Lit Quiz Study Guide 2 (Fall OAT)
Polysyndeton
And landed pouring like a waterfall And stumbled through the rocks with horny tread And forced the underbrush And that was all. "And Joshua, and all of Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, and the silver, and the garment, and the wedge of gold, and his sons, and his daughters, and his oxen, and his asses, and his sheep, and his tent, and all that he had." This is among the best examples of polysyndeton found in classical or religious text. See how the conjunction "and" has been used in quick succession to join all the items given in this text.
Difference between Foil and Juxtaposition
As a literary device, foil specifically refers to contrasts between characters within the same narrative. Juxtaposition, as a literary device, is not limited to characters. With juxtaposition, any entities such as ideas, places, and things, can be placed side by side to invite comparison and create ironic effect.
Metonymy
"As he swung toward them holding up the hand Half in appeal, but half as if to keep The life from spilling" The phrase"As to keep the life from spilling" literally means that blood was pouring out of his hand. The word "life" is substituted for "blood", because this experience represented the fact that he was losing his life. Metonymy serves to show a gory picture of the boy's life, for instead of merely saying he had died, the bloody scene represents his loss of life. The author wanted the reader to be horrified with the situation.
Metaphor - extended
"Bobby Holloway says my imagination is a three-hundred-ring circus. Currently I was in ring two hundred and ninety-nine, with elephants dancing and clowns cart wheeling and tigers leaping through rings of fire. The time had come to step back, leave the main tent, go buy some popcorn and a Coke, bliss out, cool down." Here, it can be seen that the "circus" has been compared to the author's "imagination."
Paradox
"Cowards die many times before their deaths; The valiant never taste of death but once" (Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare) "I know one thing, that I know nothing" (Socrates, as according to Plato) "I'm Nobody! Who are you? / Are you - Nobody - too?" (Emily Dickinson)
Parallelism
"Give every man thy ear, but few thy voice; Take each man's censure, but reserve thy judgment." (Act 1, Scene 3). In this example, Polonius uses similar syllables and phrases such as "Thy" and "but to create a balance and flow. The use of parallelism in emphasizes the importance of the advice Polonius gives Laertes
Rhetorical Question
"If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you poison us, do we not die? And if you wrong us, shall we not revenge?" The character Shylock, in Shakespeare's play The Merchant of Venice, asks a series of rhetorical questions in this excerpt. The questions don't necessarily need answers. They are neither questions nor plain statements, but rather something in between the two.
Differences Between Metonymy, Synecdoche, and Metaphor (Examples)
"Life is a climb, but the view is great." This is an example of Metaphor. "Life" is being compared to "a climb." Though these two concepts are different, they are considered interchangeable in this example due to the comparison. "There is a mountain of work on my desk." This is an example of metonymy. "Mountain" is used here as a word that would be related to "pile." Though the word "mountain" is different than "pile," they are both associated with one another. "Today, I hit my job peak." This is an example of Synecdoche. "Peak" is used here to indicate the highest point of the speaker's career experience. The "peak" is part of the whole.
Synecdoche
"Now, Hamlet, hear. 'Tis given out that, sleeping in my orchard, A serpent stung me. So the whole ear of Denmark Is by a forgèd process of my death Rankly abused. But know, thou noble youth, The serpent that did sting thy father's life Now wears his crown." There are two uses of Synecdoche in this excerpt from Hamlet, the ghost uses a serpent to represent Claudius and implying that he murdered the king. Another example is "ear" which represents the entire population of Denmark, also implying his death story has been heard by the population.
Irony-Dramatic
"Othello: I think thou dost. And for I know thou 'rt full of love and honesty And weigh'st thy words before thou giv'st them breath..." This is another very good example of dramatic irony, when Iago manipulates Othello, and Othello puts his faith in Iago as an honest man. However, Iago is plotting against him without his knowledge. Again, the audience knows that Iago is deceiving, but Othello does not.
Irony-Verbal
"She is tolerable but not handsome enough to tempt me." We can find many fine examples of verbal irony in Pride and Prejudice. In this example, we relish ironic flavor of Darcy's statement, as we later find out that the woman he found unsuitable to dance with, ends up taking a place in his heart.
