Metaphoric Devices/Imagery

Question 1

Personification

Answer 1

• in which a thing, idea, or animal is given human attributes
• helps the reader understand the point the author is trying to get across

Question 2

Synecdoche

Answer 2

• in which the part of something is used to represent the whole or it may use a whole to represent a part
• example: a fleet of ships may be represented as “forty sails”
• often used to give common ideas and objects deeper meanings, which then contributes to the work as a whole

Question 3

Metonymy

Answer 3

• the substitution of an associated word for the word itself
• example: “the throne” is a metonymic symbol for “the king”
• can be used with ironic effect

Question 4

Allusion

Answer 4

• a brief and indirect reference to a person, place, thing or idea of historical, cultural, literary or political significance
• example: Jane Eyre calling her cousin as wicked as the roman empires
• used so the reader can comprehend the complex ideas of the text by comparing the author’s tone to the reference the author makes

Question 5

Archetype

Answer 5

• a typical character, an action or a situation that seems to represent such universal patterns of human nature
• may be a character, a theme, a symbol or even a setting
• gives a literary work universal significance in that people from all over the world can identify with it

Question 6

Abstract Imagery

Answer 6

• Language that describes qualities that cannot be perceived with the five senses
• example: love, patriotism, beauty, time

Question 7

Concrete Imagery

Answer 7

• Language that describes qualities that can be perceived with the five senses
• example: lips, gun, silky gown, shrill cry

Question 8

Motif

Answer 8

• a recurrent image, idea or a symbol that develops or explains a theme while a theme is a central idea or message
• example: the motif of superstition in Huckleberry Finn, that ultimately foreshadows what’s to come in the story