handbook_of_literary_terms.ams
Figurative Language
Alliteration
Definition: The repetition of the same initial letter, sound, or group of sounds in a series of words.
Example: She sells seashells by the seashore.
Cliché
Definition: An expression that has been used so often that it has become common and sometimes boring.
Examples: Opposites attract. You are what you eat.
Hyperbole
Definition: An exaggeration that is so dramatic that no one would believe the statement is true.
Example: I’m so hungry I could eat a horse.
Idiom
Definition: An expression that has a meaning apart from the meanings of its individual words. It is not meant to be taken literally.
Example: It’s raining cats and dogs.
Irony
Definition: A literary device involving a discrepancy between what is said and what is meant, or between what’s expected to happen and what actually occurs.
Types of Irony:
Dramatic Irony: The audience knows something that the character does not know.
Verbal Irony: A contradiction of expectation between what is said and what is meant.
Situational Irony: A contradiction between what might be expected and what actually occurs.
Examples:
Dramatic Irony: In Romeo & Juliet, Romeo thinks Juliet is dead.
Verbal Irony: Juliet, upset about her arranged marriage, states her hatred for Paris knowing she’s married to Romeo.
Situational Irony: Dying of thirst while adrift on a boat in the ocean.
Metaphor
Definition: A direct comparison between two unlike things without using "like" or "as."
Example: Her eyes are stars shining in the sky.
Extended Figurative Expressions
Extended Metaphor
Definition: A metaphor that is carried over many sentences or lines.
Onomatopoeia
Definition: The use of a word to describe or imitate a natural sound.
Example: snap, crackle, pop.
Oxymoron
Definition: Describing something using contradictory terms.
Example: jumbo shrimp; definite maybe; deafening silence.
Personification
Definition: A figure of speech attributing human characteristics to animals or objects.
Example: My teddy bear gave me a hug.
Pun
Definition: A play on words that utilizes multiple meanings.
Example: My dog has a fur coat and also pants.
Simile
Definition: A comparison using "like" or "as."
Example: She is busy as a bee.
Literary Elements
Protagonist
Definition: The main character in a story who the reader identifies with.
Example: Peter Parker in the Spiderman movies/comic books.
Antagonist
Definition: The character or force that opposes the protagonist.
Example: The Green Goblin in Spiderman. The storm in A Perfect Storm.
Plot
Definition: The sequence of events in a story.
Setting
Definition: The time and place in which the story occurs.
Example: Spiderman takes place in modern-day New York City.
Conflict
Definition: The struggle between opposing forces that drive the action in a story.
Types of Conflict: Man vs. Self, Man vs. Man, Man vs. Nature, Man vs. Society, Man vs. Machine.
Climax
Definition: The most dramatic part of a story; may include the turning point.
Additional Literary Elements
Diction
Definition: The choice of words in writing that affects meaning.
Theme
Definition: The main universal idea or message conveyed by a story, expressed as a complete sentence.
Example: Little Red Riding Hood's theme may be "Don't talk to strangers."
Motif
Definition: An important recurring idea, structure, or image, usually expressed as a single word.
Example: A motif in The Outsiders is family.
Mood
Definition: The general feeling or sense conveyed to the reader.
Tone
Definition: The writer's attitude towards the subject matter, expressed through word choice and style.
Point of View
Definition: The perspective from which the story is told; can be first person or third person.
Common Literary Techniques
Allegory
Definition: Where an entire story symbolizes something else, often a larger concept or event.
Example: Animal Farm is an allegory of the Soviet Union.
Allusion
Definition: A reference to something outside the work, especially well-known events or works.
Example: Of Mice and Men is an allusion to a line from a poem by Robert Burns.
Anthropomorphism
Definition: Portraying animals or inanimate objects with human traits.
Example: In Cars, the cars can talk and act like humans.
Exposition
Definition: An interruption to explain background information essential to the plot.
Foil
Definition: A character that contrasts with another character (usually the protagonist).
Example: *Mercutio is Romeo’s foil in Romeo & Juliet.
Foreshadowing
Definition: Hinting at future events in a story before they happen.
Imagery
Definition: Sensory details and images evoked by words.
Parallelism
Definition: Similar language or structures used in different parts of a text.
Repetition
Definition: The repeated use of words or phrases to emphasize an idea.
Example: From Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech.
Symbolism
Definition: An object or element that represents abstract ideas; differs from motif as it must be visible.
Example: Cars symbolize social mobility in The Outsiders.