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SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL

Learning Module
in
CREATIVE WRITING
(Week 7-8)

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Name:_______________________________________ Grade Level: _____

(Weeks 7 & 8)
LESSON 6
Elements of Fiction
Learning competencies: 1) Identify the various elements, techniques, and
literary devices in various modes of fiction; and 2) write short compositions
exploring key elements of fiction.

Objectives

Students are expected to:

a. Identify the various elements, techniques, and literary devices in various

modes of fiction; and
b. Write short compositions exploring key elements of fiction.

Review
Instructions: How do you understand fiction, particularly its
elements? Fill in the matrix below with your answers. Write your
response in sentence form.

K-W-L CHART
What I Know What I Want to What I learned (To be
Know filled in after the lesson
discussion)

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 Pre-assessment
Instructions: Write the word TRUE if the underlined word/phrase is
correct. Choose the correct answer from the box if it is incorrect.

Point of View Climax Rising Action

Theme Denouement Falling Action
Conflict Exposition Setting

_________1. The highest point of interest and the turning point of the
story is called Exposition.
_________2. Theme is the central insight in a piece of fiction.
_________3. The final outcome or unraveling of events in the story is
Denouement.
______4. Conflict is the angle from which a story is told.
______5. Rising action is the part where the conflict of the story is
revealed.

Introduction
We read fiction for different purposes. As we read, we empathize
with the characters. We think of our own lives to that of the characters,
and we imagine that we are traveling far beyond to experience a world that
is different from ours.
This lesson aims to further make you appreciate reading as a
pleasure or enjoyment by studying the elements of fiction.

Content
Understanding how a story is organized is necessary for a student to
access the highest levels of comprehension of a story. It increases one’s
reading comprehension, close reading skills, and retention. It even helps
one in his writing.

ELEMENTS OF FICTION:
1) Plot 2) Setting 3) Character 4) Point of View 5) Theme 6) Style

I. PLOT- is the sequence of events in a story or play; a planned,

logical series of events having a beginning, middle, and end

Five (5) essential parts of a plot:

1. Exposition (Introduction)- the beginning of the story where
character, background, and setting are revealed

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 2. Rising Action- events in the story become complicated; the
part where the conflict is revealed (events between the intro
and climax)

Conflict- opposition; can be any form of struggle the main

character faces

Types of Conflict
Internal- struggle with one’s self
External- struggle with force outside one’s self - against other
character, nature, or society-ideas, practices,
customs
3. Climax – turning point of the story
4. Falling Action- resolution begins; events and complications
start to fall into place
5. Resolution (Conclusion)- final outcome of events in a story

II. SETTING – time and location that a story takes place

Multiple aspects:

Place geographical location

Time historical period, time of day, year
Weather Rainy? Sunny? Stormy?
Social conditions what daily life is like
Mood or atmosphere a feeling that is created at the
beginning of a story

III. CHARACTER – have two meanings; could refer to a person or

qualities of a person

1. People can be a protagonist (clear center of the story, or an

antagonist (opposition or enemy of the main character)

2. Characterization- how a character is developed; can be

revealed through:
a) physical appearance
b) what he says, thinks, feels, dreams, and what he does
or does not do
c) what others say about him and how others react to
him

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 3. can be round (fully developed personality that is affected by
the story’s events), flat (one dimentional character), dynamic
(does go through change and “grows” during a story), or
static (does not go through a change)

IV. POINT- OF- VIEW- the vantage point from which the story is
told

1. First Person- speaker uses the pronouns I and We; readers

experiences the story through the person’s eyes and only
knows what he/she knows and feels

2. Second Person- story told by a narrator who addresses the

reader or some other assumed “you”; speaker uses pronouns
“you, your, yours” (You wake up to discover that you have
been robbed of all of your worldly possessions.)

3. Third Person- story told by a narrator who sees all of the

action; speaker uses the pronouns he, she, it, they, his, her,
its, theirs; may be a character in the story

Types: LIMITED (readers only see what the narrator sees)

and OMNISCIENT (God-like; narrator sees everything)

V. THEME- central message, moral of the story, and underlying

meaning of a fictional piece; may be the author’s thoughts on
the topic or view of the human nature

1. The title of the story usually emphasizes what the story is

saying.

2. Figures of speech may be utilized to highlight the theme.

Examples of commonly used ones are symbolism, allusion,
simile, metaphor, hyperbole, and irony.

