what does the i element do in html code example

Example 1: what is html element

Html is a markup kanguage based on XML. It uses nested <objects>
These objects are defined by the standards body W3C 
they are usually used in pairs ... <thing> </thing>
A .html file has a bunch of these tags
information to be displayed goes between the start and end  tags
 <p> This text is now a paragraph</p>
 Elements can have unique identifiers used by javascript and CSS
 <p id="fruit"> Apple Orange Banana </p>
 Elements can be styled by belonging to a class of Elements
  <p class="redThings"> This text will be colored red if "redThings" says so

Example 2: what is element in html

HTML Elements are what make up HTML in general

<p> is an element