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3 GenresElements of Lit

The document provides an overview of literature, defining it as the art of words characterized by excellence and expression. It outlines four literary genres: fiction, poetry, nonfiction, and drama, detailing their distinct features and elements. Additionally, it discusses key components of fiction such as characters, plot, setting, conflict, and point-of-view, as well as various types of poetry and drama.

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Jisooyah Kim
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0% found this document useful (0 votes)
4 views6 pages

3 GenresElements of Lit

The document provides an overview of literature, defining it as the art of words characterized by excellence and expression. It outlines four literary genres: fiction, poetry, nonfiction, and drama, detailing their distinct features and elements. Additionally, it discusses key components of fiction such as characters, plot, setting, conflict, and point-of-view, as well as various types of poetry and drama.

Uploaded by

Jisooyah Kim
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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INTRODUCTION TO LITERATURE

Defined simply as the “art of words,” literature comes in various meanings.


Rexroth (2020) defines literature as “those imaginative works of poetry and prose
distinguished by the intentions of their authors and the perceived aesthetic excellence
of their execution.” Citing the 11th edition of Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate
Dictionary, Rexroth adds that literature are “writings having excellence of form or
expression and expressing ideas of permanent or universal interest.” These
definitions point out two important aspects of literature: excellence and expression.
For a work to be considered literature, it should not simply express humankind’s
thoughts, feelings, experiences and aspirations, but should also reflect merit and
brilliance of expression.

Literature shows human experience and life through language. To understand


literature, you must know and understand the language of literature (Tan, 2001).

LITERARY GENRES

Genre refers to a type of art, literature, or music characterized by a distinct


form, content, and style. In literature, there are four literary genres: poetry, drama,
fiction, and nonfiction. All these literary genres have specific functions and features
which distinguish one from the others.

A. FICTION

Fiction refers to a literary work which comes from the author’s imagination.
Through the fictional narrative, a writer may inform, entertain, inspire, or even
persuade (Littlehale, 2020).

a) Short Story is shorter in length than a novel, a short story is a fictional


prose work which usually focuses on one plot, one main character (with
a few additional minor characters), and one central theme. It aims at
unity of effect and creation of mood rather than on plot. Edgar Allan
Poe’s “The Philosophy of Composition” describes a short story as one
that “should be read in one sitting, anywhere from a half hour to two
hours. In contemporary fiction, a short story can range from 1,000 to
20,000 words.”

b) Novel A novel is a narrative prose work of considerable length that talks


about significant human experience. The novel’s beginnings date back
to as early as the writing of “Tale of Genji” by Murasaki Shikibu; later,
in the early seventeenth century, European novels came to be written
(Prahl, 2019). A novel is also characterized by the following: (1) written

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in prose form, (2) considerable length or word count, (3) fictional
content, and (4) individualism; that is, it appeals to an individual
audience as a reader rather than to a group.

ELEMENTS OF FICTION

1. Characters

Characters in stories can be humans, animals, or inanimate objects;


anything that can be described as an individual in the story. All stories have a
character or characters. The author uses the character’s actions in the story
as a driving force for the plot – the sequence of events.

a. Protagonist - The protagonist plays an important role in the story because


he/she is the character the story is based on.
b. Antagonist - The Antagonist may be the villain in the story. The job of the
Antagonist is to oppose the Protagonist as such often the Antagonist is seen
as the enemy of the Protagonist.
c. Round - A ‘round’ or ‘rounded’ character is a dynamic character who grows
and changes during the course of the story.
d. Flat - The opposite of a round character. A flat character does not grow or
develop or change throughout the story.

Characterization – This is how the author make the characters reveal their
personality or character traits in the story. It can either be direct or indirect
characterization.

2. Plot

The plot of the story/novel is the sequence of events that makes up the
narrative.

The following are the elements of short story according to Freytag:

1. Exposition tells about the background of the story. The information


can be about the setting, characters’ back stories, or historical
contexts.
2. Rising action is the part of the story after the characters and setting
are introduced and events in the story begin to reveal probable
conflicts that the protagonist must resolve. It also involves events
that lead to the climax of the story.
3. Climax is the highest point of tension in the story. It is usually the
most interesting part.
4. Falling action is the part of a story after the climax and before the
very end.
5. The denouement is the final outcome of the story and it is where
other secrets are revealed, if there is any.

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3. Setting

The setting includes the time or period and place where the event happened.
The characters are the persons/ animals/ or any inanimate object that functions
as the protagonist, antagonist and other minor entities that perform the actions,
speak dialogue and moving the story along a plot line.

4. Conflict

Conflict creates tension in the story and it involves the struggle of between
two opposing forces/ characters, usually the protagonist and the antagonist.
Conflict can be internal and external.

• Internal conflict is a psychological conflict which arises when the


character experiences two opposite emotions (like love and hate,
patriotism and devotion) or aspirations ( like career and marriage, fame
and peace of mind) which usually involves good and evil.
• External conflict is the struggle of a protagonist against outside forces
that hamper his/ her progress and hinders him/her to achieve his/ her
goal

5. Point-of-view

The point of view is the perspective from which the story is written.

o The first person point of view is told from the story-teller’s (or
narrator’s) perspective. The pronouns that are used include I, me, my.
o The third person point of view is told by a narrator who is not part of
the story, and is not describing their own experiences. Third person
pronouns include he, she, they, them, his, hers.
o Third Person Omniscient. From this perspective the author knows and
relates all the feelings, actions and events that occur in the story. This
story is told by an all-knowing (omniscient) figure.

