Literary Elements in Other Genres

The elements you’ve just thought about are all aspects of storytelling, but they’re not necessarily limited to fiction. They might, however, be presented slightly differently in other literary genres.

Drama. A primary difference between fiction and drama is that in drama the story is told mainly through dialogue. Setting and any direct characterization are handled via stage directions, and point of view is unlikely to be a factor in your literary analysis. It is also important to note that all drama has a performance aspect, so one performance might use a different setting than another, and different actors will most certainly bring their own interpretation to the performance of a character.

Poetry. The presence of the literary elements of point of view, characterization, plot, setting, and symbol in poetry depends on the type of poem. Some poems are mostly descriptive and do not incorporate many storytelling elements, while some poems are narrative in structure and may incorporate all of these elements. The primary difference is that in analyzing poetry we tend to call the main voice of the piece the “speaker” rather than the “narrator.”