3. Common themes occurring in literature, television, and in

film are love, believing in oneself, and people being afraid of
change.

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 VI. STYLE- is how the author says something, the choice of words
and the use of language, sentence construction, imagery…not
what the author says

Example:
-use of connotation and denotation
-imagery
-figures of speech
-devices of sound (rhythm)

“It was so lovely out in the country- it was summer! The wheat
was yellow, the oats were green, the hay was stacked in green
meadows, and the stork walked about on his long red legs
speaking Egyptian, because he had learned that from his
mother…”

Literary Devices:
• Flashback- the writer’s use of interruption of the chronological
order of a story to go back to related incidents which occurred prior
to the beginning of the story
• Foreshadowing- the writer’s use of hints or clues to indicate events
that will occur later in the story (creates suspense and prepares
the reader for what is to come)

Self-Check Activity
DISCOVERING YOUR CONTINENT
Imagine a door. It could be a door in your own home, or room, or a
door in a library or wilderness. Close your eyes and visualize your door.
Write a few lines of prose describing it. What does the handle look like
(use simile or metaphor)? In your mind’s eye, open that door. What does
the handle feel like? You step through. You have passed through a door
in time and space. In front of you is a land you do not know. What are
the first three things you notice, and what do they look like or even
smell like? Now describe what is under your feet. You begin to hear two
sounds in the distance. What do they sound like? You see some words;
they could be on a sign, or a piece of paper. What do they say? What is
the weather? Imagine this is part of a continent. Nobody knows about
it except you- for now. You begin to explore the space around you. Write
ten sentences or lines describing this exploration. Then you meet
somebody. It could be somebody you know well, or somebody quiet new.
They say something to you. What do they say? Your answer. What do
they say? Use another ten sentences to finish this writing.

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Key Concepts
• Fiction is a literature created from the imagination, not presented
as fact. It may be based on true story or situation.
• Being able to understand its elements, the techniques and
literary devices used helps one to understand the motivation
behind the author’s choices. In addition, it can make a written
work’s overall meaning or purpose clearer to a reader.

Evaluation
Directions: Read the short story below and fill out the table that
follows. Consider the elements as your guide for analysis.

Federigo’s Falcon
By: Giovanni Boccaccio, translated by Mark Musa and Peter Bondanella

There was once in Florence a young man named Federigo, the son of
Messer Filippo Alberighi, renowned above all other men in Tuscany for his
prowess in arms and for his courtliness. As often happens to most
gentlemen, he fell in love with a lady named Monna Giovanna, in her day
considered to be one of the most beautiful and one of the most charming
women that ever there was in Florence; and in order to win her love, he
participated in jousts and tournaments, organized and gave feasts, and
spent his money without restraint; but she, no less virtuous than beautiful,
cared little for these things done on her behalf, nor did she care for him who
did them. Now, as Federigo was spending far beyond his means and was
taking nothing in, as easily happens he lost his wealth and became poor,
with nothing but his little farm to his name (from whose revenues he lived
very meagerly) and one falcon which was among the best in the world.

More in love than ever, but knowing that he would never be able to
live the way he wished to in the city, he went to live at Campi, where his
farm was. There he passed his time hawking whenever he could, asked
nothing of anyone, and endured his poverty patiently. Now, during the time
that Federigo was reduced to dire need, it happened that the husband of
Monna Giovanna fell ill, and realizing death was near, he made his last will.
He was very rich, and he made his son, who was growing up, his heir, and,
since he had loved Monna Giovanna very much, he made her his heir should
his son die without a legitimate heir; and then he died.

Monna Giovanna was now a widow, and as is the custom among our
women, she went to the country with her son to spend a year on one of her
possessions very close by to Federigo’s farm, and it happened that this
young boy became friends with Federigo and began to enjoy birds and
hunting dogs; and after he had seen Federigo’s falcon fly many times, it
pleased him so much that he very much wished it were his own, but he did
not dare to ask for it, for he could see how dear it was to Federigo.

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 And during this time, it happened that the young boy took ill, and
his mother was much grieved, for he was her only child and she loved him
enormously. She would spend the entire day by his side, never ceasing to
comfort him, and often asking him if there was anything he desired, begging
him to tell her what it might be, for if it were possible to obtain it, she would
certainly do everything possible to get it. After the young boy had heard her
make this offer many times, he said:

“Mother, if you can arrange for me to have Federigo’s falcon, I think

I would be well very soon.”

