ELEMENTS OF LITERATURE

ELEMENTS OF LITERATURE refers to the constituent parts of a work of literature in whatever form it takes: poetry, novels/short stories, or Play. or

Refers to a specific component or technique employed by an author in a work of literature in order to improve the overall arrangement, meaning and effect of the text. These aspects include plot, character, setting, topic, symbolism, imagery, figurative language.

Any literary work consists of two elements which are;

1. Form.

2.Content.

FORM

Form in fiction refers to how a literary work is presented. It is sometimes defined as the structure of a literary work. Form is how author’s ideas are presented in the work of art. i.e how he sends his message. Form includes the following parts.

1. Genre.

2. Title.

3. Setting.

6. Characterization.

7. Language use.

8. Point of view.

9. Imagery.

1. GENRE.

Genre is a type of literature. There are three main genres of literature which are;

a) Prose. (novels)

b) Play/drama.

c) Poetry.

2. TITLE

Refers the names given to literary works. Every literary work either a prose, play or poetry is given a name that reflects what is being said. Always title is the synopsis/summary of what is presented in a literary work. It carries the subject matter of the work of art.

Types of Title

There are about two types of title namely;

Direct title.

(a) Direct title

This is the type of title which is direct to the content of the literary work. It has a direct relationship to the content of the literary work.

Eg. “Three suitors one husband” by Guillaume Oyono mbia.

(a) Indirect/symbolic title

Is the type of title which has no relationship with the content of the literary work. Indirect title is normally used to disguise the message so that it can reach the masses without being prevented by authorities.

Eg. “I will marry when I want” by Ngugi wa Thiong’o.

Importance of using an Indirect/Symbolic Title.

i). It gives the work of art an artistic quality.

ii). It is used to disguise/cover up the message so that it could not be easily prevented from reaching the audience without being banned by the concerned authorities.

3. SETTING.

Refers to place and time where events of the work of art take place. Eg “In Tanzania after independence” whereas “Tanzania” is a place and “after independence” is time.

Types of setting.

There are about three types of setting.

i. Geographical setting.

ii. Temporal setting.

ii. Sociological setting.

i. Geographical setting.

This is the place setting.

Eg. In Tanzania, Nigeria, Kenya.

ii. Temporal setting.

This is the time setting. Eg. After independence.

iii. Sociological setting.

This is a situational or environmental setting. Eg. Exploitative environment.

Categories of Geographical setting

Geographical setting also can be categorized into ;

i. Real setting.

ii. Imaginary setting.

i. Real setting.

Is the setting of the literary work to a real place known to people. Real setting makes a literary work more realistic.

Eg. “Kinjeketile” is set in southern Tanzania.

ii. Imaginary setting.

Is the setting of a literary work to an imaginary place. Imaginary setting is used by authors to disguise the message if it directly touch the authorities concerned.

Eg. “His Excellence the Head of state” by Danny Safo.

4. PLOT.

Plot refers to the series of events in a literary work. It is also defined as the sequence of events in a literary work. Or is the arrangement of events/episodes in the literary work.

Types of Plot.

There are two types of plot namely;

i. Chronological Plot.

ii. Non-chronological plot.

i. Chronological plot.

This is a straight forward plot in which events move from the beginning to the end. This type of plot is of great advantage as it helps the readers to understand the literary work more easily.

ii. Non-chronological plot.

Is a plot in which events are not sequentially arranged. Events may start at end, middle and then finish with the beginning. Non chronological Plot makes it difficult for a reader to understand the literary work.

In Plot also there is the use of Flashbacks and foreshadowings that you will meet them later.

Parts of the plot.

Plot has the following parts.

i. Exposition.

ii. Rising action.

iii. Conflict/crisis.

iv. Climax.

v. Falling action.

i. Exposition.

This is the first part of the plot which introduces the setting, characters and the basic situations. Exposition acts as the foundation of the story in the literary work.

ii. Rising action.

This is the part of the plot following the exposition. Rising action is the part where suspense grows among the characters as the complications of the conflict starts.

iii. Conflict/crisis.

Refers to misunderstanding between two parts in literary work. It is also defined as the struggle between two opposing forces of a story. There are;

a) Group to group conflict.

b) Group to person conflict.

c) person to person conflict.

iv. Climax.

