary work, usually expressed as a generalization.
SETTING
•The time and place in which a work of literature happens.
CHARACTERS
• The people (or actors) in the story.
POINT OF VIEW
• The story teller from whose point of view the story is being told, the narrator.
CHARACTERIZATION
The description of the personalities of the characters in the story and the way in which an author reveals their personalities.
PLOT
• The sequence or order of events in a story. The plot includes: - Exposition Statement - The part of the plot that tells how the story begins. - Rising Action - The action in the story leading up to the climax. - Conflict - Struggles or problems between opposing forces.
More PLOT
- Climax - The point of crisis in the plot. It may be the reader’s point of highest interest. - Falling action - The action in the story after the climax is revealed. - Resolution - The part of the plot that reveals the final outcome.
PLOT DIAGRAM
Climax
n io
g llin Fa
Ac t ng
Conflict
n tio Ac
Ri si
Resolution Exposition
CONCLUSION
Now that we have identified and defined the elements of a short story, let us use the elements to analyze a familiar fairytale. You may use your notes from the PowerPoint presentation or consult the newsletter handout, “Analyzing a Short Story.”
Bibliograph y
Dinneen, K. Elements of the Short Story. Retrieved Jun. 19, 2003, from Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute:
http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/1983/3/83.03.09.x.html
Five Elements of a Story. Retrieved Jun. 19, 2003,
http://www.teachervision.com/lesson-plans/lesson-2277.html
Guevin, D. Short Story Elements. Retrieved Jun. 19, 2003,
http://www.uvm.edu/~dguevin/Elements.html