Literary Devices A.P. Lit

Alliteration

Repetition of consonants at the beginning of words that are near each other or repetition of ronsonants at the reginning of rords that are rear each rother.

Allusion

A reference to another work of literature or some cultural knowledge that contributes to meaning.

Anadiplosis

The repetition of the last word of one phrase, clause or sentence at the beginning of the next same structure.

EX: Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.

Analogy

A likeness or connection between two things that are not alike in most ways

Anaphora

Repetition of words/sentences/phrases at the beginning of lines /sentences/paragraphs. Anaphora is prominent in the Bible (which I know to capitalize always) and in works like MLK's "I have a dream" speech

Antecedent

Word for which a pronoun stands.

Apostrophe

The direct address of someone or something that is not present.

Archetype

A plot or character element that recurs in cultural myths such as the quest or the descent into the underworld

Assonance

The repetition of vowel sounds usually internally rather than literally

Asyndeton

A stylistic scheme in which conjunctions are deliberately omitted from a series of related clauses. Its use can have t eh effect of speeding up the rhythm of a passage and making a single idea more memorable.

Bathos

A deliberate anticlimax to make a definite point or draw attention to a falseness. May be humorous.

Caesura

A pause within a line of verse; may come at an unexpected point in the rhyme.

Catharsis

A purifying or cleansing of the emotions, brought on by a literary experience, especially Greek drama

Chiasmus

Chiasmus refers to repetition of ideas or diction but in a different order.

"The land was ours before we were the land's."

Conceit

A very elaborate comparison between unlikely objects.

Consonance

The repetition of consonant sounds without the vowel sound repeated

Diction

Word Choice

Enjambment

The running-on of one line of poetry into another. In modern poetry, enjambment often gives the poem a conversational tone.

Epigram

A short often witty verse or quotation at the beginning of a story, book, poem, or chapter.

Euphemism

Using a softer, gentler word instead of the most accurate.

EX: passed away instead of died

Hyperbole

Refers to a large overstatement often used to draw attention to a mark of beauty or a virtue or an action with which the writer/narrator disagrees.

Imagery

Use of sensory details; using language that appeals to the senses. Usually imagery is visual but may involve the other senses as well.

In Medias Res

Latin for "in the middle of things, this term suggests that a narrative begins at the high point of the story, then flashes back to cover background and previous action. My best example yet is Morrison's Paradise, which begins: "They shot the white girl first and took their time with the rest."

Irony

A discrepancy between what is said and what is meant.

Litotes

Emphasis by conscious understatement

Malapropism

Comical misuse of language; from the character Mrs. Malaprop in a play by Sheridan.

Metaphor

A comparison of two unlike things feelings or objects; may merely suggest the comparison.

Metonymy

when a related object represents an entity. Examples include referring to the opinions and actions of the President as "the oval office." Another example comes from Middle English kennings such as "the whale road" for the ocean.

Motif

A recurring symbol, image, word, character, or idea that contributes meaning throughout a work.

Onomatopoeia

A device in which the word captures the sound.

Oxymoron

A form of paradox in which contradictory words are used next to each other.

Parable

A short allegorical story that teaches a moral about life, usually connected to religion

Parataxis

A literary technique that favors short, simple sentences, without the use of coordinating or subordinating conjunctions. It is also used to describe a technique in poetry in which two images or fragments, usually starkly dissimilar images or fragments, are juxtaposed without a clear connection. Readers are then left to make their own connections implied by the paratactic syntax.

Pathos

A quality that arouses feelings of pity, sympathy, tenderness or sorrow.

Paradox

A situation or action or feeling that appears to be contradictory but on inspection turns out to be true or at least to make sense within its context.

Periphrasis

A point is stated by deliberate circumlocution rather than directly. This may be accomplished by means of a euphemism (substituting a gentler word for a reality, such a "passed away" for "died") or by dodging a direct statement

Personification

Attributing or referring to an inanimate object as human or possessing human attributes.

Polysyndeton

The use of several conjunctions in close succession, especially where some might be omitted (as in "he ran and jumped and laughed for joy"). This can achieve a variety of effects: increase the rhythm of prose, speed or slow its pace, convey solemnity or even ecstasy and childlike exuberance.

Pun

A play on words for humorous or sarcastic effect.

Rhetorical Question

A question asked to make a point; no answer is expected.

EX: Is that any way to treat your mother?

Sarcasm

When verbal irony is too harsh, it become sarcasm, the "lowest form of wit."

Simile

Comparison using "like" or "as."

Stream of Consciousness

A writer records what his character is thinking without obvious connections from one subject to another. Faulkner does this to some degree (and sometimes) in S & F and James Joyce does it all the time. This technique forces readers to draw conclusions on their own.

Synechdoche

When a part of an object is used to represent the entire thing or vice versa.

Syllepsis

A grammatical construction in which a word connects to two or more other words in different ways.

Example: He lost his money and then his mind.

Syntax

Pattern of word choice.

Tone

The attitude of the author toward his subject. Tone is hard to find since it's not stated directly.

Zeugma

Same as Syllepsis