<h3>Elements of Prose</h3><p><strong>Prose</strong> is ordinary written language, as in short stories and novels. To analyse a story, look at four key elements:</p><ul><li><strong>Plot</strong> – the sequence of events, often rising through a <em>conflict</em> to a <em>climax</em> and ending in a <em>resolution</em>.</li><li><strong>Character</strong> – the people (or animals) in the story.</li><li><strong>Setting</strong> – the time and place.</li><li><strong>Theme</strong> – the central message or idea.</li></ul><h3>Figures of Speech in Poetry</h3><p><strong>Poetry</strong> uses language in fresh, imaginative ways. Common figures of speech include:</p><ul><li><strong>Simile</strong> – a comparison using <code>like</code> or <code>as</code> (<em>as busy as a bee</em>).</li><li><strong>Metaphor</strong> – a direct comparison (<em>the classroom was a beehive</em>).</li><li><strong>Personification</strong> – giving human qualities to non-human things (<em>the river sang</em>).</li></ul><div class="callout"><strong>Kenyan context:</strong> Imagine a short story set in a fishing village on the shores of Lake Victoria. The <em>setting</em> is the lakeside at dawn; the <em>characters</em> are a young fisherman and his ageing father; the <em>conflict</em> is an empty net and a coming storm; the <em>theme</em> is patience and respect for elders. A poem about the same lake might call the morning mist “a soft blanket the lake pulls over its shoulders” – a vivid personification that brings the scene to life.</div>