The Great Compendium of Literary Devices 2014 m

The Great Compendium of Literary Devices 2014 m carolan

ALLITERATION • repetition of similar initial sounds of words in close juxtaposition. • (ex. Note the "s" sounds: "That the fixed sentinels almost receive/ The secret whispers of each other's watch. " HENRY V, III, vii. ) • Peter piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.

ANTITHESIS • a form of oxymoron (direct juxtaposition of words of opposite meaning) using 2 halves of the line or speech. • "To be, or not to be. . . " HAMLET; • "I have hope to live, and am prepar'd to die. " MEASURE FOR MEASURE, III, i, 4; • "Suit the action to the word, the word to the action. " HAMLET, III, ii, 16.

anaphora • In writing or speech, the deliberate repetition of the first part of the sentence • “O LORD, rebuke me not in thine anger, neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure. Have mercy upon me, O LORD; for I am weak: O LORD, heal me; for my bones are vexed. My soul is also sore vexed: but thou, O LORD, how long? ” The repetition of the phrase “O Lord, ” attempts to create a spiritual sentiment

Deus ex machina • The term deus ex machina refers to the circumstance where an implausible concept or a divine character is introduced into a storyline for the purpose of resolving its conflict and procuring an interesting outcome. • The term is Latin for “god out of the machine” and has its origins in ancient Greek theatre. – It denotes scenes in which a crane (machine) was used to lower actors or statues playing a god or gods (deus) onto the stage to set things right, usually near the end of the play

Slant rhyme • also called an imperfect rhyme, slant rhyme, near rhyme or oblique rhyme. • rhyme in which the stressed syllables of ending consonants match, however the preceding vowel sounds do not match. • For instance, in words such as “shape/keep” the consonance is very strong. – The final consonant sounds remain similar but the ending vowel sounds are different in half rhyme. – Similar to these two words, “moon” and “run” and in the words “hold” and “bald” the ending consonant sounds are similar, whereas vowel sounds are different. – It is generally used to give an inharmonious feeling in a rhyme scheme.

bathos • derived from a Greek word meaning “depth”. – when a writer or a poet falls into inconsequential and absurd metaphors, descriptions or ideas in an effort to be increasingly emotional or passionate. • the blunders committed inadvertently by unskilled writers or poets. – comic writers used it intentionally to create humorous effects. – The most commonly used Bathos involves a sequence of items that descend from worthiness to silliness • The Mary Tyler Moore Show had an episode that involved the death of the clown Chuckles, who was killed very brutally by a stampeding elephant. – Everyone on the station keeps making jokes about it that Mary does not approve of. – Later on, when she attends the funeral, she starts laughing hysterically while the rest of the people stare at her exasperated.

Anachronism • Greek word anachronous which means “against time”. • an error of chronology or timeline in a literary piece. – anything that is out of time and out of place • Act 2 Scene 1 of William Shakespeare’s play “Julius Caesar”: “Brutus: Peace! Count the clock. Cassius: The clock has stricken three. ” • The time this play depicts is a point in history dating back to 44 AD.

anticlimax • a disappointing situation or a sudden transition in discourse from an important idea to a ludicrous or trivial one. – expectations are raised, everything is built-up and then suddenly something boring or disappointing happens – Generally ludicrous or comic effect is produced • OTHELLO Well, hurry up and confess. Be quick about it. I’ll wait over here. I don’t want to kill you before you’ve readied your soul. No, I don’t want to send your soul to hell when I kill you…. DESDEMONA Send me away, my lord, but don’t kill me…. OTHELLO It’s too late…. • a sudden transformation can be seen, when Othello stabs Desdemona. It is creating a disappointing and thrilling effect in the end.

verisimilitude • likeness to the truth i. e. resemblance of a fictitious work to a real event even if it is a far-fetched one. – even a fantasy must be rooted in reality – events should be plausible to the extent that readers consider them credible enough to be able to relate them somehow to their experiences of real life “The white mares of the moon rush along the sky Beating their golden hoofs upon the glass Heavens. ” • Amy Lowell in her poem “Night Clouds” constructs an analogy between clouds and mares. • She compares the movement of the white clouds in the sky at night with the movement of white mares on the ground. • Such comparisons give her far-fetched ideas an air of reality.

