Literary Terms and Devices Review
Plot
- Defined as a sequence of events in a literary work.
Personification
Sensory Appeals (Imagery)
- Writing that appeals to the reader's senses: taste, touch, sight, sound.
Point of View
- When an unknown person outside of the story tells the story from a limited viewpoint.
- Example: "Life is a broken winged bird that cannot fly."
- Calling one thing something else.
Diction vs. Style
- Diction: Word choice (formal, casual, etc.).
- Style: Includes diction, but also poetic or rhythmic use of words.
- Style includes pauses, inflections, and rhythm.
Point of View (Revisited)
- The view from which a story is being told.
Tone
- The author's attitude toward the audience and subject.
Symbolism
- Anything that stands for or represents something else, carrying a deeper meaning.
- Example: The word "game" in "The Most Dangerous Game."
Motif
- A repeated symbol, challenge, idea, concept, or force.
- It's a larger symbol, a larger idea. It elevates a symbol to idea.
- Example: The ocean intervening in Moana's life; the sea is an active character.
- Objects are the most commonly used symbols.
Climax
- The part of the plot where the greatest action or suspense occurs.
Character
- A person or animal that takes part in the action of a literary work.
Poetic Devices
- Poetic devices include the uses of imagery and similes.
- A simile is a comparison of two unlike things using "like" or "as."
*E.g., "The rain came around the bay as a wolf hunting its prey."
Alliteration
- Repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words.
*E.g., "Why can't the attentive ant…"
Literary Devices vs. Sound Devices
- Poetic devices are not the same as sound devices.
- Sound devices include rhyme and onomatopoeia.
Repetition (Anaphora)
- Repetition that is used in speeches.
- Repetition sound device example:
- In the song Rep God by Eminem, when he sings, I'm beginning to feel like a rep god, rep god, what sound device is used in this.