When the lady heard this, she was taken aback for a moment, and
she began to think what she should do. She knew that Federigo had loved
her for a long while, in spite of the fact that he never received a single glance
from her, and so, she said to herself:

“How can I send or go and ask for this falcon of his which is, as I have
heard tell, the best that ever flew, and besides this, his only means of
support? And how can I be so insensitive as to wish to take away from this
gentleman the only pleasure which is left to him?”

And involved in these thoughts, knowing that she was certain to have
the bird if she asked for it, but not knowing what to say to her son, she
stood there without answering him. Finally the love she bore her son
persuaded her that she should make him happy, and no matter what the
consequences might be, she would not send for the bird, but rather go
herself for it and bring it back to him; so she answered her son:

“My son, take comfort and think only of getting well, for I promise you
that the first thing I shall do tomorrow morning is to go for it and bring it
back to you.”

The child was so happy that he showed some improvement that very
day. The following morning, the lady, accompanied by another woman, as if
going for a stroll, went to Federigo’s modest house and asked for him. Since
it was not the season for it, Federigo had not been hawking for some days
and was in his orchard, attending to certain tasks. When he heard that
Monna Giovanna was asking for him at the door, he was very surprised and
happy to run there. As she saw him coming, she greeted him with feminine
charm, and once Federigo had welcomed her courteously, she said:

“Greetings, Federigo!” Then she continued: “I have come to

compensate you for the harm you have suffered on my account by loving
me more than you needed to; and the compensation is this: I, along with
this companion of mine, intend to dine with you—a simple meal—this very
day.”
To this Federigo humbly replied: “Madonna, I never remember having
suffered any harm because of you. On the contrary, so much good have I
received from you that if ever I have been worth anything, it has been
because of your merit and the love I bore for you; and your generous visit is
certainly so dear to me that I would spend all over again that which I spent
in the past; but you have come to a poor host.”

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 And having said this, he received her into his home humbly, and from
there he led her into his garden, and since he had no one there to keep her
company, he said:

“My lady, since there is no one else, this good woman here, the wife
of this workman, will keep you company while I go to set the table.”

Though he was very poor, Federigo, until now, had never before
realized to what extent he had wasted his wealth; but this morning, the fact
that he found nothing with which he could honor the lady for the love of
whom he had once entertained countless men in the past gave him cause
to reflect. In great anguish, he cursed himself and his fortune and, like a
man beside himself, he started running here and there, but could find
neither money nor a pawnable object. The hour was late and his desire to
honor the gracious lady was great, but not wishing to turn for help to others
(not even to his own workman), he set his eyes upon his good falcon, perched
in a small room; and since he had nowhere else to turn, he took the bird,
and finding it plump, he decided that it would be a worthy food for such a
lady. So, without further thought, he wrung its neck and quickly gave it to
his servant girl to pluck, prepare, and place on a spit to be roasted with
care; and when he had set the table with the whitest of tablecloths (a few of
which he still had left), he returned, with a cheerful face, to the lady in his
garden, saying that the meal he was able to prepare for her was ready.

The lady and her companion rose, went to the table together with
Federigo, who waited upon them with the greatest devotion, and they ate
the good falcon without knowing what it was they were eating. And having
left the table and spent some time in pleasant conversation, the lady thought
it time now to say what she had come to say, and so she spoke these kind
words to Federigo:

“Federigo, if you recall your past life and my virtue, which you
perhaps mistook for harshness and cruelty, I do not doubt at all that you
will be amazed by my presumption when you hear what my main reason for
coming here is; but if you had children, through whom you might have
experienced the power of parental love, it seems certain to me that you
would, at least in part, forgive me. But, just as you have no child, I do have
one, and I cannot escape the common laws of other mothers; the force of
such laws compels me to follow them, against my own will and against good
manners and duty, and to ask of you a gift which I know is most precious
to you; and it is naturally so, since your extreme condition has left you no
other delight, no other pleasure, no other consolation; and this gift is your
falcon, which my son is so taken by that if I do not bring it to him, I fear his
sickness will grow so much worse that I may lose him. And therefore I beg
you, not because of the love that you bear for me, which does not oblige you
in the least, but because of your own nobility, which you have shown to be
greater than that of all others in practicing courtliness, that you be pleased
to give it to me, so that I may say that I have saved the life of my son by
means of this gift, and because of it I have placed him in your debt forever.”

