Literature refers to imaginative or creative writing, especially of recognized artistic value (such

as poetry, drama, fiction, and nonfiction), unlike textbooks, news, or magazines.

Fiction is writing about imaginary people and events, not based on real facts. Prose narratives
about imaginary people and events.
-Genres of Prose Fiction by Length
• Novel: A long prose fiction, 40,000+ words.
• Novella: Medium length, about 17,000–40,000 words.
• Short story: About 1,000–20,000 words (often under 7,500).
• Short short story (flash fiction): Very short, under 1,000 words.
The Elements of Fiction
1. - The plot is the order of main events in a story.
(A subplot is a plot that gets less time and attention than the main plot.)
- Plot Devices:
• Flashback: A past event is shown to give background or explain a character’s actions.
• Flash-forward: A future event is shown to reveal important upcoming information.
• Foreshadowing: Clues hint at future events to build curiosity and suspense.
- Five Parts of a Plot:
1. Exposition – Introduces characters, setting, and background info.
2. Rising Action – Conflict begins; tension and excitement build.
3. Climax – The turning point; highest emotional intensity; outcome is decided.
4. Falling Action – Events after the climax leading to resolution.
5. Resolution – The story ends; questions are answered and conflicts are resolved.
- Conflict is a fight between two or more different forces.
• Internal conflict (person vs self): When a person feels two different things inside, like their
mind wants one thing but their heart wants another.
• External conflict (person vs person, nature, society, fate): When a person has a problem with
others, nature, rules of society, or fate.
1. Point of view (P.O.V.) is the narrator’s angle and relationship to the story.
-Three main types of Point of view in fiction:
First Person POV
• Uses I or we
• Narrator is a character in the story
• Talks about himself/herself
Second Person POV
• Uses you
• Talks directly to the reader
• Rarely used, mostly in instructions
Third Person POV
• Uses he, she, they
• Narrator is not in the story
• Talks about others, not himself
-Three types of third-person narration:
1. Objective narrator
• Doesn’t show thoughts/feelings directly
• Shows only speech and actions
2. Limited (subjective) narrator
• Follows one character closely
• Shows that character’s thoughts and feelings
3. Omniscient (unlimited) narrator
• Knows many characters’ thoughts and feelings
• Usually focuses on a few main ones
3. What are characters?
• Characters are people or animals in a story who take part in the action.
-Types of characters:
• Major characters: most important
• Minor characters: less important
Protagonist: main character (often the hero)
Antagonist: character who opposes the protagonist
Round characters
• Have many traits (good & bad) like real people
• Change or grow in the story
• Complex and well-developed
• Usually major characters
Flat characters
• Show only one trait, don’t change
• Simple, often support roles
• Often look stereotypical
• Usually minor characters
Dynamic characters
• Change and grow during the story
• Learn from challenges, mistakes, and others
• Gain wisdom or a new view
Static characters
• Stay the same from beginning to end
• Face events but don’t change
• Personality and behavior stay constants
How to analyze a character:
1. Name and appearance
2. Objects/places linked to the character
3. Actions
4. Thoughts and speech
• What they say/think
• When and how they say it
5. What others think about the character
6. What others say to/about the character
7. Narrator’s comments
1. Setting: Tells where, when, and social context of the story. All actions happen in a time, place,
and environment.
2. A symbol is an image that represents something beyond its literal meaning.
Key Figures of Speech
1. Allegory
Story with two meanings: literal & symbolic.
2. Allusion
Reference to something well-known. Works only if readers understand it.
3. Irony
Opposite of what’s expected.
.Verbal: Say opposite of what you mean.
.Situational: Opposite of what’s expected happens.
4. Simile
Compare using like/as.
Ex: Her smile is like the sun.P
