Literary Devices

Literary device that can be used as authorial choices, specifically for Paper 1.

Repetition

The purposeful re-use of words and phrases for an effect.

Parallelism

Repetition but especially with longer phrases that contain a different key word each time. Parts of the sentence are grammatically the same, or are similar in construction.

Examples of parallelism

"I came, I saw, I conquered" , “No pain, no gain,” “In for a penny, in for a pound,” “Where there is smoke, there is fire,” and “It takes one to know one”

Rhyme

Words that have different beginning sounds but whose endings sound alike

Allegory

A representation of an abstract or spiritual meaning. Sometimes it can be a single word or phrase, such as the name of a character or place. Often, it is a symbolic narrative that has not only a literal meaning, but a larger one understood only after reading the entire story or poem

Allusion

A brief reference to some person, historical event, work of art, or Biblical or mythological situation or character.

Ambiguity

A word or phrase that can mean more than one thing, even in its context.

Analogy

A comparison, usually something unfamiliar with something familiar.

Cliché

Any figure of speech that was once clever and original but through overuse has become outdated.

Contrast

Closely arranged things with strikingly different characteristics.

Connotation

The emotional, psychological or social overtones of a word; its implications and associations apart from its literal meaning.

Denotation

The dictionary definition of a word; its literal meaning apart from any associations or connotations.

Euphemism

An understatement, used to lessen the effect of a statement; substituting something innocuous for something that might be offensive or hurtful.

example of euphemism

She is at rest. (meaning, she’s dead)

Hyperbole

An outrageous exaggeration used for effect.

Irony

A contradictory statement or situation to reveal a reality different from what appears to be true.

Metaphor

A direct comparison between two unlike things, stating that one is the other or does the action of the other.

Oxymoron

A combination of two words that appear to contradict each other.

example of oxymoron

bittersweet, deafening silence, awfully good, only choice, alone together, minor crisis etc.

Paradox

A statement in which a seeming contradiction may reveal an unexpected truth.

Personification

Attributing human characteristics to an inanimate object, animal, or abstract idea.

Pun

Word play in which words with totally different meanings have similar or identical sounds.

Simile

A direct comparison of two unlike things using “like” or “as.”

Symbol

An ordinary object, event, animal, or person to which we have attached extraordinary meaning and significance – a flag to represent a country, a lion to represent courage, a wall to symbolise separation.

Synecdoche

Indicating a person, object, etc. by letting only a certain part represent the whole.

examples of synecdoche

“All hands on deck”, “Jack got some new wheels!” (meaning Jack got a new car), “Do a quick headcount and see who's missing.” (meaning do a quick count of how many people are missing), “I have mouths to feed” (meaning I have to feed a specific group of people)

Rhetorical Question

A question solely for effect, which does not require an answer. By the implication the answer is obvious, it is a means of achieving an emphasis stronger than a direct statement.

enjambment

the continuation of a sentence or phrase from one line of poetry to the next, typically lacks punctuation at its line break.

imagery

The use of vivid language to generate ideas and/or evoke mental images, not only of the visual sense, but of sensation and emotion as well.

Synesthesia

An attempt to fuse different senses by describing one kind of sense impression in words normally used to describe another

rule of three

a writing principle that suggests that a trio of entities such as events or characters is more humorous, satisfying, or effective than other numbers.

juxtaposition

the placement of contrasting ideas next to each other, often to produce an ironic or thought-provoking effect.

Anaphora

a word or expression is repeated at the beginning of a number of sentences, clauses, or phrases.

intertextuality

the phenomenon of one text referencing, quoting, or alluding to another text

Foil

a character who contrasts with the protagonist, emphasizing the protagonist's attributes

mood

the emotions that a text evokes from the reader

tone

the attitude that a character or narrator or author takes towards a given subject

foreshadowing

a narrative device in which suggestions or warnings about events to come are dropped or planted

flashback

an interjected scene that takes the narrative back in time from the current point in the story

idiom

a short expression that is peculiar to a language, people, or place that conveys a figurative meaning without a literal interpretation of the words used in the phrase. For example: over the moon, beating around the bush

Colloquialism

a literary device often used by authors as a way to convey personality and authenticity to characters.

examples of colloquialism

words such as “y’all”, “gonna”, “wanna”, phrases such as “old as the hills”, “graveyard dead” etc.

jargon

the specific type of language used by a particular group or profession

Anthimeria

the usage of a word in a new grammatical form, most often the usage of a noun as a verb

Double Entendre

a figure of speech that involves two different meanings or interpretations of a word, phrase, or sentence, wherein one meaning is readily apparent and the other is more risqué in nature

kenning

a word or phrase that is a metaphor for something simpler

example of kenning

Calling a ship a "sea-steed," for example, is a kenning

malapropism

incorrect words used in place of correct words; these can be unintentional or intentional, but both cases have a comedic effect.

pathos

the appeal to emotion, means to persuade an audience by purposely evoking certain emotions to make them feel the way the author wants them to feel

ethos

the writers attempt to persuade by appealing to the reader's moral values. The writer presents their expertise, authority, trustworthiness, and commonality to persuade the reader to agree with an argument and take an action.

logos

the appeal to logic, means to appeal to the audiences' sense of reason or logic. To use logos, the author makes clear, logical connections between ideas, and includes the use of facts and statistics.

antithesis

a literary device that places opposite words, ideas, or qualities parallel to each other. The contrast between them creates greater emphasis and clarity. Their parallel structure provides a memorable rhythm

alliteration

The repetition of the same sound at the start of a series of words. For example: “Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.”

motif

a dominant or recurring idea in an artistic work

narrative

any account of a series of related events or experiences

parody

an imitation of the style and manner of a particular writer or school of writers. Parody is typically negative in intent: it calls attention to a writer's perceived weaknesses or a school's overused conventions and seeks to ridicule them.

pathetic fallacy

the attribution of human feelings and responses to inanimate things or animals

satire

a way of writing about a flaw or failure in society by inflating it to absurdity

stream of conciousness

a narrative mode or method that attempts to depict the multitudinous thoughts and feelings which pass through the mind of a narrator

panel

basic unit, helps reader focus on one particular space

splash page

a single panel occupies entire page

gutters

empty space between panels

bleed

when a panel goes out of the page

Super panel /polyptychs

have continious backgrounds

Emenata

lines that come out of a character and denotes smells and sounds

Anachronism

A person or object that belongs to a different time period than the one the piece of writing takes place in

verbal irony

Often uses irony to suggest that a speaker is too dumb to understand a situation or a liar

Expressing something other than the literal meaning

“Everything is fine!!” when its not at all fine really