Setting

Setting can be defined as the time and geographic location in which the action of a book, film or play happens, either non/fiction or fiction. It is typically described with vivid adjectives, to allow the reader a better understading of where the story is taking place. The setting is normally introduced during the exposition (beginning) of the story, and is a literary element of literature.

Examples

A great example of setting was in the fantasy novel "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" by J. K. Rowling. The very first setting readers are introduced to is 4 Privot Drive, Surrey, England, a house owned by Vernon and Petunia Dursley around the year 1990. A further setting later on in the novel is Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, a mysterious and secretive school that the main character, Harry Potter, attends. 

In the allegorical novella "Animal Farm" by George Orwell, the setting is in the English countryside, on a small independent farm called "Manor Farm". The story is set in no specific time frame. 

Why?

Authors use vivid adjectives and metaphors to describe the setting. This lets the reader be more involved in the narrative, and helps them imagine and picture the scenes better. Description of time and place also makes the story more personal and gripping.

Sources

Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "setting". Encyclopedia Britannica, 10 Apr. 2016, https://www.britannica.com/art/setting

Elizabeth Sugden, 2023