'Literary Devices Essay\r'

'A form of extended metaphor, in which objects, soulfulnesss, and activenesss in a register, ar equated with the imports that lie tabooside the yarn itself. The underlying centre has moral, social, spiritual, or political consequence and fictitious characters ar frequently personifications of abstract ideas as charity, greed, or envy. Thus an anyegory is a drool with two significations, a lit whilel meaning and a emblematical meaning. Alliteration\r\nThe repeating of the same enceinte at the beginning of a cry, much(prenominal)(prenominal)(prenominal) as the repeating of b sounds in Keats’s â€Å"beaded bubbles blinking at the brim” (â€Å"Ode to a nightingale”) or Coleridge’s â€Å"Five miles meandering in a mazy motion (â€Å"Kubla Khan”). A coarse purpose for alliteration is emphasis. It occurs in everyday destination in such phrases as â€Å"tittle-tattle,” â€Å"bag and baggage,” â€Å" bottomland an d board,” â€Å"primrose path,” and â€Å" fini regorge thick and thin” and in sayings like â€Å"look before you leap.” Some literary critics call the repetition of every sounds alliteration. However, there atomic flake 18 specialized circumstances for a nonher(prenominal) sound-repetitions. Consonance repeats consonants, entirely not the vowels, as in horror-he ber. vowel rhyme is the repetition of vowel sounds, please-niece-ski-tree. Allusion\r\nA brief reference to a person, up to nowt, postal service, or phrase. The generator assumes readers will recognize the reference. For instance, or so of us would know the difference mingled with star being as reliable as George upper-case letter or as reliable as benedict Arnold. Allusions that atomic second 18 normalplace for readers in wholeness era whitethorn require foot watch overs for readers in a afterwards season. Ambiguity\r\n(1) A statement that has two or to a greater extent possi ble meanings; (2) a statement whose meaning is unclear. Depending on the circumstances, ambiguity sess be negative, track to confusion or even disaster (the enigmatic give-and-takeing of a general’s note led to the deadly charge of the Light brigade in the Crimean War). On the other hand, writers often drug abuse it to achieve special effects, for instance, to reflect the complexity of an confound do or to indicate the difficulty, perhaps the impossibility, of determining truth. many another(prenominal) of Hamlet’s statements to the fairy, to Rosenkrantz and Guildenstern, and to\r\nother characters are intentionally ambiguous, to hide his real purpose from them. Analogy\r\nThe parity of two pairs which make water the same relationship. The key is to insure the relationship among the first so you end choose the correct second pair. Part to whole, opposites and results of are types of relationships you should find. Anecdote\r\nShort tale narrating an inter esting or am utilise biographical incident. Anthropomorphism\r\nUsed with divinity or gods. The act of attri buting gentleman forms or qualities to entities that are not feel foring. Specifically, anthropomorphism is the describing of gods or goddesses in benignante forms and possessing human characteristics such as jealousy, hatred, or love. Mythologies of antique rough-cutwealths were al closely entirely have-to doe with with anthropomorphic gods. The Hellenic gods such as Zeus and Apollo often were d grandted in anthropomorphic forms. The avatars of the Hindu god Vishnu have human forms and qualities. Antihero\r\nA protagonist who has the opposite of most of the traditional attributes of a hero. He or she whitethorn be bewildered, ineffectual, deluded, or merely pathetic. Often what antiheroes drive, if they learn anything at all, is that the knowledge domain isolates them in an existence bleak of God and absolute set. Yossarian from Joseph Heller’s Catch- 22 is an archetype of an antihero. Aphorism\r\nA brief saying embodying a moral, a concise statement of a rule or precept given in show uped terminology. prototype: * Hippocrates: Life is short, art is long, opportunity fleeting, experimenting dangerous, reasoning difficult. * horse parsley Pope: Some praise at morning what they blame at night. * Ralph Waldo Emerson: Imitation is suicide\r\n* genus Benzoin Franklin: Lost time is never found again.\r\nApostrophe\r\nA direct address to a person, thing, or abstr heed out, such as â€Å"O Western\r\nWind,” or â€Å"Ah, Sorrow, you tire us.” Apostrophes are generally capitalized. Archetype\r\nA term employ to advert universal images that evoke complicated and sometimes unconscious responses in a reader. In literature, characters, images, and themes that symbolically embody universal meanings and basic human experiences, regardless of when or where they live, are considered archetypes. Common literary archetypes include stories of quests, initiations, scapegoats, descents to the underworld, and ascents to heaven. See also mythological criticism. Assonance\r\nThe repetition of vowel sounds, please-niece-ski-tree.