Story Elements
The parts of a narrative and how they hold together.
Narratives are usually analysed through six elements. They are separable for teaching but not independent: a change in point of view changes what the reader can know, which changes the plot.
The elements
- Character — who acts, and what they want.
- Setting — time and place, and the constraints these impose.
- Plot — the ordered events, conventionally exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution.
- Conflict — the opposition driving the plot.
- Point of view — who narrates and how much they know.
- Theme — what the whole implies, stated as a claim rather than a topic.
Theme is a claim, not a topic
“Loyalty” is a topic. “Loyalty to a person can conflict with loyalty to a principle” is a theme. Students who answer with a single noun have named the subject, not the theme.