Literary Techniques Flashcards
Story with a double meaning: one primary (on the surface) and one secondary.
An allegory is a symbolism device where the meaning of a greater, often abstract, concept is conveyed with the aid of a more corporeal object or idea being used as an example. Usually a rhetorical device, an allegory suggests a meaning via metaphoric examples.
Example:
Faith is like a stony uphill climb: a single stumble might send you sprawling but belief and steadfastness will see you to the very top.
Allegory
Repetition of consonants at the start of words or in a sentence or phrase.
Example:
The Wicked Witch of the West went her own way. (The ‘W’ sound is highlighted and repeated throughout the sentence.)
Alliteration
An allusion is a brief, usually indirect reference to a person, place, or event—real or fictional.
Example: Referring to someone as ‘a scrooge’ when they are stingy, alludes to Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol
Allusion
refers to a literary practice wherein the writer embellishes the sentence by adding more information to it in order to increase its worth and clarity. When a plain sentence is too abrupt and fails to convey the full implications desired, amplification comes into play when the writer adds more to the structure to give it more meaning.
Example:
Original sentence - The thesis paper was difficult.
After amplification - The thesis paper was difficult: it required extensive research, data collection, sample surveys, interviews and a lot of fieldwork
Amplification
used when the writer employs two sentences of contrasting meanings in close proximity to one another. Whether they are words or phrases of the same sentence, an antithesis is used to create a stark contrast using two divergent elements that come together to create one uniform whole. An antithesis plays on the complementary property of opposites to create one vivid picture. The purpose of using an antithesis in literature is to create a balance between opposite qualities and lend a greater insight into the subject.
Example:
When Neil Armstrong walked on the moon it might have been one small step for a man but it was one giant leap for mankind.
Antithesis
a concise statement that is made in a matter of fact tone to state a principle or an opinion that is generally understood to be a universal truth. Aphorisms are often adages, wise sayings and maxims aimed at imparting sense and wisdom. It is to be noted that aphorisms are usually witty and curt and often have an underlying tone of authority to them.
Example:
Upon seeing the shoddy work done by the employee the boss told him to “either shape up or ship out”
Aphorism
Listing of words or phrases without use of a conjunction.
Example: “In all my dreams, before my helpless sight/ He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning.” from Wilfred Owen’s Dulce et Decorum Est
Asyndeton or parataxis
Is a grammatical pause or break in a line of poetry.
Example:
“Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots/ But limped on, blood-shod…
Caesura
a figure of speech containing two phrases that are parallel but inverted to each other.
Example:
You can take the patriot out of the country but you cannot take the country out of the patriot.
Chiasmus
An over-used, common expression.
Example:
As cold as ice.
Cliché
It is a literary device used for expressing a resistance the protagonist of the story finds in achieving his aims or dreams. The conflict is a discord that can have external aggressors or can even arise from within the self. It can occur when the subject is battling his inner discord, at odds with his surroundings or it may be pitted against others in the story.
Example:
John tried hard to convince himself that his Hollywood dreams were worth the struggle but his parents, and his inner voice of reason, failed to agree.
Conflict
The meaning that a word suggests or implies. A connotation includes the emotions or associations that surround a word.
Example:
And once again, the autumn leaves were falling.
This phrase uses ‘autumn’ to signify something coming to an end.
Connotation
Repetition of consonants throughout a sentence or phrase.
Example: He struck a streak of bad luck.
Consonance
Paradox, antithesis, oxymoron, juxtaposition, contrast in description for effect.
Contrast
is two lines of verse or two lines in a poem, especially when they are the same length and they rhyme.
Couplet
is defined as the literal dictionary definition of a word, as opposed to the feelings or emotions the word brings up.
Denotation
the distinctive tone or tenor of an author’s writings. not just a writer’s choice of words it can include the mood, attitude, dialect and style of writing. is usually judged with reference to the prevailing standards of proper writing and speech and is seen as the mark of quality of the writing. It is also understood as the selection of certain words or phrases that become peculiar to a writer.
Example:
Certain writers in the modern day and age use archaic terms such as ‘thy’, ‘thee’ and ‘wherefore’ to imbue a Shakespearean mood to their work.
Diction
Any text that instructs the reader or is obviously delivering a moral message.
Didactic
A conjunction (e.g. ‘but’ or ‘yet’) that dramatically interrupts rhythm of sentence.
Disjunction
is a figure of speech or a particular way of wording that is devised to be understood in either of two ways, having a double meaning.
A double entendre
A poem in which a speaker’s character is revealed in a monologue usually addressed to a second person
Dramatic Monologue
A dramatic pause (…) creates tension or suggests words can’t be spoken.