This is the highest point in which the conflict reaches the its peak. It is the part which creates interest or suspense to the readers or audience. It is the moment of greatest danger or decision making for the Protagonist. In other words, climax is the most exciting moment in the story.

v. Falling action.

This is a part of plot which shows what happens to the characters after the Climax. Normally one side among the two conflicting parts loses power and hence tension decreases.

vi. Resolution/Denouement.

This is the final part of the story. Resolution is the end of the story as conflicts are resolved and some mysteries are unraveled. This is the part of a plot in which the central conflict is resolved and the consequences for the Protagonist are already dissolved.

5. STYLE.

Refers to the way of representing a literary work that makes a writer different from others. Some writers use Flashbacks, foreshadowing and ungrammatical language use

a. Flashback.

Is a situation in a literary work that interrupts the sequence of events to repeat an event that was to occur earlier. It may be presented as character’s memory or story told by the character.

Importance of Flashbacks.

i. To add some important information to the plot without which, many aspects of the plot could never be well understood.

ii. To challenge the reader’s mind.

b. Foreshadowing.

Refers to giving hints of future events in the literary work. i.e providing ideas that suggest events that have to occur in the future.

Importance of Foreshadowing

i. To create suspence to the reader.

ii. To prepare audience for eventual outcome of events.

6. CHARACTERIZATION.

Is the creation of imaginary participants in a literary work. A character can be a person or an animal.

NB: A character is a person or thing that is given role to play in a literary work. Some scholars define characters as imaginary people that literary writers create and use them to carry the message they wish to convey. In a nut shell, haracter is the person or an animal who takes part in the action of a literary work.

Types of characters.

a. Major/central characters.

These are characters who play an important role in a story. These are the drivers of the

Story in which the plot and resolution of conflicts resolve around them.

b. Minor characters.

These are characters who do not play an important role in a story. These are the characters who take small part but they help the major characters to develop events.

c. Flat character.

Is a character who is presented only in an outline without much individualized details. Or The character whose personalities are not complex.

d. Round character.

Is a complex and fully realized individual. OR is a character who has complex personality.

e. Dynamic/Developing characters.

These are characters who change over time in a story, usually major or central characters.

f. Static characters.

Is a character who don’t change over time, their traits and personalities do not change. A static character is the kind of character who remains the same throughout the work of literature and in most cases, there isn’t much to learn about such a character.

g. Protagonist.

Is a character with positive traits and the audience love him/her. This is a character playing a central role in a story.

h. Antagonist.

Is a character who opposes the Protagonist. Antagonist is also a major character but he/she is constantly in opposition to the Protagonist. He is normally in conflict with the Protagonist and that’s why the story move on.

i. Realistic characters.

These are characters who feature true human traits. They are imaginary characters but they resemble true human beings in their behaviors. Using realistic characters make the work of art reflect reality.

 

j. Nonrealistic characters.

These are characters who do not feature true human traits.

k. Stock/Stereotype character.

Is a character borrowed from other stories recognized by readers.

l. Foil.

Is a character usually the antagonist who shows contrast against the Protagonist.

m. Expository character.

Is a character that is described or discussed either by the author or by another character.

n. Dramatic character.

Is a character in action. From his/her speech and recorded thoughts, we make deductions about his/her personality, attitudes and relationship with other characters.

o. Symbolic character.

A Symbolic character is the one whose presence in the work of literature stands for or represents an idea (political, social, economic etc such as corruption, dictatorship, greed) in a society.

METHODS OF DETERMINING/ANALYSING THE CHARACTERS.

characters are determined according to;

• Their personalities
• Their duties and responsibilities .
• What they think/their philosophy.
• Their abilities and weaknesses.
• Their relationship with other characters.
• What other characters say about them.
• Their language status i.e standard or nonstandard.

7. LANGUAGE USE/STYLE/DICTION.

This refers to how language has been used or employed in a work of art.

For instance; The use of simple language, complex language, Formal and informal language, grammatical and ungrammatical language, scientific language, Religious language, Abusive/filthy language etc.

Language style/use involves the use of ;

i. Figurative language.

ii. Code-switching.

iii. Code-mixing.

i. Figurative language.