5. Metaphor
Direct comparison, no like/as.
Ex: Time is money.
6. Personification
Giving human traits to non-human things.
Ex: That bus is driving too fast.
7. Hyperbole
Extreme exaggeration for effect or humor.
Ex: I’m so hungry I could eat a horse.
6. Theme: Main message or idea of the story.
It’s what the reader can learn through characters, plot, setting, and POV.
Nonfiction: Writing based on facts, not imagination. Tells about real people, places, and events.
6 types of nonfiction:
1. Letters
Personal nonfiction writing. Used to share info, feelings, opinions, or events. Give a personal
view of history.
2. Journals
Personal diaries of daily life. Show real events from the writer’s view.
3. Biographies
True story of someone’s life. Tells key events and shows both good and bad sides. Lets readers
form their own opinions.
4. Autobiographies
A person’s life story written by themselves.
Told in first-person for personal insight.
5. Speeches
Written to be spoken aloud. Need clear ideas, strong delivery, and techniques like repetition
and rhythm.
6. Essays
Nonfiction writing that shares an opinion.
Purpose: inform, explain, persuade, or entertain. Tone can be serious, funny, or light.
The Elements of Nonfiction
1. Point of View (POV)
First-person (I, We)
• The writer talks about themselves.
• Used in: letters, speeches, essays, autobiographies
Third-person (He, She, They)
• The writer talks about others.
. Used in: biographies, news articles
2. Organization
Chronological order (time order)
• Used in: biographies & autobiographies
Order of importance
• Used in: speeches, letters, & essays
3. Tone is the writer’s attitude shown through word choice. It helps readers understand the
writer’s purpose.
4.1. Purpose is the writer’s reason for writing—like to inform, persuade, entertain, teach, or
express feelings. It shapes word choice, ideas, and organization.
4.2 Audience is who the writer is writing for. Writers think about the reader’s age, knowledge,
and opinions to choose the right language, details, and approach—especially in persuasive
writing.
-Poetry is a patterned use of language that creates rhythm to express and stir emotions in a
focused, intense way.
-Poetic Subgenres are three main types: narrative, dramatic, and lyric, based on how the poem
is presented.
-Narrative poetry tells a story with a plot and narrator, like fiction, but may be based on real
events.
-A poem’s setting includes its place (spatial setting) and time (temporal setting), which could
be a date, era, season, or time of day.
-Tone is the poet’s attitude toward the subject—like lighthearted, respectful, or sad.
-Theme is the deeper message or idea the poem expresses about its topic.
-Denotation is a word’s literal, dictionary meaning.
-Connotation is the emotional or implied meaning beyond the literal—what the word suggests
or feels like.
-Types of Poetic Imagery:
.Visual – sight (color, light, size, pattern)
.Auditory – sound (melody, silence, noise)
.Gustatory – taste (sweet, salty, spicy, sour)
.Tactile – touch (texture, temperature)
.Olfactory – smell (fragrance, odor)
.Kinesthetic – movement (motion, action)

The Sounds of Poetry

Rhyme is the use of words that end with the same sound.
Ex:
The sun is shining bright
This is a lovely sight.
When rhymes are at the ends of lines, it’s called end rhyme.
A rhyme scheme is the pattern of these end rhymes.
Internal Rhyme – Rhyme within a line or between nearby lines.
Ex: In mist or cloud, on mast or shroud
Slant Rhyme – Words with similar but not exact sounds (also called half, near, or imperfect
rhyme).
Ex: all – bowl, moon – run
Eye Rhyme – Words that look like they rhyme due to spelling but sound different.
Ex: bear – ear, rough – through
Rhyme scheme is the pattern of end rhymes in a poem.

Using the Sounds of Language:

Onomatopoeia: Words that imitate natural sounds to make descriptions vivid.
Ex: splash
Alliteration: Repeating the same consonant sound at the start of words.
Ex: quick question, Big Ben

POETIC METER
Poetic Meter is the rhythm pattern in a poem, made of repeated stressed and unstressed
syllables.
A foot is one unit of meter, combining stressed and unstressed syllables.