Onomatopoeia
"The buzz saw snarled and rattled in the yard... And the saw snarled and rattled, snarled and rattled." - "Out, Out-" composed by Robert Frost The opening line of poem captures the reader's attention with the aggressive animal like qualities assigned to a chainsaw. Later on in the narration of events, it is this very saw that causes the fate of the boy's gruesome end. The young boy who had taken up a man's work, is in the yard handling heavy machinery right as "supper" is arriving. The boy abruptly is struck in the hand with the saw. This results in a doctor stepping in and attempting to aid the boy by amputating his hand. The boy bleeds out and dies shortly after.
Litotes
Derived from a Greek word litos meaning "simple" or "plain" or "petty" or "small". This a figure of speech which employs an understatement by using double negatives or, in other words, positive statement is expressed by negating its opposite expressions. For example, using the expression "not too bad" for "very good" is an understatement as well as a double negative statement that confirms a positive idea by negating the opposite.
Sarcasm
Did somebody write "stupid" on my forehead? You are depriving some village of their idiot. Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit, but the highest form of intelligence.
Differences Between Metonymy, Synecdoche, and Metaphor
A Synecdoche in which a part of something is used to signify the whole. For example, a common synecdoche for marriage proposal is to ask for someone's "hand" in marriage. Of course, the "hand" in this case is just the part that signifies the whole person who is receiving the proposal. Metonymy is a figure of speech in which one word is used to replace another to which it is closely linked. However, unlike synecdoche, it is not a part of the word or idea it represents One way to differentiate metaphor is that it's used to show similarity between two separate things that appear unrelated
Sarcasm
Generally takes the form of an ironic remark, somewhat rooted in humor, that is intended to mock or satirize something. The use of remarks that clearly mean the opposite of what they say, made in order to hurt someone's feelings or to criticize something in a humorous way.
Shift
A change in mood or attitude that is typically accompanied by a corresponding change in the focus and language of a literary scene, passage or theme. A sudden change... in mood, tone, point of view, diction, or theme. It is sometimes... signaled by transition words such as but or however
Understatement
A figure of speech employed by writers or speakers to intentionally make a situation seem less important than it really is. Deliberately represent[ing] something as very much less in magnitude or importance than it really is, or is ordinarily considered to be.
Synecdoche
A figure of speech in which a part of something is used to signify the whole, or vice-versa. A figure of speech in which a part of something is used to represent the whole. "Wheels" for "car"
Personification
A figure of speech in which an idea or thing is given human attributes and/or feelings or is spoken of as if it were human. The attribution of a personal nature or human characteristics to something nonhuman, or the representation of an abstract quality in human form.
Metonymy
A figure of speech in which one object or idea takes the place of another with which it has a close association. In fact, metonymy means "change of name." A figure of speech consisting of the use of the name of one thing for that of another of which it is an attribute or with which it is associated (such as "crown" in "lands belonging to the crown")
Leitmotif
German for "leading motive" - an image or phrase that recurs throughout a work, each time evoking past associations in such a way as to serve as a subtly unifying element of the work as a whole. Derived from music criticism and Wagnerian opera. Not necessarily the predominant feature of a work, but a repeated element that casts light on central themes and issues. In art, a recurrent repetition of some word, phrase, situation, or idea, such as tends to unify a work through its power to recall earlier occurrences. In a subtle way, "rain" in A Farewell to Arms functions as a leitmotif
Syntax
Hamlet by William Shakespeare. At the beginning of Act 3 when the king is speaking to Polonius about Hamlet. "So shall I hope your virtues will bring him to his wonted way again, to both your honors." In a normal conversation we can just say 'I hope he'll see your qualities and bring him back to the way he was before in a way that will honor you both", but because the syntax is changed and says "...to both your honors" it places a lot of emphasis on the word "honor".
