literary elements/devices and figurative language

1. Exposition

-meet the characters

-learn the setting

-gain background information

2. Rising Action

The series of events an conflicts in the story that leads to the climax

3. Climax

The turning point or the greatest moment of suspense

7. Resolution

The conclusion—loose ends are wrapped up

7. Resolution

The conclusion—loose ends are wrapped up

Allegory

A work in which the characters and events are to be understood as representing other things and symbolically expressing a deeper, often spiritual l, moral, or political meaning

Alliteration

-The repetition of initial sounds in neighboring words

-Generally more than two words

-A SOUND device

Example: “we wink when windows wince…”

Allusion

A brief reference to a person, event, or place, real or fictitious, or to a work of art

Example: I am not the type to say, “to infinity and beyond”, rather, I am an awkward dinosaur or a three-eyed alien

Analogy

The comparison of two pairs that have the same relationship

Example: Finding a good friend is like finding a needle in a haystack

Antagonist

The person (character) or thing that opposes the protagonist (main character)

Archetype

A typical character, action, or situation that seems to represent universal patterns of human nature

Examples:

-The hero, the villain, the jock

-Fall from grace, good vs. evil

Characterization

Method used by a writer to develop a character.

Conflict

The opposition between or among characters or forces in a literary work that shapes or motivates the action of the plot. Without this, there is no plot.

External Conflict

Character vs. other things

Internal Conflict

Character vs. self

Connotation

• refers to a meaning that is implied by a word apart from the thing which it describes explicitly

• Words carry cultural and emotional associations or meanings in addition to their literal meanings or denotations

For instance, “Wall Street” literary means a street situated in Lower Manhattan, but connotatively it refers to “wealth” and “power”

Diction

A writers choice of words, phrases, sentence structures, and figurative language which combine to help create meaning.

Denotation

• literal or dictionary meanings of a word in contrast to its connotative or associated meanings

Examples:

Dove: type of bird

Wall: a barrier

Heart: the organ that pumps blood through the body

Foreshadowing

A literary device in which an author drops subtle hints about plot developments to come later in the story.

Figurative Language

To describe something by comparing it to something else

• Simile

• Analogy

• Metaphor

Foil

A character that shows qualities that are in contrast with the qualities of another character with the objective to highlight the traits of the other character.

Hyperbole

A deliberate and obvious exaggeration used for effect

Examples:

• “I called you a billion times and you never pickled up!”

• “I worked a shift that seemed to last forever”

Idiom

• an expression not interpreted literally

• Understood as to mean something quite different from what individual words of the phrase would imply

  Examples:

• It’s raining cats and dogs

• I’m hungry as a horse

• The subject is black and white

Imagery

Writing about language that evokes one or all of the five senses

Example: Diamonds of the sunlight gracefully fell through the treetop canopy. I squeezed warm earth between my toes as the aroma of wildflowers rose on the currents of the breeze. A woodpecker’s rhythmic tapping echoed through the woods.

Irony

Incongruity between what actually happens and what might be expected to happen.

Example:

• The fireman’s house burnt down.

Verbal Irony

When an author says one thing and means something else.

Dramatic Irony

When an audience perceives something that a character in the literature does not know.

Situational Irony

A discrepancy between the expected result and actual result.

Literal Language

To describe something as it is.

Metaphor

A comparison of two unlike things using the verb “to be” (am, are, was, were, etc.) instead of using like or as

Example: “Love is an open dooor”

Metonymy

Substituting a word for another word closely associated with it.

Examples:

• The suits were at a meeting (suits = business people)

• The pen is mightier than the sword (pen = written words and sword = military force)

Motif

• An important and/or recurring image, idea, word, phrase, or action that tends to create unity within a literary work.

• Sometimes help create themes in literature.

Mood

• The atmosphere or state of mind of a work.

• Evokes certain feelings or vibes in readers through words and descriptions.

Motivation

The reasons, justifications, and explanations for the action of a character.

Oxymoron

Putting two contradictory words together.

Example: jumbo shrimp

Paradox

A statement, proposition, or situation that seems to be absurd or contradictory, but in fact is or pay be true.

Examples:

• “Everything begins where it ends.”

• “The first shall be last.”

Parody

A piece of writing that deliberately copies another work in order to comment or critique it

Pastiche

A piece of writing that deliberately copied another work yet does not comment or critique it.

Example

• Every Family Guy episode

Personification

Giving human qualities to inanimate objects.

Example: The sun smiled down on us.

Point of view

The perspective on events of the narrator or a particular character in a story

• 1st person “I”, “we”, “us”

• 2nd person: “you”, “your”

• 3rd person: “he” “she” “they”

Protagonist

• a story’s main character

• often undergoes some kind of change

• is a “dynamic”, “round” character

Repetition

• Repeats the same words or phrases a few times to make an idea clearer.

• As a rhetorical device, it could be a word, phrase, full sentence, or poetical line repeated to emphasize it’s significance in the entire text.

Rhetoric

• Technique of using language effectively and persuasively in spoken or written form.

• It is and art of discourse, which studies and employs various methods to convince, influence, or to please an audience

Aristotle’s _____:

Ethos: appeal to the audience based on ethics/credibility of author

Pathos: appeal to the audience’s emotions

Logos: appeal to logic and reason—data, facts…

Sarcasm

• A mocking, often ironic or satirical remark, usually intended to wound or amuse

• Often humorous

Satire

The use of wit, especially exaggeration, parody, irony, sarcasm, and ridicule, to critique politics or society

Example:

• South Park

• The Simpsons

• Shrek

Setting

The time and location in which a story takes place.

Simile

A comparison between two different things using ‘like’ or ‘as’

Examples:

• “You spin a story like a spider spins her web”

• He jumped as if his feet were on fire

Stream of consciousness

Literary style that presents a characters continuous random flow of thoughts as they arise.

Symbolism

The use of symbols to represent something abstract by something concrete.

Examples:

• rose: beauty, love, passion

• dove: peace, hope, promise

Text Structures

The way a text or passage is organized.

Theme

• The main message of a literary work

• A universal truth

• A significant statement a story is making about society, human nature, or the human condition

• Often reads like a fortune cookie

• Never just one word

• Idea

Examples:

• “Good conquers evil.”

• “Always be true to yourself.”

Tome

Attitude of the author/speaker towards the subject and/or toward the audience implied in a literary work.