Literary Devices C-D

Question 1

Define CACOPHONY

Answer 1

• is a big old racket, made by combining lots of harsh, discordant noises
• opposite of EUPHONY

Question 2

Define CADENCE

Answer 2

• refers to the rhythmic or musical elements of a poem
• i.e. the thing that makes poetry sound like poetry
• whereas meter refers to the regular elements of rhythm- the beats, accents, and feet- cadence refers to the momentary changes in rhythm (like when a line SPEEDS up or SLOWS down)
• poets often repeat or contrast certain cadences to create a more interesting sound

Question 3

Define CAESURA

Answer 3

• pause that occurs in the middle of a line of verse in poetry
• pauses created by punctuation
• opposite: enjambment

Question 4

Define CATHARSIS

Answer 4

• theorised by ARISTOTLE in his ‘Poetics’, catharsis is the desired emotional effect of tragedy
• the idea is that the play will produce a bad feeling (pity & fear) in the spectator, thereby purging those emotions

Question 5

Define CATASTROPHE

Answer 5

• is a pivotal point in the plot a story, especially classical tragedies
• it comes AFTER the climax and BEFORE the denouement
• it’s when the hero undergoes his last chunk of suffering
• in WS: the hero might even die
• Ex: After Cordelia dies, KL dies

Question 6

Define CHIASMUS

Answer 6

• it’s a specific type of parallelism
• consists of 2 parallel phrases in which corresponding words/phrases are placed in the OPPOSITE order
• EX: “Beauty is truth, truth beauty”

Question 7

Define CONCEIT

Answer 7

• basically an extended metaphor
• it MUST run through the entire poem and be the poem’s central device
• EX: John Donne’s “The Flea”- uses the flea as a conceit for sex/ intimacy

Question 8

Define CONSONANCE

Answer 8

• a kind of alliteration, it happens when consonant sounds are REPEATED
• while the consonants stay the same, the vowels can change

Question 9

Define DENOTATION

Answer 9

• is the literal, straightforward meaning of a word
• Ex: the word cat denotes an animal with four legs and a fluffy coat.

Question 10

Define DICTION

Answer 10

• it’s word choice: which words is the author using, and what’s their effect?
• diction creates TONE- if you’re wondering what the tone of a novel is, just ask yourself: what words are being used?

Question 11

Define DACTYL

Answer 11

• it’s a foot of poetry made up of 3 syllables: 1 stressed followed by 2 unstressed
• often have a singsong hypnotic effect on readers and sound like: DUM- da- da

Question 12

Define DENOUEMENT

Answer 12

• french for “untie”
• refers to the part of the story when the plot resolves itself in a (usually) exciting and clever way
• think of it as the moment when we find out what happens to the characters after everything has CHANGED during the climax

Question 13

Define DIDACTIC

Answer 13

• a literary piece that aims to teach us something

Question 14

Define DISSONANCE

Answer 14

• means harsh, jarring sounds, OR a LACK of harmony
• this one’s a SYNONYM of cacophony and an ANTONYM of euphony