Summary
Literary Elements
Conflict : discord (inner or outer) the protagonist has which prevents him from achieving his hopes and dreams..
Mood : The stance the author takes that shapes the emotional perspective the reader develops from the book.
Tone : The perspective or attitude the author develops in relation to a character, place or development.
Plot : The sequence of events, sort of like a pattern, that determine the story.
Setting : The time, place and mood of a story.
Theme : The foundation of the story, and the main subject.
In the video, what theme is and is not was discussed. Theme IS : a message that is stated (maybe more than 1), a truism, a complete sentence, and can be demonstrated/pointed out in the text. Theme IS NOT a main idea, summary or topic. The use of picture books such as Where the Wild Things Are to introduce theme was brought up.
Character : The people, animal, objects or figures that make up a story.
Antagonist: The person or force that works against the hero of the story.
Protagonist: The main character in a story, often a good or heroic type.
Literary Devices
Allegory : A representation of an abstract or spiritual meaning through concrete or material forms.
Allusion : a figure of speech whereby the author refers to a subject matter such as a place, event, or literary work by way of a passing reference. It is up to the reader to make a connection to the subject being mentioned.
Archetype : a reference to a concept, a person or an object that has served as a prototype of its kind and is the original idea that has come to be used over and over again. Archetypes are literary devices that employ the use of a famous concept, person or object to convey a wealth of meaning.
Deus ex Machina : a rather debatable and often criticized form of literary device. It refers to the incidence where an implausible concept or character is brought into the story in order to make the conflict in the story resolve and to bring about a pleasing solution.
Hyperbole :
A hyperbole is a literary device wherein the author uses specific words and phrases that exaggerate and overemphasize the basic crux of the statement in order to produce a grander, more noticeable effect.
Imagery : the author uses words and phrases to create “mental images” for the reader.
Metaphor : refers to a meaning or identity ascribed to one subject by way of another. In a metaphor, one subject is implied to be another so as to draw a comparison between their similarities and shared traits.
Motif : is any element, subject, idea or concept that is constantly present through the entire body of literature.
Point of View : the manner in which a story is narrated or depicted and who it is that tells the story.
Simile : the practice of drawing parallels or comparisons between two unrelated and dissimilar things, people, beings, places and concepts.
Symbol : is literary device that contains several layers of meaning, often concealed at first sight, and is representative of several other aspects, concepts or traits than those that are visible in the literal translation alone.
Reflection :
This chapter would help me as I read and evaluate YA literature because it would help me know what to look for when I am reviewing books, especially for my blog posts. What was the theme the author was trying to convey? What mood/tone was he trying to set? Are just a few of the questions I will ask myself from now on. The working definitions are ones that I will keep handy so that I can more critically examine the books that I am reading. All of the terms I had of course heard before, but it helped me to refresh their definitions in my mind. They will be elements of the books I talk about whenever I write my reviews. It would also be helpful to know the themes of most of the books in my collection, so that when students come searching for a particular one I will know what direction in which to point them.
Theme is such a hard topic for many to understand, especially the elementary and YA readers. The video on theme helped me define it in more detail. The slide on what a theme IS and IS NOT would be beneficial to use when I am teaching theme to my students. I also liked the idea of using different picture books to introduce theme, because it would be a lesson I could do even with my current elementary students.
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