The Elements: Bringing
Literature to Life

What makes one piece of writing strike a chord that says, "This is art!" when others don't? Part of the answer is subjective: when the interaction between a reader and a text resonates with meaning not only in various ways for many different readers, but also for the same reader at distinct times, then it might qualify as literary art.

Speaking in the objective sense, a work of literary art can be defined as the text that results when complimentary components come together so richly that the whole becomes greater than the sum of its parts. These are the components that have such potential.

Narrative - Prose

Idea - The topic and what the writer suggests about it as expressed in one sentence. Scroll to see "theme" and "thesis" here. • The idea takes its shape from the author's values.

Character - Scroll to see the types here • Means by which the audience reads the characters

Plot and Structure - Scroll to see the list here.

Point of view - Participatory, non-participating - Scroll to read the descriptions here. • Narrators, relaible, unreliable, and other

Setting - Places • Objects • Culture

Diction - Style • Arrangement & Forms • Sentence Types

• Imagery

Tone - Irony: Verbal, Situational, Cosmic, and Dramatic • Humor

Representational Elements - Allusion • Symbol • Allegory

Narrative - Film

All of the above • Editing • Montage • Visual explanation of character • Directorial commentary • Close-ups • Long shots • Zooms • Sharp and soft focus • Hand-held, dolly, and crane shots • Color to character • Sound effects • Soundtrack

Narrative - Drama

All of the above in Prose Narrative • Dialogue • Monologue • (Effect of stage directions on an actor's) vocal expression, body language, movement, stage appearance and costume, lighting, and similar matters • Stage business • Blocking and motion • The set's painted backdrops, furnishings, properties and lighting • Type of stage

Poetry

All of the above in Prose Narrative • Capturing an idea • Prosody: Sound, Rhythm, and Rhyme • Form •

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Updated 3/9/07 by Maria Garcia - HyperClass[at]Hotmail.com

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