Is the language which uses the so called figures of speech.

Eg. Similes, metaphors, hyperboles etc.

ii. Code switching.

Is a change by a speaker from one language or language variety to another during the same act of communication.

Eg. Nitakutembelea kesho though I won’t say the exact time.

Types of Code-switching.

There are two types of code-switching which are;

a. Sequential code-switching.

b. Repeated code-switching.

a. Sequential code-switching.

Is a type of code switching in which the speaker switches to another language and continue the message.

Eg. Nitakutembelea kesho though I won’t say the exact time.

b. Repeated code-switching.

Is the type of code-switching in which the speaker switches to another language to repeat the same message he has spoken in the first language.

Eg. Nitakutembelea kesho, I will visit you tomorrow.

iii. Code-mixing.

Is the mixing of elements of two or more languages or language varieties in the same act of communication.

Eg. Changanya na Sodium chloride halafu shake.

Contrasts between Code-switching and Code-mixing.

Code-switching is intersentential, i.e the speaker completes the whole sentence in one language before switching to another language While Code-mixing is intrasentential in which the mixture id done within a sentence.

Code-mixing goes further to individual lexical or grammatical items While Code- switching ends at a sentence level.

Eg. Nitaku-inform kesho.

8. POINT OF VIEW

Point of view is an angle from which a literary work is narrated. OR Point of view refers to how a work of art is narrated.

Types of Point of View.

There are three types points of view which are;

a. First person point of view.

b. Second person point of view.

c. Third person point of view.

a. First person point of view.

Is the type of point of view in which the narrator is one of the characters in a literary work. The pronoun “I” is employed in narrating the story. This narrator tells us his or her experiences.

Eg. Odili in “Man of the people” by Chinua Achebe.

b. Second person point of view.

Is a type of point of view in which the pronoun “you” is employed in narrating the story. It is rarely used.

c. Third person point of view.

Is the type of point of view in which the narrator is outside the story. This is a very common point of view.

Eg. “Weep not child” by Ngugi wa Thiong’o.

Omniscient.

Is the method of narration in which the narrator appears to know everything about the characters.

Omniscient narrator.

Is a narrator who appears to know everything about the characters.

9. IMAGERY.

Is the use of figurative language to create mental pictures to the readers. Is the representation through language of sense experience.

Image.

Is the mental picture that authors create using figurative language. An image is the picture seen in the mind eye.

Types of Imagery.

There are about six types of Imagery.

1. Visual imagery.

2. Auditory imagery.

3. Olfactory imagery.

4. Gustatory imagery.

5. Tactile imagery.

6. Kinesthetic imagery.

1. Visual imagery.

Is the imagery representing seen objects.

2. Auditory imagery.

Is the imagery representing sound.

3. Olfactory imagery.

Is the imagery representing smell.

4. Gustatory imagery.

Is the imagery representing taste.

5. Tactile imagery.

Is the imagery representing touch.

6. Kinesthetic imagery.

Is the imagery representing movement or tension.

Eg. Muscles and joints.

2. CONTENT

Content refers to what is being said in a literary work. i.e what the author wants to say in his/her literary work. Content includes the following elements.

1. Themes.

2. Topical Issues.

3. Messages/Teachings.

4. Philosophy/Ideology of the author.

5. Conflict.

6. Relevance.

1. Themes.

Theme is a central idea or purpose in a literary work. It is usually stated in a statement form.

Eg. Povetry, betrayal, Oppression, Irresponsibility etc.

2. Topical Issues.

These are words which lead to the themes.

3. Messages/Teachings.

Refers to lessons learned from the literary work. Each theme contains a lesson that a reader or audience learns.

4. Philosophy/Ideology of the author.

This is what the author believes. Philosophy of the author can be well known after reading more than two books of the same author. For example, Ngugi wa Thiong’o believes that African governments perpetuate colonial regime, What has changed is only the colour of the rulers.

5. Conflict.

Refers to misunderstanding within, between or among two opposite parts. It can be a personal conflict, person to person, person to society or society to society.

6. Relevance.

Refers to the relationship between what is revealed in a literary work and what is happening in the society. Most of African literary works are relevant to African societies.