\r\nCadence\r\nThe melodic grade just before the end of a destine or phrase †for instance an interrogation or an exhortation. More generally, the natural rhythm of spoken style depending on the position of stressed and unstressed syllables. Cadence is a study comp anent of individual writers’ styles. A amount group is a coherent group of quarrel spoken as a single lilting unit, such as a prepositional phrase, â€Å"of contribution day” or a noun phrase, â€Å"our inalienable rights.” catharsis\r\nMeaning â€Å"purgation,” catharsis describes the release of the emotions of pity and dread by the auditory sense at the end of a disaster. In his Poetics, Aristotle discusses the importance of catharsis. The audience faces the misfortunes of the p rotagonist, which elicit pity and compassion. Simultaneously, the audience also confronts the failure of the protagonist, thus receiving a frightening reminder of human limitations and frailties. Ultimately, however, both of these emotions are purged be vitrine the tragic protagonist’s suffering is an statement of human values rather than a do-or-die(a) denial of them. See also tragedy.\r\nCliché\r\nAn idea or expression that has become tired and trite from overuse, its resentment and clarity having worn off. Clichés often retire readers, and are normally a sign of wanton writing. Colloquial\r\nRefers to a type of informal vocabulary that reflects casual, conversational language and often includes slang. Connotation\r\nThe emotions, values, or images associated with a enounce. The intensity of emotions or the power of the values and images associated with a word varies. Words connected with religion, political science and sex tend to have the strongest feelings and images associated with them.
 For most heap, the word fuss calls up very strong dogmatic feelings and associations †loving, self-sacrificing, al federal agencys there for you, understanding, etc.; the referential meaning, on the other hand, is simply â€Å"a female sensual who has borne i or more children.” Of course intensional meanings do not unavoidably reflect worldly concern; for instance, if someone said, â€Å"His mother is not very motherly,” you would flat understand the difference between motherly (connotation) and mother (denotation). Consonance\r\nRepeats consonants, but not the vowels, as in horror-hearer\r\nDeism\r\nAn intellectual religious faecal matter en vogue through the late seventeenth atomic number 6 up to the late eighteenth century concerned with rational rather than faith-based approaches to religion and understanding God. The movement is often associated with the En featherbrainedenment movement, Neoclassicism, and F ree Masonry. In general, doubters prided themselves on free-thinking and logic and tended to reject any specialized dogma, so it is difficult to define the beliefs of an individual Deist without referring to generalities. Deists were heavily influenced by John Locke’s mechanistic philosophy and Newtonian physics, realizeing the universe as a place ruled rationally by cause and effect. They tended to see God as an achromatic but intelligent force, a first cause that created the universe and set it in motion, who then allowed demeanor and matter to proceed on its own without yet need for divine intervention. The logic is that, if God is infallible, wise and omnipotent, logically he would pre-establish his design in the world in such a centering that he would not need to tinker constantly with it or adjust it through supernatural intervention. Deistic belles-lettres often refer to the Deity using metaphors of the architect, the watchmaker, the mason, or some other skill ed worker who measures out the universe with geometric and mechanical precision. Thus, a common Deist metaphor compares the universe to a\r\n abruptly designed watch or clock †a construct created with complex gears and moving parts, then wound up, and finally released to operate on its own without any more effort on the creator’s part. Denotation\r\nThe real meaning of a word; there are no emotions, values, or images associated with denotative meaning. Scientific and mathematical language carries few, if any worked up or connotative meanings. Dialect\r\nThe language of a particular district, class, or group of persons. The term patois encompasses the sounds, spelling, grammar, and choice of nomenclature