Elements of a Short Story

Elements of a Short Story

OBJECTIVES

• Identify elements of a short story
• Define elements of a short story
• Demonstrate mastery of short story elements

OVERVIEW

• Short stories often contain structural and character elements that should be familiar to you.
• These elements can be used as guides to help you think about the actions, themes, and contexts of the story.

Theme

• Theme
• Setting
• Characters
• Point of view
• Characterization

• Plot
• - exposition statement
• - rising action
• - conflict
• - climax
• - falling action
• - resolution

• Elements of a Short Story

THEME

• The main idea of a literary work, usually expressed as a generalization.

• SETTING

• The time and place in which a work of literature happens.

CHARACTERS

• The people (or actors) in the story.

• POINT OF VIEW

• The story teller from whose point of view the story is being told, the narrator.

CHARACTERIZATION

• The description of the personalities of the characters in the story and the way in which an author reveals their personalities.

PLOT

• The sequence or order of events in a story. The plot includes:
• Exposition Statement - The part of the plot that tells how the story begins.
• Rising Action - The action in the story leading up to the climax.
• Conflict - Struggles or problems between opposing forces.

More PLOT

• Climax - The point of crisis in the plot. It may be the reader’s point of highest interest.
• Falling action - The action in the story after the climax is revealed.
• Resolution - The part of the plot that reveals the final outcome.

PLOT DIAGRAM

• Rising Action

• Falling Action

• Resolution

• Climax

• Exposition

• Conflict

CONCLUSION

• Now that we have identified and defined the elements of a short story, let us use the elements to analyze a familiar fairytale. You may use your notes from the PowerPoint presentation or consult the newsletter handout, “Analyzing a Short Story.”

Bibliography

• Dinneen, K. Elements of the Short Story. Retrieved Jun. 19, 2003, from Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute:
• http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/1983/3/83.03.09.x.html

• Five Elements of a Story. Retrieved Jun. 19, 2003,
• http://www.teachervision.com/lesson-plans/lesson-2277.html

• Guevin, D. Short Story Elements. Retrieved Jun. 19, 2003, http://www.uvm.edu/~dguevin/Elements.html