Literary devices - M to P Flashcards
Malapropism
Misusing words by substituting words with similar sounding words with unconnected meanings, to create a sense of confusion, misunderstanding and amusement.
Metaphor
Refers to a meaning or identity ascribed to one subject by way of another.
Metonymy
Practice of not using the formal word for an object and instead referring to it by using another word that is linked to the formal name or word.
EG:
Washington D.C. used to refer to the government of the USA.
Mood
A way to shape a specific emotional perspective towards the subject of the literary work.
Motif
Any element, subject, idea or concept that is constantly present through the entire body of literature.
Negative Capability
Promoted by John Keats. Some matters might have to be left unsolved and uncertain.
Nemesis
A situation of poetic justice wherein the positive characters are rewarded and the negative characters are penalized.
Onomatopoeia
Words whose sound is very close to the sound that they are meant to depict.
Oxymoron
Allows the author to use contradictory, contrasting concepts placed together in a manner that actually end up making sense in a strange, complex manner.
Paradox
Concepts or ideas that are contradictory to one another.
Pathetic Fallacy
Author ascribes the human feelings of one or more of his or her characters to nonhuman objects or nature or phenomena.
Periphrasis
Use of excessive language and surplus words to convey a meaning that could be conveyed in fewer words and in a more direct manner.
Personification
Attaching human traits and characteristics with inanimate objects, phenomena and animals.
Plot
Sequence of events and happenings that make up a story.
Point of View
The manner in which a story is narrated or depicted and who it is that tells the story.
