Picnic at Hanging Rock Literary Elements

Historical fiction

The novel takes place in Macedon, Australia in 1900.

The novel is narrated by an unnamed, omniscient third-person narrator. The narrator gives access to the characters' thoughts in different moments. Letters, testimonials, and newspaper clippings are also included in the text.

The tone of the novel is somber and dark. The mood is dreamlike and eerie.

There is no protagonist. Mrs. Appleyard is the antagonist of the novel.

The major conflict of the novel is the mystery surrounding Hanging Rock and the unsolved disappearance of several students and a teacher.

The climax of the novel occurs when Mrs. Appleyard throws herself off a cliff.

Sara's death is foreshadowed when she does not take her oval frame.

N/A

There are allusions to the poem "The Wreck of Hesperus," the historical narrative of Saint Valentine, and the real geological site known as Hanging Rock.

N/A

N/A

There is parallelism between Sara and Mrs. Appleyard, as they are both driven to suicide by the events at Hanging Rock.

N/A

N/A