Grade 12 Literary Devices

Setting

Creates mood, provides background for the action, often develops the theme.

Conflict

A struggle or clash between two opposing characters for forces.

Point of view

the perspective from which a story is told, the eyes through which we see the story unfold.

Foreshadowing

The use of clues to suggest events that have yet to occur; creates suspense.

Flashback

A scene that interrupts the present action of the plot to flash backward and tell what happened at an earlier time.

Irony

The difference between appearance and reality.

Figurative language

Words or phrases that are not meant to be taken literally.

Symbolism

Something that stands for something else, provides a deeper meaning.

Characterization

The act of creating and developing a character.

Plot

The series of connected events in a story.

Third person omniscient

Narrator is not a character, narrator knows and tells what more than one character is thinking and feeling.

Third person limited

Narrator is not a character, narrator zooms in on the thoughts and feelings of one character.

First person

Narrator is a character in the story; we learn only what this character chooses to tell us, and it may be an unreliable narrator.

Exposition (Plot)

Background, details, setting, characters.

Inciting incident (Plot)

Introduces conflict.

Rising action (Plot)

Events developing conflict.

Climax (Plot)

High point of interest,; turning point of the story, often near the end.

Falling action (Plot)

Conflict moves toward resolution.

Denouement (Plot)

“Loose ends” after conflict has been resolved.

Internal conflict

Person vs self.

External conflict

Person vs person, person vs nature, person vs society, person vs fate, person vs technology, person vs supernatural.

Direct characterization

When a writer directly states what a character is like.

Indirect characterization

When a writer provides clues for the reader to form conclusions about a character.

Situational irony

When the opposite of what is expected happens.

Dramatic irony

The full significance of a character’s words or actions is clear to the audience or reader, although unknown to the character.

Verbal irony

When a person says one thing but means the opposite.

Metaphor

An implied comparison between two unlike things.

Simile

A comparison between two unlike things using words such as “like” or “as”.

Personification

An inanimate object is given human characteristics.