What Is Prose Fiction?

Prose fiction is imaginative writing in prose form, encompassing novels, novellas, and short stories. In IB English Literature, prose fiction often explores themes, characters, narrative voice, and setting, and requires close reading to interpret style and structure.

SPICES: A Prose Fiction Annotation Guide for IB English A: Literature

Use this framework to annotate and analyze prose fiction extracts in Paper 1 and other assessments. Each section will help you deepen your understanding of the text and structure a strong literary commentary.

1. S – Setting

The where and when that shapes mood, tone, and conflict.

1. What is the physical and social setting?
2. How is the setting described (imagery, symbolism)?
3. What tone does the setting establish?
4. How does the setting influence the characters or plot?
5. Are there any customs, traditions, or values at play?
6. Does the setting create tension, isolation, or safety?

2. P – Perspective (Narrative Voice)

The lens through which the story is told.

1. What point of view is used (first-person, third-person, etc.)?
2. How reliable is the narrator? Biased or objective?
3. What does the narrator reveal or conceal?
4. How does the perspective shape reader understanding?
5. Are there shifts in voice, tone, or time?

3. I – Ideas

The themes, messages, and emotional impact of the passage.

1. What big ideas or themes emerge (e.g. identity, freedom, trauma)?
2. What is the author saying about life or human nature?
3. Are there philosophical, moral, or societal questions raised?
4. What emotions is the reader meant to feel?
5. Does the story challenge or reinforce norms?

4. C – Characters

Who the people are and how they are revealed.

1. How are characters described (physically and psychologically)?
2. What are their motives, fears, or desires?
3. How do they behave and interact with others?
4. Do they change (dynamic) or stay the same (static)?
5. What do other characters say or think about them?

5. E – Events (Conflict + Structure)

The action and shape of the story.

1. What is the main conflict (internal/external)?
2. What part of the narrative arc is this (climax, exposition, etc.)?
3. How does the pacing affect the tension?
4. Are there flashbacks, shifts in time, or non-linear events?
5. How do the events reflect or complicate character development?

6. S – Style

The author’s craft and literary choices.

1. How does the author use:
   1. Tone and mood?
   2. Imagery, metaphor, simile, personification?
   3. Diction (formal, informal, emotive, symbolic)?
   4. Symbolism or recurring motifs?
   5. Dialogue or internal monologue?
   6. Foreshadowing or irony?
   7. Syntax (long/short sentences, structure)?
   8. How do these elements support themes or affect the reader?

Prose Fiction Model Answer

Text Extract

They said the power would be back by nightfall. But nightfall had come and gone, and the house sat in silence—deep, pressing, breathless silence. Lydia moved through the hallway with the only source of light: an old brass lantern she’d found in the attic. The flame flickered nervously, casting distorted shadows across the peeling wallpaper and making the coat rack resemble a hunched man. Every few steps, the flame would stutter, and the hallway would swell with shadow before shrinking again into dull yellow light.

She told herself the noise upstairs was just the wind. It had to be. The windows were rattling again, and every few seconds the roof creaked like it was exhaling. Still, her steps slowed when she reached the foot of the staircase. She squinted up into the darkness, her free hand curling into a fist. Even in daylight, the staircase was narrow and steep, carpeted with a runner so old it had dulled to the colour of dried blood.

The house had belonged to her grandmother. Lydia had only been here once as a child, and the memories were all half-formed and uneasy—mismatched china dolls, locked doors, the scent of burnt toast, the long silence that seemed to press down over every room. Her grandmother had died quietly and alone in this very house, her absence noticed only when the postman complained about the smell. Now, with her parents gone and the will signed, the house was Lydia’s. But it didn’t feel like it belonged to her. Not yet.

As she placed one foot on the bottom stair, she paused again. She could feel the air change—thicker, colder. She strained to hear something familiar, some sign that this place was hers now. Instead, from the top of the stairs, a soft clinking sound echoed—a rhythmic tapping, like someone brushing metal against glass. Lydia froze. It was a delicate sound, almost polite, but too persistent to ignore.

“Hello?” she called. Her voice came out embarrassingly thin, barely reaching the second step. The silence that followed seemed heavier than before, like a held breath waiting to be exhaled.