An essential characteristic of written and spoken narrative fiction

Literary element

Literary element

A literary element, or narrative element,<a href="#cite_note-1" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 1;">[1]</a> or element of literature<a href="#cite_note-2" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 2;">[2]</a> is an essential characteristic of all works of written and spoken <a href="/en/Narrative" title="Narrative" class="wl">narrative</a> <a href="/en/Fiction" title="Fiction" class="wl">fiction</a>. Literary elements include <a href="/en/Plot_(narrative)" title="Plot (narrative)" class="wl">plot</a>, <a href="/en/Theme_(narrative)" title="Theme (narrative)" class="wl">theme</a>, <a href="/en/Character_(arts)" title="Character (arts)" class="wl">character</a> and <a href="/en/Tone_(literature)" title="Tone (literature)" class="wl">tone</a>. In contrast, <a href="/en/Literary_technique" title="Literary technique" class="mw-redirect wl">literary techniques</a> are non-universal features of literature and include <a href="/en/Figurative_language" title="Figurative language" class="mw-redirect wl">figurative language</a>, <a href="/en/Irony" title="Irony" class="wl">irony</a>, and <a href="/en/Foreshadowing" title="Foreshadowing" class="wl">foreshadowing</a>.

<div class="shortdescription nomobile noexcerpt noprint searchaux" style="display:none" about="#mwt1">An essential characteristic of written and spoken narrative fiction</div>

A literary element, or narrative element, is an essential characteristic of all works of written and spoken narrative fiction. Literary elements include plot, theme, character and tone. In contrast, literary techniques are non-universal features of literature and include figurative language, irony, and foreshadowing. 