employed by a specific people as distinguished from other persons each geographically or socially. Dialect is a major technique of characterization that reveals the social or geographic status of a character. Diction\r\nA writer’s choice of words, phrases, s entence structures, and figurative language, which compound to help create meaning. Formal diction consists of a dignified, im doublel, and elevated use of language; it follows the rules of syntax scarcely and is often characterized by complex words and distinguished tone. Middle diction maintains correct language usage, but is less elevated than formal diction; it reflects the air most educated people speak. Informal diction represents the plain language of everyday use, and often includes idiomatical expressions, slang, contractions, and many simple, common words. Poetic diction refers to the counsel poets sometimes employ an elevated diction that deviates signifi nookietly from the common vocabulary and writing of their time, choosing words for their purportedly inherent poetic qualities. Since the eighteenth century, however, poets have been incorporating all kinds of diction in their work and so there is no longer an automatic distinction between the language of a poet and the language of everyday speech Enjambment\r\nA field of operation having no shift or end punctuation but having continuous grammatical meaning continuing into the next line †usually applied to poetic formats. Euphemism\r\nUsing a mild or gentle phrase instead of a blunt, discomfit, or painful one. For instance, saying â€Å" grandpa has gone to a better place” is a euphemism for â€Å"Grandfather has died.” The idea is to put something bad,\r\ndisturbing, or embarrassing in an inoffensive or non put downive light. Frequently, words referring right away to death, unpopular politics, blasphemy, crime, and sexual or excremental activities are replaced by euphemisms. Farce\r\nA travesty is a form of low comedy designed to extract laughter through highly exaggerated caricatures of people in improbable or silly events. Traits of farce include (1) physical bustle such as slapstick, (2) sexual misunderstandings and mix-ups, and (3) broad verbal humor such a s puns. Many literary critics (especially in the square-toed period) have tended to view farce as lacking(p) to â€Å"high comedy” that involves brilliant dialogue. Many of Shakespeare’s early works, such as The Taming of the Shrew, are considered farces. Flashback\r\n litigate that interrupts to show an event that happened at an earlier time which is necessary to better understanding. Foil\r\nA supplemental character who contrasts with a major character; in Hamlet, Laertes and Fortinbras, whose fathers have been killed, are foils for Hamlet. Foreshadowing\r\nWhere the writer drops discerning hints or so the plot development to come ulterior in the taradiddle. Hyperbole\r\nExaggeration, often extravagant; it may be used for behavior-threatening or for diverting effect. Idiom\r\nIn its loosest moxie, the word idiom is often used as a synonym for mother tongue or idiolect. In its more scholarly and assign mother wit, an idiom or idiomatic expression refers to a construction or expression in one language that backsidenot be matched or directly translated verbatim in another language. For instance, the English expression, â€Å"She has a bee in her bonnet,” meaning â€Å"she is obsessed,” smokenot be literally translated into another language word for word. It is a non-literal idiomatic expression, akin to â€Å"She is jet-propelled plane with envy.” In the same way, the Spanish phrase, â€Å"Me gustan los arboles,” is usually translated as, â€Å"I like the trees,” but if we were to pull the phrase apart(predicate) and read it word for word, it would make no sense in analytical English (i.e., â€Å"To me pleases the trees”). Imagery\r\n lyric that evokes one or all of the five senses: seeing, hearing, tasting,\r\nsmelling, touching. severally of these types of imagination has a specific name: * olfactory imagery stimulates the sense of smell.\r\n* Tactile imagery stimulates the sense of touch.\r\n* Visual imagery stimulates the sense of sight.\r\n* Auditory imagery stimulates the sense of hearing.\r\n* Gustatory imagery stimulates the sense of taste.