P List Literary Devices Flashcards
a tale told explicitly to illustrate a moral lesson or conclusion
parable
a statement or situation containing apparently contradictory or incompatible elements
paradox
the repeated use of similar grammatical structures for the purpose of emphasis; compare w/ anaphora, a type of parallel structure concerned only with the repetitions of an initial word or words
parallel structure
a restatement of the content of a poem designed to make its prose meaning as clear as possible
paraphrase
a humorous, mocking imitation of a literary work, sometimes sarcastic, but often playful and even respectful in its playful imitation
parody
a quality of a play’s action that stimulates the audience to feel pity for a character
pathos
a metrical line containing five feet
pentameter
the endowment of inanimate objects or abstract concepts with animate or living qualities
personification
use of several conjunctions in close succession, esp. were some would be omitted
polysyndeton
a word whose sound, by an obscure process, to some degree suggests its meaning; as differentiated from onomatopoeia, the meanings of these do not refer explicitly to sounds
phonetic intensive
details the adventures of a picaro (loveable rascal or rogue); often satirical, this novel depicts in realistic and often humorous detail the adventures of a roguish hero of low social class who lives by hos or her wits in a corrupt society
picaresque novel
the unified structure of incidents in a literary work
plot
a situation in which an author gives the plot a twist or turn unjustified by preceding action or by the characters involved
plot manipulation
similar to syntax in prose, also includes the arrangement of words into lines–were they break or do not break, the use of enjambment or caesura, and line length/patterns
poetic syntax
writing that uses immoderately heightened or distended language to sway the reader’s feelings
poeticizing
the angle of vision from which a story is narrated; can be first person (narrator is a character or an observer), objective (narrator knows no more than the reader), omniscient (narrator knows everything about the characters), and limited omniscient (narrator knows some things about the characters but not everything)
point of view
refers to a loose grouping of writers in the post-WWII era who carry on the agenda of their predecessors, inasmuch as they reject traditional literary conventions, embrace experimentation, and see contemporary life as bleak and fragmented; writers tend to eschew attempts to treat art as a corrective to modern malaises, and their writing celebrates or plays with the fragmentation of life instead of seeking to fix it; writers attack the distinction between “high” and “low” art maintained by their predecessors, and their writing engages with popular art forms like cartoons and television
Postmodernism
work that aims to influence an audience about a debatable position or affiliation, not through rational or supported appeals but through one or more of the following: emotional manipulation, the selective use (and omission) of facts, spin, or any number of fallacious techniques
propaganda
nonmetrical language; opposite of verse
prose
a blending of prose and poetry, usually resembling prose in its use of sentences without line breaks, and poetry in its use of quintessentially poetic devices such as figurative language
prose poem
the main character of a literary work, posed with a problem to solve or a quest to complete
protagonist
a play on words that derives its humor from the replacement of one word with another that has a similar pronunciation or spelling but a different meaning
pun
a metrical foot with two unstressed syllables (ex.: of the)
pyrrhic
