Key Literary Elements: Storytelling and Poetic Devices

Understanding Story and Text

The distinction between a story and a text is fundamental in literary analysis.

What is a Story?

A story is a recounting of a sequence of events. It is an account or recital of an event or a series of events, either true or fictitious. In a narrative or dramatic work, it refers to the plot.

What is a Text?

A text is the representation of written language. It can be another name for a literary work. In literary theory, "text" is a specific concept. It refers to the original words of something written or printed, as opposed to a paraphrase, translation, revision, or condensation. It can also refer to the words of a speech appearing in print, or the body of a printed work as distinct from headings, illustrative matter on a page, or front and back matter in a book.

Elements of Poetry

Poetry employs specific elements to create its unique structure and impact.

Rhythm in Poetry

Rhythm in poetry is based on meter, which is the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in the lines. Lines can be divided into a number of feet, or measures, for some modern metrists. A foot is typically made up of two or three syllables, one of which must be stressed.

Rhyme in Poetry

A rhyme is a repetition of similar sounds in two or more words, most often at the end of lines in poems and songs. Rhyme is usually found at the end of metrical lines, but it can also occur within the line.

Intertextuality Explained

Intertextuality is the set of relationships a text has with other texts.

Types of Story Characters

Characters are essential to any narrative, and they can be categorized by their complexity and role.

• Round Characters

  A round character is anyone who has a complex personality; he or she is often portrayed as a conflicted and contradictory person.

• Flat Characters

  A flat character is the opposite of a round character. This literary personality is notable for one kind of personality trait or characteristic.

• Stock Characters

  Stock characters are those types of characters who have become conventional or stereotypical through repeated use in particular types of stories. Stock characters are instantly recognizable to readers or audience members.

Defining Literature

Literature is the art of written work and can refer exclusively to published sources. The word literature literally means “things made from letters.” It encompasses the body of written works of a language, period, or culture.