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LITERARY DEVICES
Copyright © 2003, 2006
Literary devices refers to specific aspects of literature, in the sense of its universal function
as an art form which expresses ideas through language, or with regard to a particular work, which we can recognize, identify,
interpret and/or analyze. Both literary elements and literary techniques can rightly be called literary devices.
Literary elements refers to particular characteristics of a whole text. They are not "used," per se, by authors;
these are the elements of storytelling which are common to all literary and narrative forms. For example, every story has
a theme, every story has a setting, every story has a conflict, every story is written from a particular
point-of-view, etc. In order to be discussed legitimately as part of a textual analysis, literary elements must be
specifically identified for that particular text.
Literary techniques refers to any specific, deliberate constructions or choices of language which an author uses
to convey meaning. An author’s use of a literary technique usually occurs with a single word or phrase, or a particular
group of words or phrases, at one single point in a text. Unlike literary elements, literary techniques are not necessarily
present in every text; they represent deliberate, conscious choices by individual authors.
Literary terms refers to the words themselves with which we identify and designate literary elements and techniques.
They are not found in literature and they are not "used" by authors.
Allegory: Where every aspect of a story is representative, usually symbolic, of something else, usually a larger
abstract concept or important historical/geopolitical event.
Lord of the Flies provides a compelling allegory of human nature, illustrating the three sides of the psyche
through its sharply-defined main characters.
Alliteration: The repetition of consonant sounds within close proximity, usually in consecutive words within the
same sentence or line.
Antagonist: Counterpart to the main character and source of a story’s main conflict. The person may not be
"bad" or "evil" by any conventional moral standard, but he/she opposes the protagonist in a significant way. (Although it
is technically a literary element, the term is only useful for identification, as part of a discussion or analysis of character;
it cannot generally be analyzed by itself.)
Anthropomorphism: Where animals or inanimate objects are portrayed in a story as people, such as by walking, talking,
or being given arms, legs, facial features, human locomotion or other anthropoid form. (This technique is often incorrectly
called personification.)
The King and Queen of Hearts and their playing-card courtiers comprise
only one example of Carroll’s extensive use of anthropomorphism in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.
Blank verse: Non-rhyming poetry, usually written in iambic pentameter.
Most of Shakespeare’s dialogue is written in blank verse,
though it does occasionally rhyme.
Character: The people who inhabit and take part in a story. When discussing character, as distinct from characterization,
look to the essential function of the character, or of all the characters as a group, in the story as a whole.
Rather than focus on one particular character, Lord assembles
a series of brief vignettes and anecdotes involving multiple characters, in order to give the reader the broadest possible
spectrum of human behavior.
Golding uses his main characters to represent the different parts
of the human psyche, to illustrate mankind’s internal struggle between desire, intellect, and conscience.
Characterization: The author’s means of conveying to the reader a character’s personality, life history,
values, physical attributes, etc. Also refers directly to a description thereof.
Atticus is characterized as an almost impossibly virtuous man,
always doing what is right and imparting impeccable moral values to his children.
Climax: The turning point in a story, at which the end result becomes inevitable, usually where something suddenly
goes terribly wrong; the "dramatic high point" of a story. (Although it is technically a literary element, the term is only
useful for identification, as part of a discussion or analysis of structure; it cannot generally be analyzed by itself.)
The story reaches its climax in Act III, when Mercutio and Tybalt
are killed and Romeo is banished from Verona.
Conflict: A struggle between opposing forces which is the driving force of a story. The outcome of any story provides
a resolution of the conflict(s); this is what keeps the reader reading. Conflicts can exist between individual characters,
between groups of characters, between a character and society, etc., and can also be purely abstract (conflicting ideas).
The conflict between the Montagues and Capulets causes Romeo and
Juliet to behave irrationally once they fall in love.
Jack’s priorities are in conflict with those of Ralph and Piggy, which causes him to break away from the
group.
Man-versus-nature is an important conflict in The Old Man and
the Sea.
Context: Conditions, including facts, social/historical background, time and place, etc., surrounding a given situation.
Madame Defarge’s actions seem almost reasonable in the context
of the Revolution.
Creative license: Exaggeration or alteration of objective facts or reality, for the purpose of enhancing meaning
in a fictional context.
Orwell took some creative license with the historical events of
the Russian Revolution, in order to clarify the ideological conflicts.