Satire
A literary device for the artful ridicule of a folly or vice as a means of exposing or correcting it. Artistic form, chiefly literary and dramatic, in which human or individual vices, follies, abuses, or shortcomings are held up to censure by means of ridicule, derision, burlesque, irony, parody, caricature, or other methods, sometimes with an intent to inspire social reform
Repetition
A literary device that involves intentionally using a word or phrase for effect, two or more times in a speech or written work. An essential unifying element in nearly all poetry and much prose. It may consist of sounds, particular syllables and words, phrases, stanzas, metrical patterns, ideas, allusions and shapes. Thus refrain, assonance, rhyme, internal rhyme, alliteration and onomatopoeia (qq.v.) are frequent in repetition.
Metaphor-Implied
A literary device used in prose and poetry to compare two unlikely things, with common characteristics without mentioning one of the objects of comparison. It is implied in the texts to make imagery rich and effective and also to make subjects relatable and understandable to the readers.
Difference Between Paradox and Oxymoron
A paradox involves a larger scope than an oxymoron. Paradox is a statement or group of statements that seems to be self-contradictory as to what is logical, yet delivers the message of an inherent plausibility, truth, or meaning. An oxymoron, however, is a combination and juxtaposition of two words that contradict each other, but serve as a sound or logical figure of speech. Whereas oxymoron is a contradiction in terms, paradox is made up of contradictory phrases or sentences.
Rhetorical Question
A question is asked just for effect, or to lay emphasis on some point being discussed, when no real answer is expected. A question propounded for its rhetorical effect and not requiring a reply or intended to induce a reply.
Metaphor - direct
A rhetorical figure of speech that compares two subjects without the use of "like" or "as." Compares two unlike things using the basic construction X is Y.
Oxymoron
A self-contradictory combination of words or smaller verbal units. In greek it means "sharp-dull". A figure of speech which combines incongruous and apparently contradictory words and meanings for a special effect. This is an example, Milton's 'darkness visible' or Lamb's celebrated remark: 'I like a smuggler. He is the only honest thief.
Simile
A simile is a figure of speech in which two essentially dissimilar objects or concepts are expressly compared with one another through the use of "like" or "as." A figure of speech comparing two unlike things that is often introduced by like or as (as in cheeks like roses).
Paradox
A statement that although seemingly contradictory or absurd may actually be well founded or true. A statement that is seemingly contradictory or opposed to common sense and yet is perhaps true".
Polysyndeton
A stylistic device in which several coordinating conjunctions are used in succession in order to achieve an artistic effect. A list or series of words, phrases, or clauses that is connected with the repeated use of the same conjunction.
Metaphor - direct
I'm a riddle in nine syllables, An elephant, a ponderous house, A melon strolling on two tendrils. O red fruit, ivory, fine timbers! This loaf's big with its yeasty rising. Money's new-minted in this fat purse. I'm a means, a stage, a cow in calf. I've eaten a bag of green apples, boarded the train there's no getting off. "Metaphors" - Sylvia Plath Function - In her poem "Metaphors" Sylvia Plath uses many direct metaphors such as "a cow in calf" (Plath 7) and "A melon strolling on two tendrils" (Plath 3) to explain how she's feeling throughout her pregnancy.
Onomatopoeia
A word which imitates the natural sounds of a thing. It creates a sound effect that mimics the thing described, making the description more expressive and interesting, The formation of a word from a sound association with what is named.
Satire
Americans have ideas sometimes that are not so practical. They think that there are good things and bad things. They are very superstitious, you know. This quote gives us an example of some slight satire implemented into the story. The satire is used to criticize the American people as a whole and the culture compared to the Mexican cultures superiority (biased) in a almost comical and ironic way.
Synesthesia
In some melodious plot, Of beechen green, Singest of summer in full throated ease." Keats associates the act of melodious singing with a plot covered with green beechen trees, and thus connects visual sense with the sense of hearing.
Symbol
In the broadest sense a symbol is anything which signifies something; in this sense all words are symbols. In discussing literature, however, the term "symbol" is applied only to a word or phrase that signifies an object or event which in its turn signifies something, or has a range of reference, beyond itself. Often characters, settings, images, or other motifs that stand in for bigger ideas.
