What is setting?

Today, we learned about the importance of setting in stories. We watched clips from a movie to discuss setting and you all came up with wonderful ideas at how setting helped us make more meaningful connections to the text and how setting helps dictate the mood of the text.

Here are some notes on setting for your reference:

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 character's 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?


Keeping in mind of the setting of a story is important to our understanding of the story. If we know how the setting affects the mood of the story, we gain a better understanding of how the characters in the story are feeling.