BLANK VERSE • unrhymed iambic pentameter • IAMBIC PENTAMETER consists of five iambs, for a total of ten syllables: da-Dum-da-Dum-da-Dum. • But soft what light through yonder window breaks/It is the east and Juliet the sun

CAESURA • the main pause within a line of verse. • "Poor naked wretched, (breath) where soe'er you are. . . " LEAR, III, iv, 28. • Often a caesura is indicated by a dash (--) • “Eagerly I wished the morrow – vainly I had sought to borrow. ”

ELISION • Eliminating a syllable to preserve the dominant meter, as when – "Gallop apace, you fi-er-y footed steeds!" becomes – "Gallop apace, you fi-ry footed steeds. " • Macbeth is ripe for shaking, and the pow’rs above put on their instruments • Elision is sometimes marked by the printer, and sometimes not. When you see "Heav'n, " it may or may not be a proper elision.

malapropism • from French mal a propos (inappropriate) • use of an incorrect word in place of a similar sounding word that results in a nonsensical and humorous expression. • The word malapropism comes from “Mrs. Malaprop”, a character in Sheridan’s comedy “The Rivals”, who has a habit of replacing words with incorrect and absurd utterances producing a humorous effect. • Shakespeare: Constable Dogberry in Act III Scene 5 of “Much Ado About Nothing”: “Our watch, sir, have indeed comprehended two auspicious persons. ” • Notice the use of comprehended for apprehended and auspicious for suspicious.

METAPHORS • A Metaphor takes different things or ideas and combines in order to reveal new meanings.

Simile • A Simile links the comparison with the words "like" or "as. "

Pathetic Fallacy • Pathetic fallacy – The ascription of human traits or feeling to inanimate nature (“a cruel sea”) • personification – a treatment of inanimate objects or abstract ideas as though alive ("vaulting ambition". )

Synecdoche • a metaphor which uses a part of something to suggest a whole concept – "All hands on deck, “ • Coleridge, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner: • • “The western wave was all a-flame. The day was well was nigh done! Almost upon the western wave Rested the broad bright Sun” • The “western wave” is a synecdoche as it refers to the sea by the name of one of its parts i. e. wave

Metonomy • figure of speech that replaces the name of a thing with the name of something else with which it is closely associated • a metaphor based on an association of two things, as when the King is expressed as "The Crown" or businessmen are called “Suits” • The pen is mightier than the sword. – Pen refers to written words and sword to military force. • Shakespeare’s “Julies Caesar” Act I. “Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears. ” – Mark Anthony uses “ears” to say that he wants the people present there to listen to him attentively.

synesthesia • a technique adopted by writers to present ideas, characters or places in such a manner that they appeal to more than one senses like hearing, seeing, smell etc. at a given time. • synesthesia refers to a certain medical condition in which one of the five senses simultaneously stimulates another sense. – A person with such condition may not only see alphabets but also associate them with particular scents. • Dante’s The Divine Comedy – “Back to the region where the sun is silent. ” – Here, Dante binds the sense of sight (sun) with the sense of hearing(silent).

ONOMATOPOEIA • words whose sounds resemble thing they describe.