6. Flashback and Foreshadowing

Flashback. This is used to give the reader information about events in the
past, to help them understand and identify issues they encounter in the story.

Foreshadowing. The author sometimes provides the readers with clues/hints


of events that might occur as the story or novel progresses.

7. Irony

Irony is a narrative technique that highlights the opposite of what is expected.


Therefore, a situation is identified as being ironic if the final outcome is the
opposite of what was expected.

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TYPES:

a. Verbal Irony. The use of words to mean something different than what
they appear to mean.
b. Situational Irony. The difference between what is expected to happen
and what actually happens.
c. Dramatic Irony. When the audience is more aware of what is happening
than a character.

8. Symbols

A symbol is something (colour, element of nature, an item, etc.) that is used


to represent something else.

Local color in literature is fiction and poetry that focuses on the characters,
dialect, customs, topography, and other features particular to a specific region. It
reflects the characteristic appearance, mannerisms, speech, and dress of a place
or a period.

9. Theme

A theme is the overall idea the author tries to convey to the reader.

B. POETRY

Poetry is one of the earliest genres of literature. It was either recited or sang
back to prehistoric times to call for help from a deity, narrate a hero’s life and
victories, tell about the love story of their rulers, or describe someone who inspires
them.

There are some distinctive characteristics of poetry which sets it apart


from prose:

A. the visual patterning of lines of unequal and shorter length,


B. the frequent division into stanzas (verses),
C. the possibility of unusual shapes, and
D. the distinctive use of white space which draws our eye into the
compressed essence of feelings and ideas.

TYPES OF POETRY:

1. Narrative poem – It tells a story with an orientation, complication, crisis,


and resolution.
2. Lyrical poem – It conveys an experience, or ideas, thoughts or feelings
about a subject without necessarily having ‘something happen.’

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Elements of Poetry:

1. Rhyme – it is the identical rhyme if the last words or sounds match each other.
alliteration : followed, flats, front bother, back assonance: big, slipper picked,
slimy
2. Meter – it is also called the rhythm in poetry. It is the pattern of beats ( foot)
(stressed and unstressed syllables in a line). It is also called foot.

There are four basic rhythms in poetry:

2.1 Iamb -unstressed / stressed (buh BUH )


buh BUH/ buh BUH
Today, / we live /

2.2. Trochee- stressed / unstressed (BUH buh)


BUH buh BUH buh BUH buh
Captain/ it’s gone/ hold it

2.3. Anapest- unstressed / unstressed / stressed. ( buh buh BUH )


buh buh BUH buh buh BUH
If I cry/ If I leave/

2.4. Dactyl- stressed / unstressed / unstressed (BUH buh buh )


BUH buh buh / BUH buh buh / BUH buh buh
Carnage is / horrible / heritage

C. NON-FICTION

Nonfiction is a literary genre that tells about stories that actually happen in
real life. The sub genres of literary nonfiction are biography, memoir,
autobiography, journals, diaries, periodicals and references. These works of
literary nonfiction have character, setting, plot, conflict, figurative language, and
theme just like literary fiction, fiction and thriller or suspense.

D. DRAMA

A drama is a composition in either verse or prose presenting a story through


pantomime or dialogue. It contains conflict of characters, particularly the ones
who perform in front of the audience on the stage. The person who writes drama
for stage directions is known as a “dramatist” or “playwright.”

The term “drama” is also used for the type of play written for theater,
television, radio, and film. Because of the combination of performance, music,
dance, props, and others which enable the audience to feel like a part of the
action, drama is considered a unique and distinctive genre of literature.

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There are four distinct types of drama:

A. Comedy. A comedy is a type of dramatic presentation which intends to


make the audience laugh through well-composed humorous elements. The
story may be about real-life characters, funny experiences in life, or any
type of fun-provoking situation. It may be sarcastic and raunchy, light in
tone and has happy endings. Since provoking laughter is not an easy task,
comedy writers require high level of intellect and perceptive faculties to
attain the desired end for a comedic presentation.

B. Tragedy. One of the oldest forms of drama, tragedy exposes the plight and
suffering of humans to the audience. Common tragic themes include ruins
of a dynasty, downfall of man, emotional betrayals, moral setback, personal
loss, death, and denials. A tragedy when composed and enacted well can
touch the audience deeply. These rarely have happy endings.

C. Melodrama. This type of drama uses a technique marked by surge of


feelings since melodrama highlights exaggeration of emotions. The
technique intends to make the character and the plot more appealing to
the audience although it can sometimes fail to derive applause, because
excessive display of emotions can become monotonous. On the other hand,
a superbly-executed melodramatic plot can absorb the audience’s attention
completely. This happens when it effectively depicts the good and evil
aspects of the characters involved.

D. Musical drama. In a musical drama, the story is told through acting and
dialogue, as well as through dance and music, as well. The story may be
comedic, though it may also involve serious subjects.

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