Unit 1.3 Literary Language Flashcards
Forms of meaning in literary language
connotation and denotation
Refers to the dictionary definition of a term
denotation
Refers to the meaning that extend beyond the dictionary definition as a result of various factors that may influence and color the meaning of a term at any given time.
it can have positive and negative meanings to a term
connotation
Language of sound in literary language. A passage of prose, a poem, or lines in a play or song can contain some or all of these techniques, and these sound qualities add to and enhance meanings.
onomatopoeia
assonance
alliteration
Words that sound like what they mean. In poems it is used as a literary device to create some kind of rhetorical effect–sounds used to convey meanings and images.
ex: sizzle, ooze, murmur
onomatopoeia
pronounced:
ah-nah-mah-tah-pea-ah
The repetition of consonant sounds in a literary work.
ex: “Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers” where the “p” sounds repeat to create a rhythmic effect and to emphasize the repetitious act of picking.
alliteration
The repetition of vowel sounds, especially in stressed syllables, regardless of he surrounding consonants. They may be at the beginning of words, as in “over the old open plain, “ or internal, as in “painted bails of hay.” When combined with repeating consonants an internal rhyme is created.
ex: The Rain in Spain falls mainly in the plain.” The repetition of the “long a” creates a crisp, clean tone that emphasizes a sense of decorum, a quality that two character in the play are trying to instill in the main character.
assonance
note:
“The Rain in Spain” written by Alan Jay Lerner appears in the play My Fair Lady
Language of Speech
dialogue
diction
dialect
Lines that directly represent spoken conversation. In drama, these would be characters’ lines spoken back and forth; in fiction, the dialogue would consist of word-for-word exchanges, usually designated by quotation marks and speech tags, between characters.
dialogue
The word choice an author uses to convey certain characteristics related to accents, intonations, inflections, and other speech-related qualities.
diction
A style of speech associated with a certain region, group, and/or culture.
dialect
Language of Comparison
figurative language
Based on using language to describe “figuratively” rather than directly. The root, “figure” as a picture that is used to show something through image, rather than word, form.
ex: “The weather is hot.” Is expressed directly.
“Going outside today feels like crawling into a brick-fire oven.” Is expressed figuratively.
figurative language
Two most common figurative language terms
metaphor
simile
A direct comparison.
ex: “The outdoors is a brick-fire oven today.”
metaphor
A comparison using “like” or “as.”
ex: “Going outside today feels like crawling into a brick-fire oven.”
simile
Other figurative language terms
apostrophe conceit hyperbole (or overstatement) imagery metonymy synecdoche paradox personification symbolism transferred epithet understatement
A direct address to a person or abstraction that is not present.
ex: John Donee’s sonnet, “Death be not proud”:
“Death be not proud, through some have called thee/ Mighty and dreadful.”
Here, Donne addresses the abstract idea of death directly as though it were a person standing there listening to him.
apostrophe
A particularly elaborate and/or unexpected comparison. A detailed comparison of a beloved teacher to a “sun shining bright in the skies of life” would be a conceit.
conceit
The use of exaggeration
ex: “This hot day is going to last forever.”
hyperbole (or overstatement)
the way in which an author utilizes the senses (not just sight, but any of the senses) to create a realistic moment for the reader. Think of imagery, therefore, as being descriptive images that engage our senses - those of sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch. The author will often use many techniques, including figurative language, to convey the essence of a work through imagery.
imagery
A reference to some thing to represent an entire concept.
ex: “The suits entered the boardroom and prepared for the meeting.”
The term “suits” does not refer, literally, to “suits” but suggests a group of generic professionals.
metonymy
A reference to one small part of something to represent the whole of the something.
ex: “please give me a hand”
The common expression, as by “hand,” we are referring to the help of a whole person.
synecdoche
A statement that seems like a contradiction but holds truth.
ex: “I am lying.”
If someone were to say this statement, would the person be telling the truth, or lying?
paradox
A technique of ascribing human characteristics to anon-human entity.
ex: “The sun smiled down.”
“Smiling” is human trait; ascribing it to the “sun” gives teh sun human qualities to emphasize a happy, warm feeling.
personification
Using objects or ideas to convey a meaning beyond the literal meaning.
ex: The American flag. For Americans, the fle symbolizes freedom and democracy. In literature, it can represent many things simultaneously.
ex: the flea in John Donne’s poem, “The Flea,” represents sexual intercourse, the marriage bed, a woman’s womb, and the holy trinity.
symbolism
Also called hypallage, a transferred epithet is when an adjective or adverb (the epithet) that describes one term or person is transferred to another.
ex: “I had a lazy day playing video games”
The day was not lazy; rather, the individual who sat around playing video games was. Transferring the descriptor “lazy” from the person to the day changes the connotation of the word and, hence, the sentence. We see a “lazy day” as positive and relaxing, but “lazy person” as nonproductive.
transferred epithet (hypallage)
In contrast to “hyperbole,” an ironic expression that reveals less than what is expected.
ex: a blizzard drops 10 feet of snow and you say, “We got a littlw snow last night.”
understatement