PROTAGONIST & ANTAGONIST • Protagonist – the main character in a literary work • Antagonist – the character working against the main character

Plot Diagram Climax Crisis Rising Action Exposition Complication Falling Action Denouement

Exposition • Part of the plot that introduces the characters, setting and often the conflict • Gives the reader background information needed to read the rest of the story

Complication • The onset of the conflict • When the audience finds out what the problem is

Rising Action • All of the events which lead up to the climax

Crisis • The decision taken to resolve the conflict • This decision causes the climax to happen • Often crisis occurs very close to the climax

Climax • The point of no return • The action of the events of the climax change the way the story ends • Brings about a story’s inevitable conclusion

Falling Action • All events that follow the climax

Denouement • Literally means “untying the knot” • All of the events which finish resolving the conflict

Conflict • External • Internal • Universal

External • Takes place outside of the character

Internal • Takes place within the character’s mind (ie. An important decision)

Universal Conflict • • Man v. man Man v. nature Man v. society Man v. self

Protagonist • The main character in a story

Antagonist • The character working against the main character

Round Character • A well-developed, multi-faceted character • Like a real person

Flat Character • One-dimensional

Dynamic • A character who changes

Static • A character who does not change

Stereotype • A character who conforms to a fixed or general pattern without individuating marks or qualities – The drunken Irishman – Dumb Blondes

Direct Characterization 1. Actual description by the author or narrator 2. Dialogue spoke by either the character or another character 3. The character’s thoughts and feelings 4. Thoughts and reactions by other characters

Indirect Characterization • Portraying a character’s actions

Foil • A character who provides contrast for another character

QED

conceit

Theme • The main idea or message of a story

Allusion • A reference to a well-known person, place, event or literary work

Drama Terms • Monologue – an extended speech by one person • Soliloquy – a speech by an actor alone onstage where he speaks his thoughts out loud • Aside – part of a character’s dialogue intended for the audience only and not for the play’s other characters

Denotation • The actual dictionary definition of a word

Connotation • The emotional feeling associated with a word

Description • A portrayal in words of something perceived by the senses

Dialect • The form of language spoken by people in a particular region or group

Dialogue • A conversation between two characters

Diction • A writer’s or speaker’s word choice

Figurative Language • Writing or speech not meant to be taken literally

Symbol • Something that stands for itself and has a deeper meaning – American Flag • Cloth on a stick • Represents freedom, independence, etc.

Tone & mood • Tone – The author’s attitude towards his subject • ie. Tone of voice • Mood – The feeling you get reading a story • Happy, depressed, scary

Figure of Speech • An expression or word used imaginatively rather than literally

Hyperbole • Deliberate exaggeration for comic effect

Oxymoron • Combines 2 opposing or contradictory ideas

Paradox • A statement that seems contradictory but actually presents a truth

Parallelism • A repetition of grammatical structure

Regionalism • The tendency among authors to write about specific geographical areas

Satire • Writing that ridicules or criticizes individuals, ideas, institutions, social conventions or other works of art or literature – South Park – The Daily Show

Sensory Language • Writing or speech that appeals to the 5 senses

Suspense • A feeling of growing uncertainty about the outcome of the events in a literary work

Epiphany • A sudden revelation or flash of insight

Foreshadowing • The use of clues to suggest events that have yet to occur

Imagery • The descriptive or figurative language used in literature to create work pictures for the reader

Irony • A contrast between what is stated and what is meant or between what is expected to happen and what actually happens

Point of View • The perspective from which the story is told – First Person – Second Person – Third Person Omniscient – Third Person Limited

First Person • The narrator is a character in the story and refers to himself or herself with the first person pronoun “I”

Ethos • The trustworthiness of the narrator • Can you believe everything the narrator tells you? – Catcher in the Rye

Second Person • The narrator directly addresses the reader and uses the second person pronoun “you” – The Tell-Tale Heart – Some AA Milne works like When We Were Six

Third Person Omniscient • The narrator knows and tells about what each character feels and thinks • All-knowing • God-like • Uses the third person pronouns “he” and “she” • “I” is only used in dialogue

Third Person Limited • The narrator tells the inner thoughts and feelings of only one character • Everything is viewed from this character’s perspective

catharsis

Tragic flaw

Non sequitur

polemic

Ad hominem

pun

motif

Tragic hero