Dialogue: Where characters speak to one another; may often be used to substitute for exposition.
Since there is so little stage direction in Shakespeare, many of the
characters’ thoughts and actions are revealed through dialogue.
Dramatic irony: Where the audience or reader is aware of something important, of which the characters in the story
are not aware.
Macbeth responds with disbelief when the weird sisters call him Thane
of Cawdor; ironically, unbeknownst to him, he had been granted that title by king Duncan in the previous scene.
Exposition: Where an author interrupts a story in order to explain something, usually to provide important background
information.
The first chapter consists mostly of exposition, running down
the family’s history and describing their living conditions.
Figurative language: Any use of language where the intended meaning differs from the actual literal meaning of the
words themselves. There are many techniques which can rightly be called figurative language, including metaphor, simile, hyperbole,
personification, onomatopoeia, verbal irony, and oxymoron. (Related: figure of speech)
The poet makes extensive use of figurative language, presenting
the speaker’s feelings as colors, sounds and flavors.
Foil: A character who is meant to represent characteristics, values, ideas, etc. which are directly and diametrically
opposed to those of another character, usually the protagonist. (Although it is technically a literary element, the term is
only useful for identification, as part of a discussion or analysis of character; it cannot generally be analyzed by itself.)
The noble, virtuous father Macduff provides an ideal foil for
the villainous, childless Macbeth.
Foreshadowing: Where future events in a story, or perhaps the outcome, are suggested by the author before
they happen. Foreshadowing can take many forms and be accomplished in many ways, with varying degrees of subtlety. However,
if the outcome is deliberately and explicitly revealed early in a story (such as by the use of a narrator or flashback structure),
such information does not constitute foreshadowing.
Willy’s concern for his car foreshadows his eventual means
of suicide.
Hyperbole: A description which exaggerates, usually employing extremes and/or superlatives to convey a positive or
negative attribute; "hype."
The author uses hyperbole to describe Mr. Smith, calling him "the
greatest human being ever to walk the earth."
Iambic pentameter: A poetic meter wherein each line contains ten syllables, as five repetitions of a two-syllable
pattern in which the pronunciation emphasis is on the second syllable.
Shakespeare wrote most of his dialogue in iambic pentameter, often
having to adjust the order and nature of words to fit the syllable pattern, thus endowing the language with even greater meaning.
Imagery: Language which describes something in detail, using words to substitute for and create sensory stimulation,
including visual imagery and sound imagery. Also refers to specific and recurring types of images, such as food imagery and
nature imagery. (Not all descriptions can rightly be called imagery; the key is the appeal to and stimulation of specific
senses. It is often advisable to specify the type of imagery being used, to distinguish imagery from mere description.)
The author’s use of visual imagery is impressive; the reader
is able to see the island in all its lush, colorful splendor by reading Golding’s detailed descriptions.
Irony (a.k.a. Situational irony): Where an event occurs which is unexpected, in the sense that it is
somehow in absurd or mocking opposition to what would be expected or appropriate. Mere coincidence is generally not ironic;
nor is mere surprise, nor are any random or arbitrary occurrences. (Note: Most of the situations in the Alanis Morissette
song are not ironic at all.) See also Dramatic irony; Verbal irony.
Jem and Scout are saved by Boo Radley, who had ironically been
an object of fear and suspicion to them at the beginning of the novel.
Metaphor: A direct relationship where one thing or idea substitutes for another.
Shakespeare often uses light as a metaphor for Juliet; Romeo refers
to her as the sun, as "a rich jewel in an Ethiop’s ear," and as a solitary dove among crows.
Mood: The atmosphere or emotional condition created by the piece, within the setting. Mood refers to the general
sense or feeling which the reader is supposed to get from the text; it does not, as a literary element, refer to the author’s
or characters’ state of mind. (Note that mood is a literary element, not a technique; the mood must therefore be described
or identified. It would be incorrect to simply state, "The author uses mood.")
The mood of Macbeth is dark, murky and mysterious, creating
a sense of fear and uncertainty.
Motif: A recurring important idea or image. A motif differs from a theme in that it can be expressed as a single
word or fragmentary phrase, while a theme usually must be expressed as a complete sentence.
Blood is an important motif in A Tale of Two Cities, appearing
numerous times throughout the novel.
