Huff and Puff!

Ever been confused on how to identify the literary elements in a short story/novel/poem? Ever asked yourself countless times if a theme is a main theme or a minor one? Confused which character is more important than the other? Don't know which is the point of conflict/climax?

I'm going to explain how to identify those details.

So what is a THEME?

The theme is basically what the story revolves around.
It is the issue that is most addressed in the literary work.
Another way to identify would be what the MAIN CHARACTERS face.

For example, at the end of the Harry Potter books, good prevails over evil, thus one of the themes would be poetic justice.

Let's move on the MAIN CHARACTERS, shall we?

These are the people who turn up the most in the story.
If you notice someone's been talked about more than others in the story, then that's the main character.
Keep note that a main character may be THE ANTAGONIST too.
Also, the main characters are the ones who are most affected by the plot (especially the CLIMAX).

For example, in the comic Superman, Superman and Lois Lane are the main characters.



THE ANTAGONIST, what's that, you ask?

An antagonist is technically the bad guy.
This is the person who ruins the day and creates chaos.
Keep in mind that the antagonist could revert to the end of the story and with some characters it is unsure whether they are protagonists or antagonists until the end of the story.

For example in Three Little Pigs, the antagonist is the Big Bad Wolf.



No, I did not forget to explain the CLIMAX!

This is the turning point, or the peak of the story.
When all the conflicts (i.e.: issues) are piled up and the protagonist is in a rut.
It happens right before everything is resolved.
Also remember that some stories end at the climax for the author to amount to suspense (and allow readers to create their own ending)


So, do you understand? :) Hopefully you do. I'll try continue explaining more literary jargon to you in the next post. Just post questions in the 'comments' area if you have any.

References:
Literary Elements and Devices
Google Images [images]