Literary devices are what bring that basic story scaffolding to life for the reader. You can have a very simple story without any literary devices at all, but it would do little other than serve a functional purpose of showing a beginning, middle, and end. The difference is like the difference between making a home instead of merely building a house. Literary devicesĪ literary device, on the other hand, refers to the many tools and literary techniques that a writer uses to bring a story to life for the reader. Without them, your story is like a house without any supports it’ll collapse into a sad, lifeless pile of rubble, and you’ll hear your parents tossing around unfeeling words like “day job” when talking about your writing. These are things that every single story needs to have in order to exist-they’re the architectural foundation. Sometimes you’ll see a “literary elements list” or “literary devices list” that toss the two together in one big storytelling melange, but literary elements and literary devices are actually two very distinct things. What’s the difference between literary elements vs. Once you know what these literary elements of a story are and how they fit together, you’ll be able to create vivid, engaging stories from your own little seeds. You may already be able to identify some or all of these literary elements from the stories you’ve experienced throughout your life, whether that’s through reading them or from watching them in films or on television.
Element definition literature full#
This is a story.Īll stories come from these basic building blocks that we call “literary elements.” Without them, seeds of a story like this one can’t grow into rich, full narratives. An inciting moment where two characters want something and we know that these desires can’t exist side by side.
And, perhaps most importantly, we have our conflict. We have our setting-a chair, which has taken on new importance as the central axis of this moment. We have our characters-a cat and a dog, whose relationship is gently hinted at with the promise of being further explored. Why? Because with the addition of one little word, suddenly this quiet happenstance is glowing with possibility. The cat sat on the dog’s chair is a story.
A small, quiet happenstance with a beginning and an ending so closely entwined that you almost can’t tell one from the other. Here’s an example of why literary elements matter in storytelling: Applying these elements is critical to crafting an effective story. These elements are the building blocks of good stories because if any are missing, the story will feel incomplete and unsatisfying. The seven elements of literature are character, setting, perspective, plot, conflict, theme, and voice. Literary elements are the common structural elements that every story needs to be successful.
0 kommentar(er)
