<P> The setting is both the time and geographic location within a narrative or within a work of fiction . A literary element, the setting helps initiate the main backdrop and mood for a story . Setting has been referred to as story world or milieu to include a context (especially society) beyond the immediate surroundings of the story . Elements of setting may include culture, historical period, geography, and hour . Along with the plot, character, theme, and style, setting is considered one of the fundamental components of fiction . </P> <P> Setting is an important element in a narrative and in some works the setting becomes a character itself . The term setting is often used to refer to the social milieu in which the events of a novel occur and novelist Donna Levin has described how this social milieu shapes the characters' values . The elements of the story setting include the passage of time, which may be static in some stories or dynamic in others with, for example, changing seasons . </P>

What is the definition of setting in a short story