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 When he heard what the lady requested and knew that he could not
oblige her since he had given her the falcon to eat, Federigo began to weep
in her presence, for he could not utter a word in reply. The lady, at first,
thought his tears were caused more by the sorrow of having to part with the
good falcon than by anything else, and she was on the verge of telling him
she no longer wished it, but she held back and waited for Federigo’s reply
after he stopped weeping. And he said:

“My lady, ever since it pleased God for me to place my love in you, I
have felt that Fortune has been hostile to me in many things, and I have
complained of her, but all this is nothing compared to what she has just
done to me, and I must never be at peace with her again, thinking about
how you have come here to my poor home where, while it was rich, you
never deigned to come, and you requested a small gift, and Fortune worked
to make it impossible for me to give it to you; and why this is so I shall tell
you briefly. When I heard that you, out of your kindness, wished to dine
with me, I considered it fitting and right, taking into account your excellence
and your worthiness, that I should honor you, according to my possibilities,
with a more precious food than that which I usually serve to other people;
therefore, remembering the falcon that you requested and its value, I judged
it a food worthy of you, and this very day you had it roasted and served to
you as best I could; but seeing now that you desired it in another way, my
sorrow in not being able to serve you is so great that I shall never be able to
console myself again.”

And after he had said this, he laid the feathers, the feet, and the beak
of the bird before her as proof. When the lady heard and saw this, she first
reproached him for having killed such a falcon to serve as a meal to a
woman; but then to herself she commended the greatness of his spirit,
which no poverty was able or would be able to diminish; then, having lost
all hope of getting the falcon and, perhaps because of this, of improving the
health of her son as well, she thanked Federigo both for the honor paid to
her and for his good will, and she left in grief, and returned to her son. To
his mother’s extreme sorrow, either because of his disappointment that he
could not have the falcon, or because his illness must have necessarily led
to it, the boy passed from this life only a few days later.

After the period of her mourning and bitterness had passed, the lady
was repeatedly urged by her brothers to remarry, since she was very rich
and was still young; and although she did not wish to do so, they became
so insistent that she remembered the merits of Federigo and his last act of
generosity—that is, to have killed such a falcon to do her honor—and she
said to her brothers:

“I would prefer to remain a widow, if that would please you; but if you
wish me to take a husband, you may rest assured that I shall take no man
but Federigo degli Alberighi.”

In answer to this, making fun of her, her brothers replied: “You

foolish woman, what are you saying? How can you want him; he hasn’t a

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 penny to his name?” To this she replied: “My brothers, I am well aware of
what you say, but I would rather have a man who needs money than money
that needs a man.”

Her brothers, seeing that she was determined and knowing Federigo
to be of noble birth, no matter how poor he was, accepted her wishes and
gave her in marriage to him with all her riches. When he found himself the
husband of such a great lady, whom he had loved so much and who was so
wealthy besides, he managed his financial affairs with more prudence than
in the past and lived with her happily the rest of his days.

• Place:
SETTING • Time:
• Mood or Atmosphere:
• Social conditions:

• Introduction:
PLOT
• Rising Action:

• Climax:

• Falling Action:

• Denouement:

CONFLICT • Type of conflict:

• Names Description
CHARACTERS

POINT OF VIEW Who is telling the story?

THEME

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 Enrichment Activity

Writing Game

Without thinking too hard about it, try to recall a vivid image you may
have seen recently, in real life or on television, and see if you can
imagine a story to explain it. You can start with this technique: Simply
describe the image, such as a mother yelling at her child in the
supermarket, then branch off from there, explaining why the mother
is so exasperated or why the child is being so difficult. Or you may try
Fitzgerald’s technique with the same image: Outline the life of the
mother so far---her girlhood, her courtship, the birth of her child---
and work up to the moment in the supermarket. See which approach
works best for you. Don’t forget the elements of fiction as you write it.

Bibliography
www.rcboe.org

Earnshaw, S. (2007). The handbook of creative writing. Edinburgh University Press

Limited.

Hynes, J. (2014). Writing great fiction: Storytelling tips and techniques course guide
book. The Great Courses

Morley, D. (2007). The Cambridge introduction to creative writing. Cambridge University

Press.

Saarelainen, M. (2014). Creative writing. Estonia Publication.

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