Oxymoron
In the poem Spring and All by William Carlos Williams, the narrator is describing the setting in which the cycle of life for this poem takes place. "By the road to the contagious hospital" (Williams 1) Here, the term "Contagious hospital" is an oxymoron because hospitals are meant to heal and suppress contagion, but the hospital here is described as sickly and dangerous. The use of this oxymoron helps emphasize the central cycle of life theme in the poem: contagion is death, and the hospital is life. They cannot exist without each other in this poem: death comes with life, and life comes from death in the seasons
Understatement
It ain't that bad." This occurs after Rawlins has been badly stabbed in the prison. By saying it isn't bad and repeating it, McCarthy calls more attention to just how bad the stab wound is because John feels the need to reassure Rawlins constantly that it isn't a bad stab. This raises the tension of the scene more than the more passive approach of just describing the stab wound. Since the author does not describe the wound and rather tries to downplay it, the reader's imagination can do the work for their writing and make it much worse than a description would get across.
Syntax
It dictates how words from different parts of speech are put together in order to convey a complete thought. The study of the way that sequences of words are ordered into phrases, clauses, and sentences.
Symbol
John Grady dreams of horses while at the hacienda. Horses still wild on the mesa who'd never seen a man afoot and who knew nothing of him or his life yet in whose souls he would come to reside forever" (118). Horses are a symbol in the book, as they embody extra layers of meaning and significance beyond their literal existence as an animal. In the quote, even though the horses aren't actually John Grady's friends, they represent companionship and loyalty, traits that he himself seeks. They also represent the Wild West as a whole, as John Grady observes their presence in Mexico and their role in the west's adventurous, lawless history.
Shift
Lifeless in appearance, sluggish / dazed spring approaches, Williams has gone into great depth in discussing the barren and dismal landscape, and is now shifting from observing the landscape to envisioning the blooming of new life. The contrast between the specific words "lifeless" and "spring" in the two lines highlights the shift from discussing the dead landscape to discussing the future life that will emerge from it. Another emphasis on this shift is the notable use of active verbs in the second line of this quote, as well as the second half of the poem. The first line passively observes the landscape, while the second line involves the word "approaches," which is the first active verb used within the poem. This highlights the stillness of death contrasting with the activity of life, pointing readers to the message that life inevitably arises from destruction and death
Synesthesia
Refers to a technique adopted by writers to present ideas, characters, or places in such a manner that they appeal to more than one sense, like hearing, sight, smell, and touch at a given time. A rhetorical device that describes or associates one sense in terms of another, most often in the form of a simile. Sensations of touch, taste, see, hear, and smell are expressed as being intertwined or having a connection between them. A blending or intermingling of different sense modalities.
Difference Between Parallelism and Repetition
Repetition specifically features the intentional use of a word or phrase, two or more times in close proximity of each other. Parallelism can involve the repetition of words or phrases, but it also must reflect repetition of grammatical and/or structural elements. In fact, the only requirement for parallelism as a literary device is the repetition of grammatical elements and/or structure in a written work-apart from strictly word or phrase repetition repetition emphasizes a word or phrase and can certainly reinforce its meaning; however, parallelism often adds even deeper meaning through repetition of grammatical structure
Irony-Situational
Romeo strives to bring out peace between Tybalt and Mercutio, and eventually between the Capulets and the Montagues. However, Mercutio's death, and subsequently Romeo's pledge to kill Tybalt, escalate a situation leading to his banishment, and finally to the death of both Romeo and Juliet.
Leitmotif
The Green Light. Situated at the end of Daisy's East Egg dock and barely visible from Gatsby's West Egg lawn, the green light represents Gatsby's hopes and dreams for the future. Gatsby associates it with Daisy, and in Chapter 1 he reaches toward it in the darkness as a guiding light to lead him to his goal.
Juxtaposition
The arrangement of two or more ideas, characters, actions, settings, phrases, or words side-by-side or in similar narrative moments for the purpose of comparison, contrast, rhetorical effect, suspense, or character development. Is a form of implied comparison in that there is no overt comparison or inference on the part of the writer.