Ellipsis
Words that stir the readers’ emotions.
Emotive Language
A poetic technique, when a sentence or phrase runs over more than one line (or stanza). This assists the flow of a poem.
Enjambment
A quotation set at the beginning of a literary work or one of its divisions to suggest its theme.
Epigraph
Repetition of a word or expression at the end of successive phrases, clauses, sentences, or verses.
Epistrophe
a literary device that is used as a descriptive device. It is usually used to add to a person or place’s regular name and attribute some special quality to the same. remarkable in that they become a part of common parlance over time. These descriptive words and phrases can be used to enhance the persona of real and fictitious places, objects, persons and divinities.
Example:
“Alexander the Great” is the epithet commonly used to refer to Alexander III of Macedon. The young king has come to be recognized by this epithet in all of history and popular culture owing to his spectacular achievements in creating one of the largest ever historical empires.
Epithet
refers to the use of phrases and words that are noted for possessing an extensive degree of notable loveliness or melody in the sound they create. is predominant in literary prose and poetry, where poetic devices such as alliterations, rhymes and assonance are used to create pleasant sounds. the opposite of cacophony, which refers to the creation of unpleasant and harsh sounds by using certain words and phrases together. This literary device is based on the use and manipulation of phonetics in literature.
Example:
It has been said that the phrase “cellar door” is reportedly the most pleasant sounding phrase in the English language. The phrase is said to depict the highest degree of euphony, and is said to be especially notable when spoken in the British accent.
Euphony
Mild expression used to replace a harsh one.
Euphemism
Exclamatory sentence ending in “!” to convey high emotion.
Exclamation
another character in a story who contrasts with the main character, usually to highlight one of their attributes.
Example:
In the popular book series, Harry Potter, the character of Hogwarts principal Albus Dumbledore, who portrays ‘good’, is constantly shown to believe in the power of true love (of all forms and types) and is portrayed as a strong, benevolent and positive character while the antagonist Lord Voldemort, who depicts the evil and ‘bad’ in the series is constantly shown to mock and disbelieve the sentiment of love and think of it as a foolish indulgence, a trait that is finally his undoing.
Foil
refers to the use of indicative word or phrases and hints that set the stage for a story to unfold and give the reader a hint of something that is going to happen without revealing the story or spoiling the suspense. used to suggest an upcoming outcome to the story.
Example:
“He had no idea of the disastrous chain of events to follow”. In this sentence, while the protagonist is clueless of further developments, the reader learns that something disastrous and problematic is about to happen to/for him.
Foreshadowing
Purpose and features of a text influence its construction and will suggest its structure
Form
Metaphor, metonymy, hyperbole, simile, personification, assonance, alliteration, consonance, onomatopoeia, etc. These devices have a powerful impact as they work on our senses to strengthen the subject matter of the text.
Figurative language & sound devices
Incomplete sentences used to increase tension or urgency, or reflect the way people speak to each other.
Fractures/truncated sentances
What is not said; whose voice isn’t heard and whose voice dominates?
Gaps and Silences
Narrative voice is outside the story or narrative- third person/ omniscient
Heterodiegetic
in this day and age, is another way of saying overly arrogant. You can tell the difference of hubris and just regular arrogance or pride by the fact that the character has seemed to allow reality slip away from them. The character portraying hubris, also commonly referred to as hybris, may have just gained a huge amount of power and the false belief that they are “untouchable”. In writing and literature hubris is generally considered a “tragic flaw” and it is saved for the protagonist. The reason for this is because at the end of the story you should be able to see that it is this flaw that brings the “bad guy” down.
Example:
A classic example of hubris is featured in Shakespeare’s play Macbeth. Macbeth, the protagonist, overfilled with ambition and arrogance, allows his hubris to think you would be able to kill the valiant Duncan without penalty so he can claim the throne of Scotland for himself. Obviously murder is highly frowned upon, so this eventually leads to Macbeth’s demise as well.
Hubris
Incongruity, parody, satire, exaggeration, irony, puns etc. used to lighten the overall tone.
Humour
A single person, object or image that represents complex ideas and feelings.
Icons
Vivid pictures created by words. Reader visualises character/setting clearly.
Imagery
Forceful use of the verb at the start of sentence or phrase. A command.
Imperative Voice
Language that avoids the use of certain expressions or words that might be considered to exclude particular groups of people
Inclusive Language
an idea or conclusion that’s drawn from evidence and reasoning. An inference is an educated guess. We learn about some things by experiencing them
Inference/inferentially
A text makes a reference to other texts, may be explicit, implied or inferred.
