Download Other Literary Devices

Frank/Coleman
English IH 2006-2007
Literary Terminology
Alliteration: is the repetition of initial consonant sounds
Allusion: a reference to a person, a place, an event or a literary work which a writer expects
the reader to recognize and respond to. An allusion may be drawn from history, geography,
literature, or religion
Anaphora: a special type of repetition with a repeated element at the beginning
Archetype: the original pattern or model from which all things of the same kind are copied or
on which they are based; a model or first form; prototype.
Aside: is a short speech delivered by an actor in a play expressing the character’s thoughts.
Typically this is directed to the audience and is presumed to be inaudible to the other actors
Assonance: is the repetition of vowel sounds followed closely by different consonants in two
or more stressed syllables
Bildungsroman: a piece of literature that deals with the movement from childhood to
adulthood
Characterization: is the act of creating and developing a character
Generally a writer develops a character in one or more of the following ways:
1. by showing the character in action
2. by revealing the character’s thoughts, and by letting the character
speak
3. by giving a physical description of the character
4. by telling what others think of the character
5. by analyzing the character or by giving a direct evaluation of the
character
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Protagonist: is the most important character in the story
Antagonist: is a major character who opposes the protagonist
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Round character: is fully developed and shows many different traits which
include virtues as well as faults.
Flat character: is not fully developed. May only see a few traits.
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Dynamic character: develops and grows during the course of the story. Will
show a change in behavior or belief during the course of the story.
Static character: do not develop and grow during the course of the story. Will
not change during the course of the story.
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Foil: is a character who is contrasted with another character
Conflict: struggle between opposing forces:
 internal conflict: when the main character is in conflict with himself
ex. man vs. self
 external conflict: when the main character struggles against an outside force
ex. man vs. nature, man vs. man, man vs. supernatural
*There may be more than one conflict in a story.
Comedy: is a literary work, especially a play, that has a happy ending. They often show
ordinary characters in conflict with society
Connotation: all the emotions and associations that a word or phrase may arouse
Denotation: the literal or “dictionary” meaning of a word
Deus Ex Machina: any sudden last minute discover, rescue or change of heart that helps
resolve a situation and bring about a happy ending
Diction: a writer’s choice of words, particularly for clarity, effectiveness, and precision. A
writer’s diction can be formal or informal, abstract or concrete
Drama: is a story written to be acted out in front of an audience
Acts: the large sections of a play
Scenes: the smaller sections of a play found within an act
Stage directions: usually in italics and give comments on how and where the
action happens
Ellipsis: the omission of a word or several words necessary for a complete construction that is
still understandable
Epic: a long narrative poem describing the deeds of a hero and reflecting the values of a
culture from which it originated
Epithet: an adjective or descriptive phrase that is regularly used to characterize a person, place
or thing
Flashback: when the events in a story momentarily stop, so a sequence of past events can be
related.
Foreshadowing: when the author gives the readers hints about events to come. It is used to
create interest and build suspense.
Free Verse: is poetry not written in a regular rhythmical pattern or meter
Hyperbole: a figure of speech using exaggeration, or overstatement for special effect.
Imagery: words or phrases that create pictures, or images, in the reader’s mind. Images are
primarily visual.
Inversion: Reversal of the normal word order of a sentence
Irony: involves differences between appearances and reality, expectation and result or
meaning and intention.
 Verbal irony: words are used to suggest the opposite of what is meant
 Dramatic irony: contradiction between the character thinks and what the
audience or reader knows to be true
 Situational irony: an event occurs that directly contradicts the expectations of
the characters, the reader or the audience
Metaphor: saying one thing in terms of something else
Myth: A story, often about immortals and sometimes connected with religious rituals, that
attempts to give meaning to the mysteries of the world
Mythology: a body of related myths that is accepted by a people. A mythology tells a people
what it is most concerned about: where it came from, who its gods are, what its most sacred
rituals are and what its destiny is
Onomatopoeia: the use of words whose sound in some degree imitates or suggest is meaning.
Oxymoron: a self-contradictory combination of words
Parallel structure: the coordination of sentence syntax, word order and ideas. Used for effect
and emphasis.
Personification: human-like qualities are given to non human things
Plot: the sequence of events or actions in a short story, novel, narrative poem, or play. Plots
may be simple or complicated, loosely constructed or close-knit. But ever plot is made up of a
series of incidents that are related to one another.
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Exposition: it is the part of the literary work or drama that introduces the
characters, the setting and the basic situation
Rising Action: all of the events that lead up to the climax
Climax: the point of greatest emotional intensity, interest or suspense in a
narrative. The climax usually marks a story’s turning point.
Falling Action: all of the events after the climax
Dénouement: that part of a work in which conflicts are resolved or unraveled
and mysteries and secrets connected with the plot are explained.
Point of View: how the story is told
 First person: one person, a main character, minor character or a witness
describes what he sees, hears, etc.
 Omniscient: when a person outside of the story relates the events, can tell what
every character thinks and feels
 Third person limited: this narrator only sees the world through one character’s
eyes, thus does not know what the other characters are thinking and feeling
Pun: play on the multiple meanings of a word or on two words that should alike but have
different meanings
Repetition: word, sound, phrase, idea; used for emphasis. An excellent technique in
persuasive speeches. Always pay attention to repetition in writing. The author is trying to tell
you something
Rhyme: is the repetition of sounds at the ends of words
End rhyme occurs when the rhyming words come at the ends of lines
Internal rhyme occurs when the rhyming words appear in the same line
Sentence structure: analyzing sentence structure asks that you look at sentence length;
simple, compound, complex, unusual phrases, repetition, altered word order
Simile: a comparison of two things using “like” or “as”
Soliloquy: is a long speech expressing the thoughts of a character alone on stage
Symbol: when something stands for something else or when something takes on another
abstract meaning.
Theme: is the central message or insight into life revealed through a literary work. It is not a
plot summary. It is a generalization about human beings or about life that the literary work
communicates. Can be directly stated or implied. If implied, the readers think about what the
work seems to say about the nature of people or about life.
Tone: the attitude a writer takes toward his or her subject, characters and readers. Through
tone an author can amuse, anger or shock the reader. Often the reader must figure out a
writer’s tone in order to understand a literary work.
Syntax: the physical arrangement of the words in the sentence