Concept 2 - Recognizing Literary Terms in Examples

The pen is mightier than the sword.

Metonymy We replaced "written words" with "the pen."

Ladies and Gentleman, Boys and Girls! Tonight, your faces will glow with wonder As you witness some of the greatest acts ever seen in the ring! Beauties and beasts, giants and men, dancers and daredevils Will perform before your very eyes Some of the most bold and wondrous stunts You've yet beheld! Watch, now, As they face fire and water, Depths and heights, Danger and fear...

Monologue The ringleader's speech is directed to the audience.

"The river, reflecting the clear blue of the sky, glistened and sparkled as it flowed noiselessly on."

Mood The depiction of idyllic scenery imparts a serene and non-violent mood to the readers.

Throughout a story, there is surprisingly bad weather—snow, freezing rain, and even a tornado. These weather conditions further emphasize the larger theme of nature's power over humans.

Motif

Crash, Bang, Boom

Onomatopoeia

My room is an organized mess, or controlled chaos, if you will. Same difference.

Oxymoron For something to be organized, it cannot be a mess. Chaos is anything but controlled! And how can something be different and the same?

Water, water everywhere but not a drop to drink.

Paradox

I came, I saw, I conquered It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. It was the age of wisdom.

Parallel Structure

Sometimes the sun smiles, the wind whispers to the trees, and the shadows of the leaves dance in the wind.

Personification

Kaitlin wants to buy a puppy. She goes to the pound and begins looking through the cages for her future pet. At the end of the hallway, she sees a small, sweet brown dog with a white spot on its nose. At that instant, she knows she wants to adopt him. After he receives shots and a medical check, she and the dog, Berkley, go home together.

Plot In this example, the exposition introduces us to Kaitlin and her conflict. She wants a puppy but does not have one. The rising action occurs as she enters the pound and begins looking. The climax is when she sees the dog of her dreams and decides to adopt him. The falling action consists of a quick medical check before the resolution, or ending, when Kaitlin and Berkley happily head home.

Russell receives his final badge, a grape soda cap Ellie had once given to Carl. It is revealed that Carl has left the house at Paradise Falls, succeeding at keeping his promise to Ellie. The story ends beautifully, cleanly, and happily.

Resolution

To make lemonade, you add the juice of lemons to water and sugar.

Second Person Point of View

He's as thin as a rail!

Simile

Posting on Facebook complaining how useless Facebook is. A fire station burns down.

Situational Irony

Where be your gibes now? your gambols? your songs? (William Shakespeare, Hamlet)

Soliloquy Hamlet picks up the jester's skull, holds it in his hand, and speaks to it directly, delivering a brooding meditation on death. Hamlet reflects on the fact that this once jovial and funny man has now been reduced to meager bones.

"Let's see, what else do I need to buy? I've got chips, chocolate...oh, and I need to get that awful prune juice for Harold. I can't believe he actually thinks this cleanse thing is gonna work. And to think he wanted me to do it with him. As if I need to lose weight. Hmm, I wonder how late the gym is open tonight."

Stream of Consciousness

A boy has been admitted to the hospital. The nurse says, "He's in good hands."

Synecdoche

Incorrect - While watching a movie, people who text on their phone are very annoying. Correct - People who text on their phone while watching a movie are very annoying.

Syntax

The Tortoise and the Hare from Aesop's Fables: From this story, we learn that the strong and steady win the race.

Allegory

"Don't act like a Romeo in front of her." - "Romeo" is a reference to Shakespeare's Romeo, a passionate lover of Juliet, in "Romeo and Juliet".

Allusion

Read the following excerpt from "The Catcher in the Rye" by J. D. Salinger: "I ran all the way to the main gate, and then I waited a second till I got my breath. I have no wind, if you want to know the truth. I'm quite a heavy smoker, for one thing—that is, I used to be. They made me cut it out. Another thing, I grew six and a half inches last year. That's also how I practically got t.b. and came out here for all these goddam checkups and stuff. I'm pretty healthy though."

Ambiguity The words "they" and "here" used by the speaker are ambiguous. But the readers are allowed to presume from the context that "they" might be the professionals helping out Holden and "here" might be a rehabilitation center.

"Milton! Thou should st be living at this hour!"

Apostrophe

Hamlet, in full snark mode, says to the audience about his uncle, Claudius, "A little more than kin, and less than kind." He's referring to the fact that his dear uncle has, presumably, killed Hamlet's dad. But, of course, he can't say this to Claudius' face, so he says it to the audience instead.

Aside

A story about a mother and daughter: The character and her mother have a large argument in which they both state their feelings. At the end of the argument, they agree to love one another despite their disagreements.

Climax

"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me."

Diction The King James Bible has a very distinctive diction, using words like "yea" and "thy."

Two people are engaged to be married but the audience knows that the man is planning to run away with another woman.

Dramatic Irony

A professionally dressed woman hurriedly leaves the house, slamming the front door. She frantically searches for her keys in the bottom of a giant purse while balancing a briefcase under her other arm. She finds her keys, gets in the car and begins backing out of the driveway, and then slams on the brakes. "I feel like I'm forgetting something," she says. She shrugs and drives away.

Foreshadowing

That suitcase weighed a ton!

Hyperbole

"Doubtful it stood, as two spent swimmers, that do cling together and choke there are."

Inversion

The risky relationship between humankind and developing technology

Theme

I'll just swing by your office at 4 tomorrow! I will meet you in your office tomorrow at 4:00.

Tone These two sentences convey exactly the same ideas, but one does it in a highly informal tone while the other uses a formal tone.

Looking at her son's messy room, Mom says, "Wow, you could win an award for cleanliness!"

Verbal Irony