Literary Devices and Metaphors in Texts

These flashcards cover key literary devices and metaphors found in various texts, aiding in the understanding of their meanings and implications.

No tongue

Symbol connected to school and library. Jamaica Kincaid - A Small Place

Dung heap

Metaphor for the library. Jamaica Kincaid - A Small Place

You could ruin your holiday

Example of sarcasm or litotes. Jamaica Kincaid - A Small Place

European disease

Metaphor for greed. Jamaica Kincaid - A Small Place

Visit to the bile duct

Metaphor referencing the text itself. Jamaica Kincaid - A Small Place

Scandal is the fertilizer of social democracy

Metaphor representing a strategy of tension. Dario Fo - Accidental Death of an Anarchist

Best antidote to the worst poison

Metaphors relating scandal and public awareness. Dario Fo - Accidental Death of an Anarchist

Chief masseuses

Metaphor for journalists and the media. Dario Fo - Accidental Death of an Anarchist

Theatre of life

Metadrama mechanism used by Fo to reveal corruption. Dario Fo - Accidental Death of an Anarchist

Policeman’s best friend

Irony as a metaphor for media. Dario Fo - Accidental Death of an Anarchist

River of life

Water symbolism related to war and inescapable current. Bao Ninh - The Sorrow of War

Ash from the exorcism of devils

Metaphors for trauma and coping. Bao Ninh - The Sorrow of War

War warps and distorts

Motif connecting to all conflicts. Bao Ninh - The Sorrow of War

Parade of horrific memories

Ironic metaphor for postwar life in Hanoi. Bao Ninh - The Sorrow of War

Seeds for the war harvest

Metaphors for the poor, conscription, and deaths. Bao Ninh - The Sorrow of War

World without real men

Metaphor relating to war and animal psychology motif. Bao Ninh - The Sorrow of War

Like a god possessing a priest

Simile representing wealth. Ama Ata Aidoo - Anowa

Bigger crime

Metaphor for the global slave trade and loss of culture. Ama Ata Aidoo - Anowa

A good woman does not have a brain or mouth

Metonyms depicting identity and sense of self. Ama Ata Aidoo - Anowa

Dumbest man is better than any woman

Irony reflecting on gender roles. Ama Ata Aidoo - Anowa

Men who make men mad

Rejects superstition in the context of Aidoo’s narrative.

Dulce et Decorum Est / Pro patria mor

Allusion to Horace’s Odes. Wilfred Owen

Purgatorial shadows

Metaphor illustrating internal conflict. Mental Cases- Wilfred Owen

What passing-bells for those who die as cattle?

Hypophora and simile from Owen’s poetry. Anthem for Doomed Youth - Wilfred Owen

They’re happy now, poor things

Irony and dehumanizing epithet in Owen’s work. Smile, Smile, Smile - Wilfred Owen

The old lie

Allusion to the false romanticism of dying for one's country. Dulce et decorum est - Wilfred Owen