Elements of a Literary Analysis

In order to know what to look for in a text before you write your literary analysis essay, you need to know
your literary terms. Knowing your terms will be beneficial to you, so you can consider what you want to
discuss in your essay. Below are literary elements to choose from when writing your literary analysis.

Literary Elements:

Theme – The message/es explored throughout a Mood- is the atmosphere of the story. The reader de-
work of literature. termines the feel of the story.

Motifs -- Repeated patterns in the story, particularly Types of Elements

the symbolic. Certain elements have extensions within them.
Here are a list of those types of elements.
Plot – The arrangement of events; consider chronol-
ogy or use of flashback/flashforward. TYPES OF PLOT:
Exposition – The opening of the story that sets up
Setting – The time and place (or when and where) the characters, setting, (time and place), and basic
of the story. It can be time period, location, the time information in introduced.
of day, the season, the weather, the type of room or Conflict – The protagonist struggles between oppos-
building. Three types of setting to keep in mind are ing forces. It can be external: person vs. person, per-
Physical, Historical, and Atmospheric. son vs. person vs. nature, person vs. society, person
vs. technology, person vs. supernatural. It can be in-
Character – is a person, animal, being, creature in a ternal: person vs. self.
story. Writers use characters to perform the ac-
tions and speak dialogue, moving the story along Rising Action – The main character faces a series of
a plot line. Examples: Protagonist, Antagonist conflicts.

Characterization - is a writer’s process used to de- Crisis – A significant turning point in the story that
velop their characters throughout the story. The au- determines how it must end.
thor uses details to teach us about a character. This
is used over the course of a story in order to tell the Climax – The highest point of tension or drama in a
tale. There are two types of characterization, narratives’ plot. Often climax is also when the main
Direct and Indirect. problem of the story is faced and solved by the main
character or protagonist.
Point of view – The vantage point from which the
story is told. Who is telling the story? There are three Falling Action – The story begins to slow down and
points of view a story can be told from, First-person, work towards its end, tying up loose ends.
Second-person, and Third-person.
Resolution/Denouement – The conclusion of the
Diction – Refers to word choice and phrasing in any story’s plot.
written or spoken text. There are two types of diction:
Formal and Informal. TYPES OF SETTING:

Denotation- Dictionary definition of a word. Some- Physical - The place where the story occurs. Ex.
times a word can have multiple definitions. Consider The setting of Trifles takes place in a farmhouse.
the way the word is used in context to the story.
Historical - The time period in history that either sur-
Connotation - Feelings and images associated with rounds the story. Ex: The Yellow Wallpaper takes
a word or phrase. place around the nineteenth century, which is im-
portant to why the protagonist is treated a certain
Tone – is the author’s attitude towards the subject way by her husband.
they are writing about.
This handout was created using literaryterms.com and literarydevices.com
San Antonio College Writing Center | Gonzales Hall 203 | 210-486-1433
July 2020
Atmospheric - The feeling, emotion, or mood that an Third-person: The narrator is describing what’s
author creates in a narrative through descriptive lan- seen, but as a spectator. If the narrator is a character
guage. in the story, then we are reading what he or she ob-
serves as the story unfolds. The story can be told
TYPES OF CHARACTER: from an omniscient (all-knowing) narrator who
doesn’t interact in the events, or a limited omniscient
Protagonist – This is the main character, around character who knows only one other person’s
which the whole story revolves. thoughts or feelings, or character who has a limited
perspective of the events unfolding.
Antagonist – This character, or group of char-acters,
causes the conflict for the protagonist. The antagonist TYPES OF DICTION-
could be the protagonist, who is torn by a problem Formal- Involves choosing words that are polite and
within. proper. Formal language is often filled with descrip-
tive words that are quite precise, and sentences may
Foil – Opposite character traits from another, char- be longer.
acter meant to help highlight or bring out another’s
positive or negative side. Informal- Generally uses shorter words. Sentences
may be incomplete or ignore some finer points of
Static – Do not change throughout the story. A ma- grammar and usage.
jor character can remain static through the whole
story.
Here is a list of literary devices to consider when
Dynamic – Changes throughout the story. They may analyzing your essay.
learn a lesson, become bad, or change in complex
ways. Symbolism – The use of symbols to signify ideas
Flat – Has one or two traits, usually only all positive and qualities, by giving them symbolic meanings that
or negative. They are the opposite of a round char- are different from their literal sense. Symbols can be
acter. The flaw or strength has its use in the story. universal, conventional, and con textual.

Round – Opposite of the flat character. Characters Figurative Language – Used to describe someone
have many different traits, good and bad, making or something by comparing to another or using words
them more interesting. for description that do not have a literal meaning. Ex-
amples: Metaphor and Simile.
TYPES OF CHARACTERIZATION:
Imagery – Evokes the five senses. What does the
Direct: The author explicitly tells the audience what character or narrator make the reader touch, see,
he or she wants you to know about the character. hear, feel, smell, taste?

Indirect: The reader makes inferences about a char- Extensions of Literary Devices: The following are
acter based on their actions, thoughts, personality, extensions of literary devices you can use throughout
and emotional affect on other characters. There are your essay.
five types of Indirect characterization: Speech,
Thoughts, Effect on others, Actions, and Looks. TYPES OF SYMBOLS:

TYPES OF POINT OF VIEW: Universal – A word or object that most every-one

agrees on the meaning.
First-person: The story is told through the eyes of
the character telling the story. Conventional - Widely recognized by a society or
culture. Ex: Christian cross, the Star of Da-vid, a
Second-person: The narrator is speaking to you. swastika, or a nation’s flag.
This is seen mostly in poems, speeches, instructional
writing, and persuasive articles. Contextual - A word or object that stands for some-
thing else just in the story or situation.
This handout was created using literaryterms.com and literarydevices.com
San Antonio College Writing Center | Gonzales Hall 203 | 210-486-1433
July 2020
 Personification - A thing- an idea or an animal – is
given human attributes. Example: “I find it hovering
TYPES OF FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE: in the dining-room, skulking in the parlor, hiding in the
hall, lying in wait for me on the stairs.” – “The Yellow
Metaphor - Makes a comparison of two unrelated Wallpaper”
things often using “is.” Example: But soft! What light
through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Ju- Allegory: The characters are representative of some
liet is the sun. – The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet. larger humanistic trait and attempt to convey some
larger lesson or meaning in life.
Simile - Makes a comparison of two unrelated things
to show common quality between them using “like” or Allusion – A reference to something in history, cul-
“as.” Example, “She smiles like the sun” ture, or literature (especially historical).

This handout was created using literaryterms.com and literarydevices.com

San Antonio College Writing Center | Gonzales Hall 203 | 210-486-1433
July 2020