Literary devices

Euphemism

Euphemisms are polite, mild phrases which substitute unpleasant ways of saying something sad/ uncomfortable. Ex - - She's a curvy woman. "Curvy" is often used as a euphemism for "overweight." - Jimmy was sent to a correctional facility. A "correctional facility" is a more professional & nicer-sounding phrase than "jail" / "prison."

Differences between personification & pathetic fallacy

Pathetic Fallacy - attribution of human qualities and characteristics to inanimate objects of nature. Personification - attribution of human characteristics to something nonhuman or the representation of an abstract quality in human form.

Colloquialism

a word or phrase that is used mostly in informal speech Ex - Gobsmacked - completely surprised Gutted - horribly disappointed Knackered - totally exhausted

malapropism

act of using an incorrect word in place of one that is similar in pronunciation. Ex - "Texas has a lot of electrical votes" rather than "electoral votes"

Soliloquy

an act of speaking one's thoughts aloud when by oneself or regardless of any hearers, especially by a character in a play. Ex - - From Romeo and Juliet-Juliet speaks her thoughts aloud when she learns that Romeo is the son of her family's enemy - From Romeo and Juliet-Juliet speaks her thoughts aloud just before she drinks the potion that will make her appear to be dead

Personification

assigns human qualities and attributes to objects or other non-human things. Ex - Lightning danced across the sky. The wind howled in the night. The car complained as the key was roughly turned in its ignition.

euphony

combining of words that sound pleasant together / are easy to pronounce, usually because they contain lots of consonants with soft / muffled sounds (like L, M, N, and R) instead of consonants with harsh, percussive sounds (like T, P, and K). Ex - " which goes "So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see, / So long lives this, and this gives life to thee."

Alliteration

conspicuous repetition of identical initial consonant sounds in successive/ closely associated syllables within a group of words, even those spelled differently. As a method of linking words for effect, alliteration is also called head rhyme / initial rhyme. Ex - I need not your needs, They're needless to me, Peter Piped Picked a Peck of Pickled Peppers.

Repitition

device that involves using the same word or phrase over and over again in a piece of writing or speech. Ex - Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.

Litotes

figure of speech and a form of understatement in which a sentiment is expressed ironically by negating its contrary. Ex - "It's not the best weather today" during a hurricane

Chiasmas

figure of speech in which the grammar of 1 phrase is inverted in the following phrase, such that 2 key concepts from the original phrase reappear in the second phrase in inverted order. Ex - "She has all my love; my heart belongs to her,"

Metaphor

figure of speech that describes an object or action in a way that isn't literally true, but helps explain an idea or make a comparison Ex - "Bill is an early bird." "Life is a highway." "Her eyes were diamonds."

Oxymoron

grouping of oppositional words to create a new, unique word or phrase. Ex - Act naturally. Alone together. Amazingly awful. Bittersweet.

Anthropomorphism

literary device that assigns human characteristics to nonhuman entities like animals/ inanimate objects. Ex - Winnie the Pooh, the Little Engine that Could, & