Literary Terms 4 - Examples Flashcards
FOIL
Eg. In Harry Potter, the character of Albus Dumbledore, who portrays ‘good’, is constantly shown to believe in the power of true love and is portrayed as a strong, benevolent. While the antagonist Lord Voldemort, who depicts evil and bad.
FORESHADOWING
Eg. “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 him.
HUBRIS
Eg. 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.
HYPERBATON
Eg. “Alone he walked on the cold, lonely roads.” This sentence is a variation of the more controversial, “He walked alone on the cold, lonely roads.”
HYPERBOLE
Eg. “I am so tired I cannot walk another inch” or “I’m so sleepy I might fall asleep standing here.”
IMAGERY
Eg. The gushing brook stole its way down the lush green mountains, dotted with tiny flowers in a riot of colours and trees coming alive with gaily chirping birds.
INTERNAL RHYME
Eg. The line from the famed poem Ancient Mariner, ”We were the first that ever burst.”
INVERSION
Eg. In Paradise Lost: “Of Man’s First Disobedience, and the Fruit
Of that Forbidden Tree, whose mortal taste…”
IRONY
Eg. Writing a sentence such as, “Oh! What fine luck I have!” The sentence on the surface conveys that the speaker is happy with their luck but actually what they mean is that they are extremely unhappy and dissatisfied with their (bad) luck.
JUXTAPOSITION
Eg. In Paradise Lost, Milton has used juxtaposition to draw a parallel between the two protagonists, Satan and God, who he discusses by placing their traits in comparison with one another to highlight their differences.
KENNINGS
Eg. Battle-Sweat = Blood, Sky-Candle = Sun
LITOTES
Not the brightest bulb, not a beauty