Personification
The daffodils flocking and honking While daffodils do not flock and honk, by giving the flowers a more human - like quality, it adds to the speaker's annoyance and hatred towards spring. A negative connotation is now added to flowers, considering flowers are usually associated with life and birth
Differences Between Repetition of Sounds
The repetition of sound in the initial letter of a group of words, such as selling sails is somewhat silly. Though repetitions of sounds are also effective literary devices, in general the literary term repetition refers to intentional use of recurring words and phrases in poetry or prose. However, in a broad sense, repetition as a literary device includes repeating sounds through consonance, assonance, and alliteration as well.
Parallelism
The use of components in a sentence that are grammatically the same; or similar in their construction, sound, meaning, or meter. Used in written and oral compositions since ancient times to accentuate or emphasize ideas or images by using grammatically similar constructions. Words, phrases, clauses, sentences, paragraphs, and even larger structural units may be consciously organized into constructions, creating a sense of balance and inviting both comparison and contrast.
Irony-Dramatic
The words or acts of a character may carry a meaning unperceived by the character, but understood by the audience. Usually, the character's own interests are involved in a way that her or she cannot understand. The irony resides in the contrast between the meaning intended by the speaker and the different significance seen by others.
Simile
They rode out on the round dais of the earth which was alone was dark and no light to it and which carried their figures and bore them up into the swarming stars so that they rode not under but among them and they rode at once jaunty and circumspect, like young thieves in a glowing orchard. In the previous example, Grady and Rawlins are in high spirits as they journey towards Mexico. Comparing them to "young thieves in a glowing orchard" alludes to the riches they could earn for themselves in Mexico.
Irony-Situational
This involves a situation in which actions have an effect that is opposite from what was intended, so that the outcome is contrary to what was expected.
Metaphor - extended
This is a metaphor that unfolds across multiple lines or even paragraphs of a text, making use of multiple interrelated metaphors within an overarching one. Refers to a comparison between two unlike things that continues throughout a series of sentences in a paragraph, or lines in a poem.
Repetition
This is part of the sirens' entrancing song used to capture and eventually kill its victims. "I will tell the secret to you, to you, only you...only you, only you can, you are unique" (Atwood 19-20,23-24). The repetition of the word "only," coupled with "you" is used to emphasize the poem's personal tone. Doing so makes the reader (victim) feel unique and special and thus much more likely to pay attention to the siren and its dangerous song. The repetition of "you" throughout the poem also develops the sense of intrigue and deception surrounding the song. For instance, " you" in this scenario tricks the victim into believing that they are the only ones listening to the siren, which inevitably draws them into a false sense of safety.
Irony-Verbal
This occurs when a speaker speaks something contradictory to what he intends to say. To define it simply, it occurs when a character uses a statement with underlying meanings that contrast with its literal meaning; it shows that the writer has used this irony.
Metaphor-Implied
Till the gossamer thread you fling catch somewhere, Oh my soul"-A Noiseless Patient Spider, Walt Whitman We see a transition earlier in the text from the speaker explicitly talking about a spider spinning a web, to instead talking about his own feelings and soul. Whitman never explicitly compares the speakers soul with that of the spider. Instead he relies on the wit and cunning of the reader to make the connection between the reclusive spider and the soul. Hints are dropped in the text through diction. For example the word "gossamer" meaning a fine threadlike substance, implies that the soul should be being compared to the spider.
Difference Between Sarcasm and Verbal Irony
Verbal irony takes place when a speaker says the opposite of what they mean, which violates expectations on some level. Verbal irony often generates subtle, gentle humor. Sarcasm is a form of verbal irony in that it takes place as well when a speaker says something different than what they mean. Sarcasm indicates a deliberate intention to mock, satirize, or otherwise poke fun at something.
Litotes
You're not wrong. I can't disagree with your logic. My feelings are not unhurt. She's not the prettiest This would translate to "she is ugly" because litotes are double negatives. In this instance, Yossarian is trying to tell his friend that his ***** is ugly but attempting to be polite. It tends to be used in informal conversations in literature with a hint of sarcasm.
Juxtaposition
land and sea in Moby Dick human and animal instinct in Life of Pi kindness and selfishness in Cinderella