Onomatopoeia: Where sounds are spelled out as words; or, when words describing sounds actually sound like the sounds
they describe.
Remarque uses onomatopoeia to suggest the dying soldier’s
agony, his last gasp described as a "gurgling rattle."
Oxymoron: A contradiction in terms.
Romeo describes love using several oxymorons, such as "cold fire,"
"feather of lead" and "sick health," to suggest its contradictory nature.
Paradox: Where a situation is created which cannot possibly exist, because different elements of it cancel each other
out.
In 1984, "doublethink" refers to the paradox where history
is changed, and then claimed to have never been changed.
A Tale of Two Cities opens with the famous paradox, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times."
Parallelism: Use of similar or identical language, structures, events or ideas in different parts of a text.
Hobbs’ final strikeout parallels the Whammer’s striking
out against him at the beginning of the novel.
Personification (I) Where inanimate objects or abstract concepts are seemingly endowed with human self-awareness;
where human thoughts, actions, perceptions and emotions are directly attributed to inanimate objects or abstract ideas. (Not
to be confused with anthropomorphism.)
Malamud personifies Hobbs’ bat, giving it a name, Wonderboy,
and referring to it using personal pronouns; for example, "he went hungry" during Hobbs’ batting slump.
Personification (II) Where an abstract concept, such as a particular human behavior or a force of nature, is represented
as a person.
The Greeks personified natural forces as gods; for example, the
god Poseidon was the personification of the sea and its power over man.
Plot: Sequence of events in a story. Most literary essay tasks will instruct the writer to "avoid plot summary;"
the term is therefore rarely useful for response or critical analysis. When discussing plot, it is generally more useful to
consider and analyze its structure, rather than simply recapitulate "what happens."
Point-of-view: The identity of the narrative voice; the person or entity through whom the reader experiences the
story. May be third-person (no narrator; abstract narrative voice, omniscient or limited) or first-person (narrated by a character
in the story or a direct observer). Point-of-view is a commonly misused term; it does not refer to the author’s
or characters’ feelings, opinions, perspectives, biases, etc.
Though it is written in third-person, Animal Farm is told
from the limited point-of-view of the common animals, unaware of what is really happening as the pigs gradually and
secretively take over the farm.
Writing the story in first-person point-of-view enables the reader
to experience the soldier’s fear and uncertainty, limiting the narrative to what only he saw, thought and felt during
the battle.
Protagonist: The main character in a story, the one with whom the reader is meant to identify. The person is not
necessarily "good" by any conventional moral standard, but he/she is the person in whose plight the reader is most invested.
(Although it is technically a literary element, the term is only useful for identification, as part of a discussion or analysis
of character; it cannot generally be analyzed by itself.)
Repetition: Where a specific word, phrase, or structure is repeated several times, usually in close proximity, to
emphasize a particular idea.
The repetition of the words "What if…" at the beginning
of each line reinforces the speaker’s confusion and fear.
Setting: The time and place where a story occurs. The setting can be specific (e.g., New York City in 1930) or ambiguous
(e.g., a large urban city during economic hard times). Also refers directly to a description thereof. When discussing or analyzing
setting, it is generally insufficient to merely identify the time and place; an analysis of setting should include a discussion
of its overall impact on the story and characters.
The novel is set in the South during the racially turbulent 1930’s,
when blacks were treated unfairly by the courts.
With the island, Golding creates a pristine, isolated and uncorrupted
setting, in order to show that the boys’ actions result from their own essential nature rather than their environment.
Simile: An indirect relationship where one thing or idea is described as being similar to another. Similes usually
contain the words "like" or "as," but not always.
The simile in line 10 describes the lunar eclipse: "The moon appeared
crimson, like a drop of blood hanging in the sky."
The character’s gait is described in the simile: "She hunched and
struggled her way down the path, the way an old beggar woman might wander about."
Speaker: The "voice" of a poem; not to be confused with the poet him/herself. Analogous to the narrator in
prose fiction.
Structure: The manner in which the various elements of a story are assembled.
The individual tales are told within the structure of the larger
framing story, where the 29 travelers gather at the Inn at Southwark on their journey to Canterbury, telling stories to pass
the time.
The play follows the traditional Shakespearean five-act plot structure, with exposition in Act I, development
in Act II, the climax or turning point in Act III, falling action in Act IV, and resolution in Act V.
