Literary Devices 1st Semester Exam

foil

A ____ is another character in a story who contrasts with the main character, usually to highlight one of their attributes. Ex: In the popular book series, Harry Potter, the character of Hogwarts principal Albus Dumbledore, who portrays "good", is constantly shown to believe in the power of true love and is portrayed as a strong, benevolent and positive character while the antagonist Lord Voldemort, who depicts the evil and "bad" in the series is constantly shown to mock and disbelieve the sentiments of love and think of it as a foolish indulgence, a trait that is finally his undoing.

hyperbole

A ______ is a device wherein the author uses specific words and phrases that exaggerate and overemphasize the basic crux of the statement in order to produce a grander, more noticeable effect. The purpose of ______ is to create a larger-than-life effect and overly stress a specific point. Such sentences usually convey an action or sentiment that is generally not practically/realistically possible or plausible but helps emphasize an emotion. Ex: "I am so tired I cannot walk another inch" or "I'm so sleepy I might fall asleep standing here."

aphorism

A concise statement that is made in a matter of fact tone to state a principle or an opinion that is generally understood to be a universal truth. __________ are often adages, wise sayings and maxims aimed at imparting sense and wisdom. It is to be noted that ________ are usually witty and curt and often have an underlying tone of authority to them. Ex: Upon seeing the shoddy work done by the employee the boss told him to "either shape up or ship out."

anastrophe

A form of literary device wherein the order of the noun and the adjective in the sentence is exchanged. Ex: He spoke of times past and future, and dreamt of things to be.

circumlocution

A form of writing where the writer uses exaggeratedly long and complex sentences in order to convey a meaning that could have otherwise been conveyed through a shorter, much simpler sentence. Ex: Instead of writing "At 8 pm he arrived by car for the dinner party." The author writes, "Around 3 hours after sunset, it was winter at the time, the man arrived in a combustion engine driven piece of technology with four wheels to join other bipedal creatures in the ingestion of somewhat large quantities of food and drink while having discourse around a large wooden mesa designed for such a purpose."

analogy

A literary device that helps to establish a relationship based on similarities between two concepts or ideas. Ex: In the same way as one cannot have the rainbow without the rain, one cannot achieve success and riches without hard work.

epithet

A literary device that is used as a descriptive device. It is usually used to add to a person or place's regular name and attribute some special quality to the same. They are remarkable in that they become a part of common parlance over time. These descriptive words and phrases can be used to enhance the person of real and fictitious places, objects, persons, and divinities. Ex: "Alexander the Great" is the ____ commonly used to refer to Alexander III of Macedon. The young king has come to be recognized by this _____ in all of history and popular culture owing to his spectacular achievements in creating one of the largest ever historical empires.

conflict

A literary device used for expressing a resistance the protagonist of the story finds in achieving his aims or dreams. The ________ is a discord that can have external aggressors or can even arise from within the self. It can occur when the subject is battling his inner discord, at odds with his surroundings or it may be pitted against others in the story. Ex: John tried hard to convince himself that his Hollywood dreams were worth the struggle but his parents, and his inner voice of reason, failed to agree.

alliteration

A literary device where words are used in quick succession and begin with letters belonging to the same sound group. Ex: The wicked witch of the west went her own way.

hyperbaton

A literary device wherein the author plays with the regular positioning of words and phrases and creates a differently structured sentence to convey the same meaning. It is said that by using a ______, words or phrases overstep their conventional placements and result in a more complex and intriguing sentence structure. This literary device is used to add more depth and interest to the sentence structure. Ex: "Alone he walked on the cold, lonely roads." This sentence is a variation of the more conventional, "He walked alone on the cold, lonely roads."

amplification

A literary practice wherein the writer embellishes the sentence by adding more information to it in order to increase its worth and understandability. Ex: Original - The thesis paper was difficult. After ______________ - The thesis paper was difficult: it required extensive research, data collection, sample surveys, interviews and a lot of fieldwork.

asyndeton

A practice in literature whereby the author purposely leaves out conjunctions in the sentence, while maintaining the grammatical accuracy of the phrase. ____________ as a literary tool helps in shortening up the implied meaning of the entire phrase and presenting it in a succinct form. Ex: 1. Read, write, learn. 2. Watch, absorb, understand. 3. Reduce, reuse, recycle.

