Aspects of Short Story

Answer 1

Genre

Genre refers to the types of story; the tradition within which a new tale is set as it relates to previously made dramas/stories, films. A script belongs to any of these genres or it may be a combination of two or three genres.

For e.g. Romance, Comedy, Horror, Tragedy

Form

It is also called as Dramatic form. In Western theatre culture plays are often described according to form. Terms such as 'Tragedy', 'Comedy', 'Tragicomedy', 'Melodrama', 'Farce', and 'Musical' are frequently used to help define the type of theatrical even that is being referred to. Theatre form is particularly important because plays need to have some type of form before an audience can read and understand them. Some recent drama, however, defies definition-its form is ambiguous. It could be argued that the form of every play is unique because no two plays are exactly alike, but there are certain identifiable characteristics that are common to different plays and it is these characteristics that help to define form.

Most plays are organised in a specific way that enables us to distinguish them from other forms of writing such as novels or poetry. The formal structure of plays helps a reader to make appropriate distinctions. Not all of those works that we identify as 'plays' have the same internal characteristics and this explains why critics use more detailed categories.

Dialogue Writing

It is easy for someone starting to write dialogue to imagine that naturalistic dialogue is the same thing as the dialogue that people speak in real life.

Often when people begin writing dialogue for screenplays or for television or theatre, they insert pages of meaningless exchanges between characters. There are many examples of banality which the writer uses to represent the lives and lifestyles of the characters in his or her story. They mistakenly believe that because the lines are "real" i.e. taken from life, that they deserve a place in the story.

There is a big difference, however, between dialogue in real life and dialogue in drama.

Real Dialogue

Dialogue in real life may include arguments, seductions, or daily transactions. It is the act of two or more people participating in spontaneous verbal communication with each other.

Dramatic Dialogue

Dialogue in drama is a finely crafted stream of conversation containing elements of plot, character, and emotional tension which give the impression of being spontaneous verbal communication.

Words of Caution

Not every story requires dialogue, while some are nothing but dialogue. A writer needs to discover what the unique balance is for a particular story, as well as what the audience expects from a genre. For example, crime novels are driven by internal dialogue and brisk exchanges between characters. A crime novel without dialogue would seem strange. However, a personal tale of mountian climbing would need to dialogue because it is a first-person narrative.

Point of View

Point of view, or p.o.v., is defined as the angle from which the story is told.

1. First Person - The story is told by the protagonist or one of the characters who interacts closely with the protagonist or other characters (using pronouns I, me, we, etc). The reader sees the story through this person's eyes as he/she experiences it and only knows what he/she knows or feels.

2. Third person/Omniscient- The author can narrate the story using the omniscient point of view. He can move from character to character, event to event, having free access to the thoughts, feelings and motivations of his characters and he introduces information where and when he chooses. There are two main types of omniscient point of view:

a) Omniscient Limited - The author tells the story in third person (using pronouns they, she, he, it, etc). We know only what the character knows and what the author allows him/her to tell us. We can see the thoughts and feelings of characters if the author chooses to reveal them to us.

b) Omniscient Objective - The author tells the story in the third person. It appears as though a camera is following the characters, going anywhere, and recording only what is seen and heard. There is no comment on the characters or their thoughts. No interpretations are offered. The reader is placed in the position of spectator without the author there to explain. The reader has to interpret events on his own.

Setting

The time and location in which a story takes place is called the setting. For some stories the setting is very important, while for others it is not. There are several aspects of a story's setting to consider when examining how setting contributes to a story (some, or all, may be present in a story):

a) Place - geographical location. Where is the action of the story taking place?

b) Time - When is the story taking place? (Historical period, time of day, year, etc)

c) weather conditions - Is it rainy, sunny, stormy, etc?

d) Social conditions - What is the daily life of the characters like? Does the story contain local colour (writing that focuses on the speech, dress, mannerisms, customs, etc. of a particular place)?

e) Mood or atmosphere - What feeling is created at the beginning of the story? Is it bright and cheerful or dark and frightening?

Symbolism

Symbolism is the practice or art of using an object or a word to represent an abstract idea. An action, person, place, word, or object can all have a symbolic meaning. When an author wants to suggest a certain mood or emotion, he can also use symbolism to hint at it, rather than just blatantly saying it.

Symbolism in Literature

Symbolism is often used by writers to enhance their writing. Symbolism can give a literary work more richness and color and can make the meaning of the work deeper.

In literature, symbolism can take many forms including:

• A figure of speech where an object, person, or situation has another meaning other than its literal meaning.
• The actions of a character, word, action, or event that have a deeper meaning in the context of the whole story.

Examples of symbolism:

'Life is a roller-coaster': This is symbolic because it indicates that there will be ups and downs in life that you have to weather.

A mirror when it is broken, it can represent an unhappy union or a separation.

Diction

Diction in Hindi means 'Muhawara' Diction refers to both the choice and the order of words. It has typically been split into vocabulary and syntax. The basic question to ask about vocabulary is "Is it simple or complex?" The basic question to ask about syntax is "Is it ordinary or unusual?" Taken together, these two elements make up diction. When we speak of a "level of diction," we might be misleading, because it's certainly possible to use "plain" language in a complicated way, especially in poetry, and it's equally possible to use complicated language in a simple way. It might help to think of diction as a web rather than a level: There's typically something deeper than a surface meaning to consider.

Tone

The tone of a poem is roughly equivalent to the mood it creates in the reader. Think of an actor reading a line such as "I could kill you." He can read it in a few different ways: If he thinks the proper tone is murderous anger, he might scream the line and cause the veins to bulge in his neck. He might assume the tone of cool power and murmur the line in a low, even voice. Perhaps he does not mean the words at all and laughs as he says them. Much depends on interpretation, of course, but the play will give the actor clues about the tone just as a poem gives its readers clues about how to feel about it. The tone may be based on a number of other conventions that the poem uses, such as meter or repetition. If you find a poem exhilarating, maybe it's because the meter mimics galloping. If you find a poem depressing, that may be because it contains shadowy imagery. Tone is not in any way divorced from the other elements of poetry; it is directly dependent on them.

Imagery

Most figures of speech cast up a picture in your mind. These pictures created or suggested by the poet are called 'images'. To participate fully in the world of poem, we must understand how the poet uses image to convey more than what is actually said or literally meant.

We speak of the pictures evoked in a poem as 'imagery'. Imagery refers to the "pictures" which we perceive with our mind's eyes, ears, nose, tongue, skin, and through which we experience the "duplicate world" created by poetic language. Imagery evokes the meaning and truth of human experiences not in abstract terms, as in philosophy, but in more perceptible and tangible forms. This is a device by which the poet makes his meaning strong, clear and sure. The poet uses sound words and words of color and touch in addition to figures of speech. As well, concrete details that appeal to the reader's senses are used to build up images.

Although most of the image-making words in any language appeal to sight (visual images), there are also images of touch (tactile), sound (auditory), taste (gustatory), and smell (olfactory). The last two terms in parentheses are mainly used by lovers of jargon. An image may also appeal to the reader's sense of motion.