Symbolism: The use of specific objects or images to represent abstract ideas. This term is commonly misused, describing
any and all representational relationships, which in fact are more often metaphorical than symbolic. A symbol must
be something tangible or visible, while the idea it symbolizes must be something abstract or universal. (In other words,
a symbol must be something you can hold in your hand or draw a picture of, while the idea it symbolizes must be something
you can’t hold in your hand or draw a picture of.)
Golding uses symbols to represent the various aspects of human
nature and civilization as they are revealed in the novel. The conch symbolizes order and authority, while its gradual
deterioration and ultimate destruction metaphorically represent the boys’ collective downfall.
Theme: The main idea or message conveyed by the piece. A theme should generally be expressed as a complete sentence;
an idea expressed by a single word or fragmentary phrase is usually a motif.
Orwell’s theme is that absolute power corrupts absolutely.
The idea that human beings are essentially brutal, savage creatures provides
the central theme of the novel.
Tone: The apparent emotional state, or "attitude," of the speaker/narrator/narrative voice, as conveyed through the
language of the piece. Tone refers only to the narrative voice; not to the author or characters. It must be described or identified
in order to be analyzed properly; it would be incorrect to simply state, "The author uses tone."
The poem has a bitter and sardonic tone, revealing the speaker’s
anger and resentment.
The tone of Gulliver’s narration is unusually matter-of-fact,
as he seems to regard these bizarre and absurd occurrences as ordinary or commonplace.
Tragedy: Where a story ends with a negative or unfortunate outcome which was essentially avoidable, usually caused
by a flaw in the central character’s personality. Tragedy is really more of a dramatic genre than a literary
element; a play can be referred to as a tragedy, but tragic events in a story are essentially part of the plot, rather than
a literary device in themselves. When discussing tragedy, or analyzing a story as tragic, look to the other elements of the
story which combine to make it tragic.
Tragic hero/tragic figure: A protagonist who comes to a bad end as a result of his own behavior, usually cased by
a specific personality disorder or character flaw. (Although it is technically a literary element, the term is only useful
for identification, as part of a discussion or analysis of character; it cannot generally be analyzed by itself.)
Willy Loman is one of the best-known tragic figures in American
literature, oblivious to and unable to face the reality of his life.
Tragic flaw: The single characteristic (usually negative) or personality disorder which causes the downfall of the
protagonist.
Othello’s tragic flaw is his jealousy, which consumes him so thoroughly that he is driven to murder his
wife rather than accept, let alone confirm, her infidelity. (Although it is technically a literary element, the term is
only useful for identification, as part of a discussion or analysis of character; it cannot generally be analyzed by itself.)
Verbal irony: Where the meaning of a specific expression is, or is intended to be, the exact opposite of what the
words literally mean. (Sarcasm is a tone of voice that often accompanies verbal irony, but they are not the same thing.)
Alliteration
What is it?
Examples
- The cold, clammy hands grasped my neck.
- The bloody watchman told a tale of trouble and torture.
Answer
The same sound starts a series of words or syllables.
Allegory
What is it?
Examples
- John Bunyan's "Pilgrim's Progress", a prose narrative, is an allegory
of man's spiritual salvation.
- Herbert Spenser's poem "The Faerie Queene", besides being a chivalric
romance, is a commentary on morals and manners in 16th-century England as well as a national epic.
Answer
A story that is told to explain or teach something, especially a long
and complicated story with an underlying meaning different from the surface meaning of the story itself. The parables in the
Bible are allegories.
Allusion
What is it?
Examples
- Was the ticking package, gaily wrapped with ribbon and bright paper, a
Trojan gift?
- Casual and confident, the West High team started the game that was to
prove their Waterloo.
Answer
A reference to a famous person or event in life or literature.
Anastrophe
What is it?
Examples
- The verb before the subject-noun (normal syntax follows the order subject-noun,
verb):
Glistens the dew upon the morning grass. (Normally: The dew glistens upon the morning grass)
- The object preceding its verb (normal syntax is verb followed by its object):
Troubles, everybody's got. (Normally: Everybody's got troubles)
- Adjective following the noun it modifies (normal syntax is adjective,
noun):
She looked at the sky dark and menacing. (Normally: She looked at the dark and menacing sky)
- Preposition following the object of the preposition (normal syntax is
preposition, object ["upon our lives"]):
It only stands / Our lives upon, to use Our strongest hands
- Shakespeare,
Antony and Cleopatra 2.1.50-51
Answer
Departure from normal word order for the sake of emphasis. The changing
of the position of only a single word.
