1. The Genres & LiteraryAnalysis
English I & II

2. Fiction
Narrative: telling of a story
Short story: often focuses on a single event or incident and
usually can be read in one sitting
Novel: an extended work of fiction.
- longer than short story, more complex plot, more
characters
Novella: longer than short story, shorter than novel.
- short time span, limited number of characters

3. Poetry
Form: arrangement on the page
Composed of lines and stanzas (groups of lines)
Rhythm and rhyme: way a poem sounds
Imagery: language that recreates sensory experiences; helps
reader see, hear, and feel what a poem describes

4. Drama
Plot is carried by dialogue and action (what the actors say
and do)
Acts: groups of scenes
Stage directions: writer’s instructions for the actors,
director, and other people working on the play
- often printed in italics

5. Nonfiction and Informational Texts
 Literary nonfiction: biographies, speeches,
essays, etc.
 Informational texts: news articles, train
schedules
- provide factual information
 Types of nonfiction:
- autobiography/biography: true story about a
person’s life
- essay: short work that focuses on a single
subject

6. Nonfiction and Informational Texts
- speech: oral presentation of ideas, beliefs, or proposals of
the speaker
- news/feature articles: newspapers, magazines
- feature articles focus on human-interest topics
- functional documents: serves a practical purpose
- consumer documents, instruction manuals,
workplace documents, memos, resumes

7. Media
Media literate: knowing the basics and thinking critically
about all messages
Feature films: motion pictures that use narrative elements to
tell a story
News media: accounts of current events
- TV, internet, radio, newspapers, and magazines
TV shows: dramas, sitcoms, and reality shows
Advertising: sponsor’s paid use of media to promote
products, services, or ideas
Web sites: collections of pages on the internet or WWW

8. Literary Analysis- Plot Stages and Conflict
Plot: series of events in a narrative
Conflict: struggle between opposing forces
- internal conflict: struggle within a character’s mind
- centers on a choice or decision the character must make
- external conflict: clash between a character and an outside
force (e.g., another character, society, or force of nature)
- introduced at the beginning of a narrative

9. Plot Stages
1st
- Exposition: introduces setting and characters, introduces
the conflict
2nd
– Rising Action: presents complications that intensify
conflict, builds suspense
3rd
– Climax: turning point and the moment of greatest
suspense, makes the outcome of the conflict clear
4th
– Falling Action: eases the suspense, reveals the outcome
of the story’s climax, shows how the main character resolves
conflict
5th
– Resolution: reveals the final outcome, ties up loose ends

10. Sequence and Time
Chronological order: events follow a linear structure
- a writer may manipulate time for a variety of reasons
Flashback: account of a conversation, episode, or event that
happened before the beginning of the story
Foreshadowing: writer’s use of hints or clues in early scenes
to suggest events that will occur later
These help you more closely follow a story and better
understand characters and events
Suspense: Makes a reader want to know what will happen
next.
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11. Character and Point of View (POV)
POV: The perspective from which a story is told.
Narrator: The voice that tells you the story.
First-Person POV:
The narrator:
Is a main or minor character in the story
Refers to him/herself as I or me
Presents his/her own thoughts and feelings
Does not have direct access to the thoughts and feelings of other
characters

12. Character and Point of View (POV)
Third-Person POV:
The narrator
Is not a character in the story
May not be an identifiable person but merely a voice that tells the
story
Is called OMNISCENT if he/she knows the thoughts and feelings of all
the characters
Is call LIMITED if he/she focuses on the thoughts and feelings of one
character

13. Character Traits and Motivation
Character Traits: qualities shown by characters
Physical appearance
Speech, thoughts, and actions
Other characters
Reactions to the character
Relationships with the character
Impression of the character’s reputation
Motivation: reasons behind a character’s actions
Helps us understand the character better

14. Setting, Mood, and Imagery
Setting: the time and place of a story
Can influence characters
Can create conflict
Can serve as a symbol
Represent an idea, or a character’s hopes, future, or predicament
Mood: feeling or atmosphere that a writer creates for
readers
- e.g., ominous, uplifting, dark, brooding, joyful
Setting helps establish mood

15. Setting, Mood, and Imagery
Imagery: words or phrases that recreate sensory experiences
for readers
Sensory details: words or phrases that appeal the senses of
sight, smell, hearing, taste, and touch
Helps you “be” in the scene as a bystander watching the action

16. Theme and Symbol
Theme: the meaning behind a story
It’s the underlying message or big idea that the writer wants
you to remember.
Universal themes: themes that are common across virtually
all time periods and cultures.
Learning from mistakes and triumphs of past generations
Family, War, Love, Growing up, Death, Birth
The theme is NOT the subject or plot of the story.
Clues to theme: title, plot and conflict, important
statements, characters, setting, and symbols

17. Theme and Symbol
Symbol: a person, place, object, or activity that stands for
something beyond itself.
Examples:
A fork in the road ( an important decision)
The color red (a character’s anger)
A torrential rainstorm (an emotional upheaval)