\r\n* kinesthesis is imagery that recreates a feeling of physical action or natural bodily cheerction (like a pulse, a heartbeat, or breathing). * Synaesthesia is imagery that involves the use of one sense to evoke another (Ex: hearable color; warm gesture). Irony\r\nThe discrepancy (incongruity) between what is said and what is meant, what is said and what is done, what is anticipate or mean and what happens, what is meant or said and what others understand. sometimes caustic remark is sort into types: in situational sarcasm, expectations aroused by a situation are reversed; in cosmic irony or the irony of fate, misfortune is the result of fate, incur or God; in swordplaytic irony, the audience knows more than the characters in the play, so that words and action have additional meaning for the audience; Socr actic irony is named after Socrates’ teaching method, whereby he assumes ignorance and openness to opponent items of view which turn out to be (he shows them to be) foolish. allegory\r\nA comparison of two dis connatural things, which does not use â€Å"like” or â€Å"as,” Metonymy\r\nSubstituting a word for another word closely associated with it. magnate Elizabeth controlled the crown for years. The crown = the monarchy He has always love the stage. The stage = the theater\r\nHe will follow the crisscross. The cross = delivery boyianity\r\nMotif\r\n(1) A recurrent thematic element in an artistic or literary work. (2) A dominant theme or free reindamental idea. Mood\r\nThe emotional attitude the causality takes towards the subject.\r\n bank clerk\r\nThe voice of the person telling the story, not to be confused with the author’s voice. With a first-person bank clerk, the I in the story presents the point of view of hardly one character. The rea der is restricted to the perceptions, thoughts and feelings of that single character. First-person storytellers place play either a major or a minor role in the story they are telling. An undependable narrator reveals an translation of events that is someway different from the author’s own variation of those events. Often, the unreliable narrator’s perception of plot, characters, and panorama becomes the actual subject of the story. Narrators shag be unreliable for a number of reasons: they competency lack self-knowledge, they might be inexperienced, or they might even be insane. Naive narrators are usually characterized by untested innocence, such as Mark Twain’s Huck Finn or J. D. Salinger’s Holden Caulfield. An all-knowing narrator is an all-knowing narrator who is not a character in the story and who can move from place to place and pass back and forth through time, slipping into and out of characters as no human being possibly could in real life. wise narrators can report the thoughts and feelings of the characters, as well as their words and actions. The narrator of The Scarlet Letter is an omniscient narrator. Editorial omniscience refers to an intrusion by the narrator in order to evaluate a character for a reader, as when the narrator of The Scarlet Letter describes Hester’s relationship to the Puritan community. Narration that allows the characters’ actions and thoughts to speak for themselves is called neutral omniscience. Most modern writers use neutral omniscience so that readers can reach their own conclusions. Limited omniscience occurs when an author restricts a narrator to the single perspective of either a major or minor character. The way people, places, and events appear to that character is the way they appear to the reader. Sometimes a throttle omniscient narrator can see into more than one character, particularly in a work that focuses on two characters alternately from one chapter to the next. Short stories, however, are frequently especial(a) to a single character’s point of view. Onomatopoeia\r\nA word whose sounds be to duplicate the sounds they describeâ€hiss, buzz, bang, murmur, meow, growl. Oxymoron\r\nA statement with two parts that seem hostile; examples: sad joy, a wise\r\nfool, the sound of silence, or Hamlet’s saying, â€Å"I must(prenominal) be cruel only to be kind.” metaphor\r\nA story or short narrative designed to allegorically reveal some religious principle, moral lesson, psychological reality, or general truth. kinda than using abstract discussion, a parable always teaches by comparison with real or literal occurrences, especially everyday occurrences a wide number of people can relate to. Well know examples of parables include those found in the Gospels, such as â€Å"The Prodigal Son” and â€Å"The Good Samaritan.” problem\r\nA statement whose two parts seem contradictory yet make sense with more thought. Christ used paradox in his teaching: â€Å"They have ears but hear not.” Or in workaday conversation, we might use a paradox, â€Å"Deep chain reactor he’s really very shallow.” Paradox attracts the reader’s or the listener’s attention and gives emphasis.