Anaphora
What is it?
Examples
- This
royal throne of kings, this sceptred isle,
This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars,
This other Eden, demi-paradise,
This fortress built by Nature for herself
Against infection and
the hand of war,
This happy breed of men, this little world,
This precious stone set in the silver
sea,
Which serves it in the office of a wall,
Or as [a] moat defensive to a house,
Against the envy of less happier
lands;
This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England
- John of Gaunt in
Shakespeare's Richard II (2.1.40-51; 57-60)
Answer
Repetition of the same word or group of words at the beginning of successive
clauses, sentences, or lines.
Analogy
What is it?
Examples
- Some people live their lives like a sheet of scrapped paper blown along
a windy street; they are carried this way and that with no apparent effort or ability to control their direction.
Answer
A longer, more detailed comparison of two ideas or situations.
Aposiopesis
What is it?
Examples
- O judgment! thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their
reason. Bear with me,
My heart is in the coffin there with Caesar,
And I must pause till it come back to me.
-
Shakespeare, Julius Caesar 3.2.104-107
- "Whom I... but I cannot go on."
Answer
Breaking off suddenly in the middle of speaking, usually to portray being
overcome with emotion.
Apostrophe
What is it?
Examples
- O maiores, quid diceretis de hac re?
- Oh ancestors, what would you say about this matter?
- Antony addresses Caesar's corpse immediately following the assassination
in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar:
O, pardon me, thou bleeding piece of earth,
That I am meek and gentle with these
butchers!
Thou art the ruins of the noblest man
That ever lived in the tide of times.
- Shakespeare, Julius
Caesar 3.1.254-257
Answer
Turning from one audience to another. Most often, apostrophe occurs when
addressing an abstraction, an inanimate object, or to the absent.
Asyndeton
What is it?
Examples
- "Check this out. So you meet this person. Boy, are they fine, kind,
sensitive, loving, witty, charming, intelligent...." - Stevie Wonder
- Be one of the few, the proud, the Marines. - Marine Corps Advertisement
- "When we listen to the better angels of our nature, we find that they
celebrate the simple things, the basic things -- such as goodness, decency, love, kindness." - Richard Nixon, Inaugural
Address
Chiasmus
What is it?
Examples
- But O, what damned minutes tells he o'er Who dotes, yet doubts;
suspects, yet strong loves.
- Shakespeare, Othello 3.3
The idea of affection occurs in "dotes" and "strongly loves"; the idea of doubting in "doubts" and "suspects". These two
ideas occur in the quotation in an A B B A order, thus repeated and inverted.
- It is boring to eat; to sleep is fulfilling. -The pattern is present
participle-infinitive; infinitive-present participle.
Answer
Repetition of ideas in inverted order. "A-B-B-A" arrangement of words.
Answer
Figure of omission in which normally occurring conjunctions (and, or,
but, for, nor, so, yet) are intentionally omitted in successive phrases, or clauses; a string of words not separated by normally
occurring conjunctions.
Climax
What is it?
Examples
- The soldiers, clutching their weapons, raced across the beaches, then
scaled the cliffs, and met the enemy, face to face.
Answer
A series of incidents of increasing magnitude.
Ellipsis
What is it?
Examples
- She is as tall as her brother.
- I like to interview people sitting down.
Answer
The omission of a word or words needed to complete the grammatical construction,
but not the meaning, of a sentence.
Hendiadys
What is it?
Examples
- He came despite the rain and weather.
- Instead of "He came despite
the rainy weather."
- The distinction and presence of the dignitary moved his audience.
-
By separating the term "distinctive presence" into "distinction and presence," the speaker accentuates the adjective by transforming
it into a noun. Were the separation not made, the modifier would be combined with its object and lose some of its potency.
Answer
Expressing a single idea by two nouns instead of a noun and its qualifier.
A method of amplification that adds force.
Hyperbole
What is it?
Examples
- Waves high as mountains broke over the reef.
- I had to wait an eternity for the file to download.
Answer
An exaggerated statement used for effect and not meant to be taken literally.
Hysteron proteron
What is it?