Intertextuality
Strong criticism, insults and abusive or insulting language.
Invective
refers to the practice of changing the conventional placement of words. It is a literary practice typical of the older classical poetry genre. In present day literature it is usually used for the purpose of laying emphasis this literary device is more prevalent in poetry than prose because it helps to arrange the poem in a manner that catches the attention of the reader not only with its content but also with its physical appearance; a result of the peculiar structuring.
Inversion
Gap between what is said and what is meant.
Irony
Layering images/scenes to have a dramatic impact.
Juxtaposition
Slang, colloquial, informal or formal.
Level of usage of language
Sequential – in chronological order.
Linear
Comparison of 2 objects where one becomes another – adds further layers of meaning about object being compared.
Metaphor
refers to the practice of not using the formal word for an object or subject and instead referring to it by using another word that is intricately linked to the formal name or word. It is the practice of substituting the main word with a word that is closely linked to it.
Example:
When we use the name “Washington D.C” we are talking about the U.S’ political hot seat by referring to the political capital of the United States because all the significant political institutions such as the White House, Supreme Court, the U.S. Capitol and many more are located her. The phrase “Washington D.C.” is metonymy for the government of the U.S. in this case.
Metonymy
The force the words are delivered at. High modality = forceful. Low modality = gentle.
Modality
A word or phrase that affects the meaning of another, usually describing it or restricting its meaning (adjective and adverb)
Modifier
refers to a definitive stance the author adopts in shaping a specific emotional perspective towards the subject of the literary work.
Mood
Non-sequential narrative, events do not occur in chronological order
Non-Linear
traditionally defined as the part of speech (or word class) that names or identifies a person, place, thing, quality, or activity.
noun
A word that echoes the sound it represents. Reader hears what is happening.
Onomatopoeia
a standard, perspective, or set of ideas. A paradigm is a way of looking at something. a new way of looking or thinking about something.
Paradigm
refers to the use of concepts or ideas that are contradictory to one another, yet, when placed together hold significant value on several levels. The uniqueness of paradoxes lies in the fact that a deeper level of meaning and significance is not revealed at first glance, but when it does crystallize, it provides astonishing insight.
Example:
High walls make not a palace; full coffers make not a king.
Paradox
Conscious imitation for a satiric purpose.
Parody
a literary term for the attributing of human emotion and conduct to all aspects within nature. It is a kind of personification that is found in poetic writing when, for example, clouds seem sullen, when leaves dance, when dogs laugh, or when rocks seem indifferent.
Pathetic Fallacy
represents an appeal to the emotions of the audience. a communication technique used most often in rhetoric
Pathos
refers to the use of excessive language and surplus words to convey a meaning that could otherwise be conveyed with fewer words and in more direct a manner. The use of this literary device can be to embellish a sentence, to create a grander effect, to beat around the bush and to draw attention away from the crux of the message being conveyed.
Example:
Instead of simply saying “I am displeased with your behaviour”, one can say, “the manner in which you have conducted yourself in my presence of late has caused me to feel uncomfortable and has resulted in my feeling disgruntled and disappointed with you”.
Periphrasis
First, second or third person. First person refers to the speaker himself or a group that includes the speaker (i.e., I, me, we and us). Second person refers to the speaker’s audience (i.e., you). Third person refers to everybody else (e.g., he, him, she, her, it, they, them), including all other nouns (e.g. James, Swedish, fish, mice).
Person/ voice/ personal pronouns
Human characteristic given to a non-human object. Inanimate objects take on a life.
Personification
A particular way of looking at individuals, issues, events, texts, facts etc.
Perspective
Harsh sounds in a sentence or phrase. P B T D K
Plosive consonants
the use of several conjunctions in close succession, especially where some could otherwise be omitted, as in “he ran and jumped and laughed for joy.”
Polysyndeton
Consisting of several, especially four or more, syllables, in a word
Polysyllabic
a word that indicates the relationship between a noun or pronoun and other words in a sentence.
Preposition
phrase, line, or group of lines repeated at intervals throughout a poem, generally at the end of the stanza
Refrain
Of words or syntax (order of words) for emphasis or persuasion.
Repetition
How a composer conveys meaning through textual features.
Representation
a figure of speech in the form of a question that is asked in order to make a point rather than to elicit an answer.
Rhetorical Question
two lines of poetry that rhyme and have the same meter.
Rhyming Couplet
in poetry, the patterned recurrence, within a certain range of regularity, of specific language features, usually features of sound.
Phythm
Composition which ridicules in a scornful & humorous way.
Satire