archetype

A reference to a concept, a person or an object that has served as a prototype of its kind and is the original idea that has come to be used over and over again. ______________ are literary devices that employ the use of a famous concept, person or object to convey a wealth of meaning. _______________ are immediately identifiable and even though they run the risk of being overused, they are still the best examples of their kind. Ex: Romeo and Juliet are an _________ of eternal love and a star-crossed love story.

assonance

A repetition of sounds produced by vowels within a sentence or phrase. In this regard ____________ can be understand to be a kind of alliteration. What sets it apart from alliterations is that it is the repetition of only vowel sounds. Ex: "A long song." (Where the 'o' sound is repeated in the last two words of the sentence.)

anecdote

A short accounting of a funny, amusing, interesting event or incident. Ex: A president often shares an event in his memoir of an interesting.

allegory

A symbolism device where the meaning of a greater, often abstract, concept is conveyed with the aid of a more tangible object. Ex: Faith is like a stormy uphill climb; a single stumble might send you sprawling, but belief and steadfastness will see you to the very top.

bildungsroman

A very popular form of storytelling whereby the author bases the plot on the overall growth of the central character throughout the timeline of the story. As the story progresses, the subject undergoes noticeable mental, physical, social, emotional, moral, and often spiritual advancement and strengthening before the readers' eyes. Ex: Scarlet O'Hara in Gone With the Wind experiences immense personal growth as she learns the value of friends and hard work under duress, without compromising her own dreams.

allusion

An _____________ is a figure of speech whereby the author refers to a subject matter such as a place, event, or literary work by way of a passing reference. Ex: It's no wonder everyone refers to Mary as another Mother Teresa in the making; she loves to help and care after people everywhere - from the streets to her own friends.

anagram

An extremely popular form of literary device wherein the writer jumbles up parts of the word to create a new word. Ex: _________ for "debit card" is "bad credit."

authorial intrusion

An interesting literary device wherein the author penning the story, poem, or prose steps away from the text and speaks out to the reader.

bibliomacy

As the very name itself suggests, this kind of literary device finds its roots in biblical origins. Ex: The Vedas serve as a tool for _______________ to the Hundus while Muslins rely on the Koran.

cacophony

In literature this refers to the use of words and phrases that imply strong, harsh sounds within the phrase. These words have jarring and dissonant sounds that create a disturbing, objectionable atmosphere. Ex: His fingers rapped and pounded the door, and his foot thumped against the yellowing wood.

faulty parallelism

In literature, the term is used to refer to the practice of placing together similarly structure related phrases, words, or clauses. The failure to maintain a balance in grammatical forms is known as wherein similar grammatical forms receive dissimilar or unequal weight. Ex: On the TV show The Simpsons, lead character Bart Simpson says, "they are laughing, now with me."

deus ex machina

It is a rather debatable and often criticized form of literary device. It refers to the incidence where an implausible concept or character is brought into the story in order to make the conflict in the story resolve and to bring about a pleasing solution. Ex: If in a suspense novel the protagonist suddenly finds a solution to his dilemmas because of divine intervention.

diction

It is the distinctive tone or tenor of an author's writings. Diction is not just a writer's choice of words; it can include the mood, attitude, dialect, and style of writing. It is usually judged with reference to the prevailing standards of proper writing and speech and is seen as the mark of quality of the writing. It is also understood as the selection of certain words or phrases that become peculiar to a writer. Ex: Certain writers in the modern day and age use archaic terms such as "thy," "thee," and "wherefore" to imbue a Shakespearean mood to their work.

antithesis

It is used when the writer employs two sentences of contrasting meanings in close proximity to one another. Whether they are words or phrases of the same sentence, an ________ is used to create a stark contrast using two divergent elements that come to create one uniform whole. Ex: When Neil Armstrong walked on the moon it might have been one small step for a man but it was one giant leap for mankind.

characterization

Refers to the step by step process wherein an author introduces and then describes a character. The character can be described directly by the author or indirectly throught the actions, thoughts, and speech of the character. Ex: Michael Corleone was not jus' a mafiaso, but a family man. A man who walked the knife's edge to preserve his sanity.