Examples
- A figure of speech in which the natural or rational order of its terms
is reversed, as in bred and born instead of born and bred.
- He died and he rushed against the enemy.
- The logical fallacy of assuming as true and using as a premise a proposition
that is yet to be proved.
Answer
Disorder of time. Placing first what the reader might expect to come
last.
Irony
What is it?
Examples
- Watching it rain, he said, "Lovely day for a picnic."
- The smashed hulk of metal, twisted and shaped into awkward, unlikely angles,
lay on its side; one rear wheel spun slowly. Ruefully, the man said to his companion, "I'll bet I finally got rid of that
squeak in the dashboard."
Answer
Saying one thing but meaning just the opposite.
Litotes
What is it?
Examples
- It isn't very serious. I have this tiny little tumor on the brain.
-
J.D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye
- Jackie Robinson's breaking of baseball's color barrier was no small accomplishment.
Answer
Deliberate understatement, especially when expressing a thought by denying
its opposite. Understatement in which the affirmative is expressed in a negative way.
Metaphor
What is it?
Examples
- The cat's eyes were jewels, gleaming out of the darkness.
- The window was etched with frost.
- His fear was a prison, stronger than any more visible barricade.
Answer
A comparison in which one thing is said to be another.
Metonymy
What is it?
Examples
- Wisconsin won its tenth game of the season.
- The White House announced a press conference for four o'clock Sunday.
- The Crown had absolute power in the Middle Ages.
Answer
One thing is replaced by another word with which it is associated.
Onomatopoeia
What is it?
Examples
- The burning wood crackled and hissed; now and again an owl hooted somewhere
in the darkness.
- The car creaked forward once the old engine began to wheeze reluctantly.
Answer
The sound of the word imitates the original sound.
Oxymoron
What is it?
Examples
- He tried to act naturally, but in these plastic glasses
and designer jeans he looked seriously funny.
- She went to the restaurant where they offered a weekly special
on fresh frozen, jumbo shrimp.
Answer
An intentionally non-parallel structure, frequently containing incongruous
or contradictory terms.
Paradox
What is it?
Examples
- More haste, less speed.
- The child is father to the man.
Answer
A statement that may be true but seems to say two opposite things
Parallel Construction
What is it?
Examples
- Some cried, some wept, some remained hushed, but all felt the loss.
- Without enough men, without enough food, still the army was poised, ready
to mount the attack.
Answer
Grammatically identical or similar construction.
Personification
What is it?
Examples
- Time stood still.
- Love enfolded us in her arms.
Answer
Representing abstract ideas as persons, endowing them with human attributes.
*** special thanks to Teresa ***
Pleonasm
What is it?
Examples
- With these very eyes I saw him do it.
- Take your shoes off your feet.
Answer
Use of more words than is necessary semantically. Rhetorical repetition
that is grammatically superfluous.
...kind of like that
Polysyndeton
What is it?
Examples
- "Oh, my piglets, we are the origins of war -- not history's forces,
nor the times, nor justice, nor the lack of it, nor causes, nor religions, nor ideas,
nor kinds of government -- not any other thing. We are the killers."
-- delivered by Katherine Hepburn (from
the movie The Lion in Winter)
- "And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his
kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so. And God made
the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth
after his kind: and God saw that it was good."
-- Genesis 1:24-25
- "In years gone by, there were in every community men and women who spoke
the language of duty and morality and loyalty and obligation."
-- William F. Buckley
Answer
Employing many conjunctions between clauses, often slowing the tempo
or rhythm.
Prolepsis
What is it?
Examples
- His private indiscretion does not tarnish his sterling, public reputation.
- The murdered king falls by a traitor's hand.
Answer
Anticipation. The anticipation of objections in order to answer them
in advance, or an epithet in anticipation of its becoming applicable.
Pun
What is it?
Examples
- "I've always regarded archery as an aimless sport," he said with a quiver.
- Then there was the doctor who liked to needle his patients just to make
a point.
- The dentist joined the infantry because he liked to drill.
Answer
A word is used which has two meanings at the same time, which results
in humor(?)
Sarcasm
What is it?
Examples
- "How unselfish you are!" said the girl as her brother took the biggest
piece of cake.
- Mark Twain once said that the coldest winter he ever spent was a summer
in San Francisco.