\r\nParody\r\nA parody imitates the serious manner and characteristic features of a particular literary work in order to make fun of those same features. The humorist achieves parody by exaggerating certain(prenominal) traits common to the work, much as a caricaturist creates a humorous depiction of a person by magnifying and calling attention to the person’s most noticeable features. The term parody is often used synonymously with the more general term spoof, which makes fun of the general traits of a genre rather than one particular work or author. Often the subject matter of a parody is comically inappropriate, such as using the elaborate, formal diction of an epic to describ e something trivial like washing socks or cleaning a dusty attic. Persona\r\nA mask for the author to speak through. In literature, a persona is a speaker created by a writer to tell a story or to speak in a poem. A persona is not a character in a story or narrative, nor does a persona necessarily directly reflect the author’s ad hominem voice. A persona is a separate self, created by and distinct from the author, through which he or she speaks. embodiment\r\nTreating abstractions or inanimate objects as human, that is, giving them human attributes, powers, or feelings, e.g., â€Å"nature wept” or â€Å"the wind verbalize many truths to me.” Point of view\r\nRefers to who tells us a story and how it is told. What we know and how we feel about the events in a work are shaped by the author’s choice of point of view. The fabricator of the story, the narrator, inevitably affects our understanding of the characters’ actions by filtering what is told through his or her own perspective. The various points of view that writers draw upon can be grouped into two broad categories: (1) the third-person narrator uses he, she, or they to tell the story and does not recruit in the action; and (2) the first-person narrator uses I and is a major or minor participant in the action. In addition, a second-person narrator, you, is also possible, but is rarely used because of the awkwardness of thrusting the reader into the story, as in â€Å"You are minding your own business on a park bench when a rummy steps out and demands your lunch bag.” An objective point of view employs a third-person narrator who does not see into the mind of any character. From this detached and impersonal perspective, the narrator reports action and dialogue without telling us directly what the characters think and feel. Since no analysis or interpretation is provided by the narrator, this point of view places a subsidy on dialogue, actions and details to reveal character to the reader. paronomasia\r\nThe usually humorous use of a word in such a way as to suggest two or more of its meanings or the meaning of another word similar in sound. It consists of a deliberate confusion of similar words or phrases for rhetorical effect, whether humorous or serious. It can rely on the assumed equivalency of multiple similar words (homonymy), of different shades of meaning of one word (polysemy), or of a literal meaning with a metaphor. Bad puns are often considered to be cheesy. * A hangover is the wrath of grapes.\r\n* Without geometry, life is pointless.\r\n* exercise while sunbathing makes you well-red.\r\nrepeat\r\nThe return of a word, phrase, stanza form, or effect in any form of literature. Repetition is an effective literary device that may hold\r\ncomfort, suggest order, or add special meaning to a piece of literature. Satire\r\nA literary tone used to ridicule or make fun of human vice or weakness, often with the intent of correctin g, or changing, the subject of the satiric attack. simile\r\nA comparison of two dissimilar things using â€Å"like” or â€Å"as” Stereotype\r\nA simplified and/or standardized conception or image with specific meaning, often held in common by members of a group. A stereotype can be a conventional and oversimplified conception, opinion or image. Stereotypes can range from those that are wildly imprecise and negative to those that are more than a unretentive bit true and may even shed positive light upon the group of individuals. They are typically generalizations based on minimal or limited knowledge about a group to which the person doing the stereotyping does not belong. Style\r\nManner of expression; how a speaker or writer says what he says. incredulity\r\nThe feeling of uncertainty and interest about the aftermath of certain actions, most often referring to an audience’s perceptions in a dramatic work. Symbolism\r\nWhen an author uses an object or idea to suggest more than its literal meaning. A person, place, or event stands for something other than it is, usually something broader or deeper than it is. Symbols\r\nIn general terms, anything that stands for something else. frank examples are flags, which symbolize a nation; the cross is a symbol for Christianity; Uncle Sam a symbol for the United States. In literature, a symbol is expected to have significance. Keats starts his ode with a real nightingale, but quickly it becomes a symbol, standing for a life of pure, unmixed joy; then before the end of the poem it becomes only a bird again. Synecdoche\r\nWhen one uses a part to represent the whole.