Literary Devices and Terms: Sarcasm, Satire, Symbols, and More

sarcasm

From the Greek meaning 'to tear flesh,' sarcasm involves bitter, caustic language that is meant to hurt or ridicule someone or something.

satire

A work that targets human vices and follies or social institutions and conventions for reform or ridicule.

semantics

The branch of linguistics that studies the meaning of words, their historical and psychological development, their connotations, and their relation to one another.

style

The consideration of style has two purposes: (1) An evaluation of the sum of the choices an author makes in blending diction, syntax, figurative language, and other literary devices.

subject complement

The word (with any accompanying phrases) or clauses that follows a linking verb and complements, or completes, the subject of the sentence by either (1) renaming it or (2) describing it.

subordinate clause

Like all clauses, this word group contains both a subject and a verb (plus any accompanying phrases or modifiers), but unlike the independent clause, the subordinate clause cannot stand alone.

syllogism

From the Greek for 'reckoning together,' a syllogism (or syllogistic reasoning or syllogistic logic) is a deductive system of formal logic that presents two premises that inevitably lead to a sound conclusion.

symbol/symbolism

Generally, anything that represents itself and stands for something else.

Natural symbols

Objects and occurrences from nature to represent ideas commonly associated with them (e.g., dawn symbolizing hope, a rose symbolizing love).

Conventional symbols

Symbols that have been invested with meaning by a group (e.g., religious symbols like a cross, national symbols like a flag).

Literary symbols

Symbols found in a variety of works that are generally recognized, but may be more complicated in specific works (e.g., the whale in Moby Dick).

Syntax

The way an author chooses to join words into phrases, clauses, and sentences.

Diction

Refers to the individual words chosen by an author.

Theme

The central idea or message of a work, offering insight into life.

Thesis

In expository writing, the sentence or group of sentences that expresses the author's opinion, purpose, or position.

Tone

The author's attitude toward his material, the audience, or both, which can be identified through the sound of the work when read aloud.

Transition

A word or phrase that links different ideas, signaling a shift from one idea to another.

Trope

An artful variation from expected modes of expression, involving a change of sense or use of a word in a non-literal way.

Understatement

The ironic minimizing of fact, presenting something as less significant than it is.

Undertone

An attitude that may lie under the ostensible tone of the piece.

Unreliable narrator

An untrustworthy or naïve commentator on events and characters in a story.

Wit

Intellectually amusing language that surprises and delights, often using terse language for pointed statements.

Zeugma

A trope where one word governs two other words not related in meaning (e.g., 'He maintained a business and his innocence.').