Answer
The act of making fun of a person to hurt her or his feelings; harsh
or bitter irony.
A sneering or cutting remark; ironical taunt.
Satire
What is it?
Examples
- Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels, in prose, is one of the greatest
satires.
- On American television, Saturday Night Live, and in Canada, This
Hour Has 22 Minutes, are both prime examples of satirical, sketch comedy.
Answer
The use of mockery, irony, or wit to attack or ridicule something, such
as a habit, idea, or custom that is, or is considered to be, foolish or wrong.
Simile
What is it?
Examples
- Like a writhing snake, the broken electrical wires hissed and twitched
in the damp grass.
- When the gates were opened, the mob surged forward like a burst dam.
Answer
A comparison in which two things are said to be like or as
another.
Synecdoche
What is it?
Examples
- The rustler bragged he'd absconded with five hundred head of longhorns.
Both "head" and "longhorns" are parts of cattle that represent them as wholes.
- You've got to come take a look at my new set of wheels.
Wheels,
although only a part of a vehicle, refers to the whole car.
- "He shall think differently," the musketeer threatened, "when he feels
the point of my steel."
A sword, the species, is represented by referring to its genus, "steel."
Answer
A whole is represented by naming one of its parts - genus named for species,
or vice versa - species named for genus.
Tmesis
What is it?
Examples
- This is the place where Christ will come, as will here appear after.
-
The word "appear" occurs between the two words that make up the compound "hereafter."
- He shall be punished, what man soever offendeth.
- The word "whatsoever"
has been interrupted with "man."
- If on the first, how heinous e'er it be,
To win thy after-love I pardon
thee. - Shakespeare, Richard II 5.3.34-35
- The word "heinous" interrupts "howe'er."
Answer
Inserting a word or phrase between parts of a compound word or between
syllables of a word.
Ascending Tricolon
What is it?
Examples
- Veni, vidi, vici. - Julius Caesar
"I came; I saw; I conquered." However, the English is not a true tricolon, for its verbs are not
all the same length, as is the case in the Latin.
Answer
Three parallel elements of the same length occurring together in a series.
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Zeugma
What
is it?
Examples
- She entered the data and his room.
- Aeneas carried grief and his father from Troy.
- He played first base, second fiddle, and Three Blind Mice.
Answer
A general term describing when one part of speech (most often the main
verb, but sometimes a noun) governs two or more other parts of a sentence (often in a series). |
Literary technique
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A literary technique or literary device may be used in
works of literature in order to produce a specific effect on the reader.
[edit] Distingushing literary technique from literary genre
Literary technique is distinguished from literary genre. For example, although David Copperfield employs satire at certain moments, it belongs to the genre of comic novel,
not that of satire. By contrast, Bleak House employs satire so consistently as to belong to the genre of satirical novel.
In this way, use of a technique can lead to the development of a new genre, as was the case with one of the first modern novels,
Pamela by Samuel Richardson, which by using the epistolary technique gave birth to the epistolary novel.
Many of the techniques listed below can also be used in other forms of
fiction, for example film.
[edit] Annotated list of literary techniques
- Author surrogate, a character who acts as the author's spokesman. Sometimes the character
may intentionally or unintentionally be an idealized version of the author. A well known variation is the Mary Sue or Gary Stu.
- Back-story, the story "behind" or "before" the events being portrayed in the story being
told; past events or background for a character that can serve to color or add additional meaning to current circumstances.
Provides extra depth to the story by anchoring it to external events, real or imagined.
- Breaking the fourth wall, the author or a character addressing the audience directly (also known as
direct address). May acknowledge to the reader or audience that what is being presented
is fiction, or may seek to extend the world of the story to provide the illusion that
they are included in it.
- Conceit is an extended metaphor, associated with metaphysical poetry, designed to push the limits of the imagination in order to portray something
indescribable.
- Deleted affair, telling of a romantic relationship, but not referred to in current story.
- Deus ex machina (God from the Machine), a plot device dating back to ancient Greek theater,
where the primary conflict is resolved through a means that seems unrelated to the story (i.e. a God comes down out of nowhere
and solves everything, saving the character from peril). In modern times, the Deus ex machina is often considered a
clumsy method, to be avoided in order not to frustrate readers or viewers.
- Epic Theater, a technique popularized by 20th century playwright Bertolt Brecht, in which the audience is "alienated" or "distanced" from the emotion of
the play.
