Britannica Guide to Literary Elements

Narratives come in many forms, fall into many genres, and tell the stories of an endless assortment of characters. Despite recurring themes and conceits in works from around the world, each story-from biography to science fiction-is singular and designed to elicit a distinct emotional response from its readers. The rhetorical tools and literary styles that have helped reinvent the art and study of storytelling over time are surveyed in this captivating volume.

Verse and drama have provided outlets for emotive expression and the creative impulse for centuries. Poignant, inspiring, and thought-provoking, plays and poems spoken or written in any language help reinterpret reality and evoke some of humanity's most profound truths. The terms culled in this volume describe many of the most potent elements of language-those that venture beyond the realm of prose and invoke the power of cadence, lyricism, and drama to recount all aspects of the human condition.