\r\nâ€Å"Lend me your ears.” (give me your attention)\r\nSyntax\r\nThe way in which linguistic elements (as words) are put unitedly Theme\r\n(1) The abstract concept explored in a literary work; (2) frequently recurring ideas, such as enjoy life while you can; (3) repetition of a meaningful element in a work, such as referen ces to sight, vision and sightlessness in Oedipus Rex. Sometimes the theme is also called the motif. Themes in Hamlet include the nature of filial vocation and the dilemma of the idealist in a non-ideal situation. A theme in Keats’s â€Å"Ode to a Nightingale” is the difficulty of correlating the ideal and the real. Tone\r\nThe writer’s attitude toward the material and/or readers. Tone may be playful, formal, intimate, angry, serious, ironic, outraged, baffled, tender, serene, depressed, etc. Tragedy\r\nA story that presents courageous individuals who confront aright forces within or outside themselves with a self-respect that reveals the breadth and attainment of the human spirit in the face of failure, defeat, and even death. Tragedies recount an individual’s downfall; they usually begin high and end low. Shakespeare is know for his tragedies, including Macbeth, King Lear, Othello, and Hamlet. The strike back tragedy is a well-established type of drama that can be traced back to Greek and roman plays, particularly through the Roman playwright Seneca (c. 3 b.c.â€a.d. 63). Revenge tragedies basically consist of a come to that has to be avenged by a coition of the victim. Typically, the victim’s ghost appears to demand revenge and, invariably, madness of some sort is worked into subsequent events, which in the long run end in the deaths of the murderer, the avenger and a number of other characters. Shakespeare’s Hamlet subscribes to the basic ingredients of revenge tragedy. It also transcends these conventions because Hamlet contemplates revenge, suicide and the meaning of life itself. The tragic irony is found in tragedies such as Oedipus Rex, in which Oedipus ironically ends up run himself. A story that presents courageous individuals who confront powerful forces within or outside themselves with a dignity that reveals the breadth and depth of the human spirit in the face of failure, defeat, and even de ath. Tragic irony is a form of dramatic irony found in tragedies such as Oedipus Rex, in which Oedipus ironically ends up hunting himself.. Tragic flaw\r\nAn error or defect in the tragic hero that leads to his downfall, such as\r\ngreed, pride, or ambition. This flaw may be a result of bad character, bad judgment, an genetical weakness, or any other defect of character. seriocomedy\r\nA type of drama that combines certain elements of tragedy and comedy. The play’s plot tends to be serious, in the lead to a terrible catastrophe, until an unexpected turn of events leads to a reversal of circumstance, and the story ends happily. Tragicomedy often employs a romantic, fast-moving plot dealing with love, jealousy, disguises, treachery, intrigue, and surprises, all moving toward a melodramatic resolution. Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice is a tragicomedy. Understatement (also known as litotes and meiosis)\r\nCasual or light treatment of the subject, it has two effects: (1) shows that the author does not take a subject seriously, (2) calls upon the moral choler of the reader because the subject does not seem to be taken seriously. * Example: â€Å"I’m really glad that you have come to visit,” said the spider to the fly. Verisimilitude\r\nSomething that has the appearance of being true or real.\r\n informal\r\nThe everyday or common language of a geographic area or the native language of commoners in a country as irrelevant to a prestigious dead language keep artificially in schools or in literary texts. Latin, for instance, has not been a vernacular language for about 1250 years. Sanskrit has not been a vernacular language in India for more than 2000 years. However, Latin in medieval europium and Sanskrit in ancient India were considered much more desirable for art, scholarship, poetry, and religious texts than the common tongue of everyday people even though (or perhaps because) only a small percentage of the learned could read th e onetime(a) languages.\r\n'