- Epiphany, is a literary work or section of a literary work presenting, usually symbolically,
such a moment of revelation and insight.
- Epistolary novel, novel in the form of letters exchanged between the characters. Classic examples
include Pamela by Samuel Richardson (1740), Humphry Clinker by Tobias Smollett (1771), Les Liaisons dangereuses by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos (1782) and Dracula by Bram Stoker (1897).
- False documents, fiction written in the form of, or about, apparently real, but actually
fake documents. Examples include Robert Graves' I, Claudius, a fictional autobiography of the Roman emperor. The short stories of Jorge Luis Borges are often written as summaries or criticisms of books that in actuality do
not exist.
- Fictional fictional character, a character whose fictional existence is introduced within a larger work
of fiction, or a character in a story within a story. Early examples include Panchatantra and Arabian Nights.
- Flashback, general term for altering time sequences, taking characters back to the
beginning of the tale, for instance.
- Framing device, the usage of a single action, scene, event, setting, or any element of significance
at the beginning and end of a work.
- Foreshadowing, hinting at events to occur later.
- Frame story, or a story within a story, where a main story is used to organise a series of shorter stories. Early
examples include Panchatantra and Arabian Nights.
- Incluing, describing a different world, such as "Brave New World"
- In medias res, when the story begins in the middle of an intense action sequence.
- Irony is a form of stating one thing and meaning another.
- Juxtaposition, when the author places two themes, characters, phrases, words, or situations
together for the purpose of comparison, contrast, or rhetoric.
- Magic realism, a form particularly popular in Latin America but not limited to that region, in which events are described realistically,
but in a magical haze of strange local customs and beliefs. Gabriel García Márquez is a notable author in the style.
- Overstatement, exaggeration of something, often for the purpose of emphasis.
- Parody, ridicule by imitation, usually humorous, such as MAD Magazine
- Pastiche, using forms and styles of another author, generally as an affectionate tribute,
such as the many stories featuring Sherlock Holmes not written by Arthur Conan Doyle, or much of the Cthulhu Mythos.
- Personification, the use of comparative metaphors and similes to give human-like characteristics
to non-human objects.
- Plot twist is a change ("twist") in the direction or expected outcome of the plot of
a film or novel.
- Poetic justice is a literary device in which virtue is ultimately rewarded or vice punished,
often in modern literature by an ironic twist of fate intimately related to the character's own conduct.
- Predestination paradox, a paradox of time travel when a time traveller is caught in a loop of events
that "predestines" him or her to travel back in time.
- Self-fulfilling prophecy, a prediction that, in being made, actually causes itself to become true.
Early examples include the legend of Oedipus, and the story of Krishna in the Mahabharata.
- Sensory detail, sight, sound, taste, touch, smell.
- Side story, a form of narrative that occurs alongside established stories set within
a fictional universe. Examples include Mahabharata, Ramayana, Gundam, Doctor Who and The Matrix.
- Stream of consciousness, an attempt to portray all the thoughts and feelings of a character, as in
parts of James Joyce, William Faulkner, and Virginia Woolf.
- Tone, or the overall attitude that an author appears to hold toward the work—a
novel such as Candide makes fun of the sufferings of its characters, while The Sorrows of Young Werther takes its protagonist's suffering very seriously.
- Unreliable narrator, a technique in which the narrator of the story is not sincere or introduces
a bias in the way he tells it and possibly misleads the reader, hiding or minimizing some events, characters or motivations.
- Word play, in which the nature of the words used themselves become part of the work.
- Writer's voice, a literary technique combining various structural aspects of an author's
writing style.
Authors also manipulate the language of their works to create a desired
response from the reader. This is the realm of the rhetorical devices.
Note: In the context of a play literary devices are referred to as Dramatic
Devices. They are used to add interest and tension.
[edit] Figures of Speech
A figure of speech is a word or phrase that departs from straightforward, literal language.
Figures of speech are often used and crafted for emphasis, freshness of expression, or clarity. However, clarity may also
suffer from their use. Many poems use figures of speech.
- Alliteration is a series of words that begin with the same sound.
- Metaphor, in which a tale stands for something larger, as in Anatole France's Penguin Island, in which the penguin society described in the book stands for human society.
- Similes are an explicit comparison between two things. It uses like or as.
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