Humanities 300

Introduction to Literature

What is a literature?

Elements of PoetryWhat is poetry

“Poetry gives us a new perspective about others and about ourselves.”

Still I Rise by Maya Angelou

Invictus by W. E. Henley

Forgetfulness by Billy Collins

Elements of fiction

I. PlotA. Exposition B. Complication/ Conflict D. Rising ActionD. Climax E. Falling ActionF. Resolution

Elements of FictionII. Characterization

A. Protagonist : the main characterB. Antagonist : a character that represents

the opposition against which the protagonist must contend

C. DevelopmentD. MotivationE. Description

Characterization

“Hanneh Hayyeh ran in to her husband, a stoop-shouldered, care-crushed man who was leaning against the bed, his swollen feet outstretched, counting the pennies that totaled his day’s earnings.”

“With all her breeding, with all the restraint of her Anglo-Saxon forbears, Mrs. Preston was strangely shaken by Hanneh Hayyeh’s consuming passion for beauty. She looked deep into the eyes of the Russian Jewess as if drinking in the secret of their hidden glow.”

Elements of FictionIII. Point of view

A. First-person narration (I walked down the alley. I picked up the phone” etc.)1. The narrator is a participant in the story2. The narrator must be present at all times

B. Third-person narration (He walked down the alley, she picked up the phone, and Jason told Tony that he was going out.) 1. employs a non-participant narrator2. Narrator is capable of moving from place to place

in the story and never reveals its source

Elements of FictionC. Omniscience

1. total omniscience is where the narrator knows everything

2. editorial point of view goes even further, allowing the godlike author to comment directly on the action

3. limited omniscience is where the storyteller limits himself to the thoughts of a single character

4. dramatic (or objective) point of view is where the narrator simply reports dialogue and action with minimal interpretation and does not delve into characters’ minds

Elements of FictionIV. Theme (Interpretive Fiction)

A Theme is the overall meaning the reader derives from it. There’s no one “correct” theme, but some are more likely than others. These themes help us to explore the story as well as ourselves.

What are some of the themes of “Lost Beautifulness”?

Immigrants/Socio-economic differencesMoneyReligionBeautyWealthThe American DreamAnger/Frustration vs. RestraintClass

Elements of FictionV. Setting

A. Put simply, it is the time and place of a story. 1. Locale2. historical fiction3. Regionalism4. magic realism

Elements of FictionVI. Style, Tone, and Symbolism A. Style = a writer’s characteristics of

language 1. diction/dialect 2. sentence structure 3. punctuation 4. use of figurative language

(irony)

Elements of FictionB. Tone = The tone of the story is what we can indirectly determine about the author’s own feelings about its events from his choice of words

C. Symbolism = When actions take on a larger meaning in the context outside the story