anthropomorphism

The act of lending a human quality, emotion or ambition to a non-human object or being. This act of lending a human element to a non-human subject is often employed in order to endear the latter to the readers or audience and increase the level or relativity between the two while also lending character to the subject. Ex: The raging storm brought with it howling winds and fierce lightning as the residents of the village looked up at the angry skies in alarm.

doppelganger

The term is derived from the German language and literally translates into "double walker." It refers to a character in the story that is actually a counterfeit or a copy of a genuine character. ____________ of the main characters usually bear the ability to impersonate the original but have vastly different spirits and intentions. The _____________ usually has a different appearance but an earthly soul and supernatural hoodwinking abilities that allow it to fool other unsuspecting characters. Ex: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

euphemism

The term is used to refer to the literary practice of using a comparatively milder or less abrasive form of a negative description instead of its original, unsympathetic form. This device is used when writing about matters such as sex, violence, death, crimes, and things "embarrassing." The purpose of ______ is to substitute unpleasant and severe words with more genteel ones in order to mask the harshness. The use of ____ is sometimes manipulated to lend a touch of exaggeration or irony in satirical writing. Ex: Using "to put out to pasture" when one implies retiring a person because they are too old to be effective.

connotation

These are associations people make with words that go beyond the literal or dictionary definition. Ex: And once again, the autumn leaves were falling. This phrase uses "autumn" to signify something coming to an end.

epilogue

They are inherent part of any story or poem and are essential to the structure of any written form. The epilogue is important literary tool that acts as the afterword once the last chapter is over. The purpose of an epilogue is to add a little insight to some interesting developments that happen once the major plot is over. Epilogues often act as a teaser trailer to any possible sequels that might be created later.

flashback

This is a literary device wherein the author depicts the occurrence of specific events to the reader, which have taken place before the present time the narration is following, or events that have happened before the events that are currently unfolding in the story. Ex: Back in the day when Sara was a young girl...

caesura

This literary device involves creating a fracture of sorts within a sentence where the two separate parts are distinguishable from one another yet intrinsically linked to one another. The purpose of using a _______ is to create a dramatic pause, which has a strong impact. The pause helps to add an emotional, often theatrical touch to the sentence and conveys a depth of sentiment in a short phrase. Ex: Mozart- oh how your music makes me soar!

foreshadowing

This literary device refers to the use of indicative word or phrases and hints that set the stage for a story to unfold and give the reader a hint of something that is going to happen without revealing the story or spoiling the suspense. _______ is used to suggest an upcoming outcome to the story. Ex: "He had no idea of the disastrous chain of events to follow."

euphony

This literary device refers to the use of phrases and words that are noted for possessing an extensive degree of notable loveliness or melody in the sound thy create. The use of _____ is predominant in literary prose and poetry, where poetic devices such as alliterations, rhymes and assonance are used to create pleasant sounds. Ex: It has been said that the phrase "cellar door" is reportedly the most pleasant sounding phrase in the English Language. The phrase is said to depict the highest degree of this device and is said to be especially notable when spoken in the British accent.

ekphrastic

This refers to a form of writing, mostly poetry, wherein the author describes another work of art, usually visual. It is used to convey the deeper symbolism of the corporeal art form by means of a separate medium. Ex: A photograph of an empty landscape can convey desolation, abandon, and loss. Similarly, one can convey the same sentiments and concepts by using phrases such as "an empty doorway" or "a childless nursery."

denotation

This refers to the use of the dictionary definition or literal meaning of a word. Ex: They built a house.

hubris

_____, in this day and age, is another way of saying overly arrogant. You can tell the difference of ____ and just regular arrogance or pride by the fact that the character has seemed to allow reality to slip away from them. Ex: A classic example is featured in Shakespeare's play Macbeth. Macbeth, the protagonist, overfilled with ambition and arrogance, allows his ___ to think you would be able to kill the valiant Duncan without penalty so he can claim the throne of Scotland for himself. Obviously murder is highly frowned upon, so this eventually leads to Macbeth's demise as well.

chiasmus

_______________ is a figure of speech containing two phrases that are parallel but inverted to each other. Ex: You can take the patriot of the country, but you cannot take the country out of the patriot.