A Comparison of Contemporary and Romance Literature Contemporary literature in the form of a short story consists of a plot, characters, point of view, setting, and theme (2). These elements can vary a great deal from one story to the next. An author of a short story also reveals a tone and a mood shown by his or her style of writing. Although romance literature contains the elements mentioned above, they are very different than those in short stories and are somewhat static from one tale to the next. Romance literature is about the adventures of knights and the organization of chivalry (794). A romance does not take place in a normal setting, but in