Focus Question

How does knowing about literary elements impact understanding a story?

Knowing about literary elements can impact how a reader perceives any book they choose to read. Understanding the different elements helps readers make connections, meaning, or even have a clearer understanding of the text. Sometimes the literary elements are essential in making a book a good one. If literary elements are unclear in the text, then the book might not be engaging at all.

In my history of being a reader, I have noticed that literary elements always impacted me much more when I read literature for English classes, especially in high school. But, as I think more about reading even for fun, I notice that literary elements always pop into my head, whether or not I actually took the time to really think about them. Knowing about literary elements like character, place and time, point of view, and much more help me as a reader comprehend what is going on in all of those pages of any book.

Particularly when I read, I focus on the characters and the plot. If I am interested in these details in a book, I will likely want to keep reading. Sometimes though, when one or more of the literary elements, for example, the point of view, is really confusing, I struggle to read the book. When the literary elements of a book are clear, the book is a good read and is sometimes impossible to even put down.