Literary Terms: Examples

allegory

On its surface, Animal Farm is a story about farm animals that rebel against their farmer. The underlying story, however, concerns Orwell’s disillusionment with the Bolshevik Revolution and is an indictment of the Russian government.

alliteration

Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.

allusion

Chocolate cake is my Achilles heel.

ambiguity

The fisherman went to the bank. (what kind of bank?)

anaphora

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness.

antecedent

My __***sister***__ is at the top of her class

antithesis

Fair is foul, foul is fair.

aphorism

He who hesitates is lost.

apostrophe

O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?

ethos

__As a doctor, I am qualified__ to tell you that this course of treatment will likely generate the best results.

logos

Here's an example of ______ in action from our man Aristotle himself: All men are mortal. Socrates is a man.

pathos

A teenager tries to convince his parents to buy him a new car by saying if they cared about their child's safety they'd upgrade him.

cacophony

He __grunted__ and in a __gruff__ voice said, “Give me that trash and I'll throw it out!”

caricature

Mr. Chadband is a large yellow man, with a fat smile, and a general appearance of having a good deal of train oil in his system.

catharsis

Feeling an emotional release while listening to your favorite song.

clause

The dog ran.

colloquial/colloquialism

__Y’all__ sure __gonna__ know that he __gotta__ __step up to the plate__.

connotation

blue is a color, but it is also a word used to describe a feeling of sadness

diction

formal _____ might sound like, “I will address that issue right away.” Alternatively, using informal _______, the response would be more casual like, “You got it.”

digression

A professor is supposed to be lecturing about the processes of cellular respiration, but he ends up talking about his long-dead goldfish.

euphemism

“Passed away” instead of “died” “Let go” instead of “fired” “Put down” instead of “euthanized”

foil

Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy are _____s.

foreshadowing

A man mentions he might die in car crash, and then dies in a car crash one week later. This is an example of ___________.

genre

Stephen King is often the main writer of his ______.

hyperbole

I'm so hungry, I could eat a horse

imagery

The grass was green, and the flowers were red. They smelled of summer and the grass was soft."

invective

you dirty rotten scoundrel

irony

For example, if it were a cold, rainy gray day, you might say, “What a beautiful day!” Or, alternatively, if you were suffering from a bad bout of food poisoning, you might say, “Wow, I feel great today.”

metaphor

Life is a highway

metonymy

The White House released a statement yesterday.

mood

funny, sad, creepy, cheerful, nostalgic, curious

motif

For example, “death” could be a ______ in a literary work. An author would not necessarily have to use the word “death” to express the _____. He might write “funeral,” “grave,” “dead,” and so on.

narrative

“What I did on my summer vacation. First, I drove to Florida and swam in the ocean. Then, I saw my grandparents at the beach. Next, I bought ice cream……….

onomatopoeia

tick-tock, moo, bark, ruff, ribbit, rawr (sexily)

oxymoron

Jumbo shrimp

parable

the story of the prodigal son

paradox

All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.

parody

Someone creates alternate lyrics to a song, like Weird Al.

pastoral

A charming, hilly, farmland.

personification

The sun smiled down on us

point of view

__I__ have a dog. __He__ has a dog. __You__ have a dog.

rhetoric

Politicians deliver rallying cries to inspire people to act.

rhetorical question

Your parents are yelling at you, and say “What were you thinking?” in the middle of the tirade.

satire

Basically all of South Park, makes fun of the world.

setting

Our story takes place in New York…..

simile

The river roared like a lion

symbol

Red octagon means stop

theme

love, war, revenge, betrayal, patriotism, grace, isolation, motherhood, forgiveness, wartime loss, treachery, rich versus poor, appearance versus reality,

thesis

The life of the typical college student is characterized by time spent studying, attending class, and socializing with peers. (intro sentence).

tone

joyful, serious, humorous, sad, threatening, formal, informal, pessimistic, or optimistic (given by author)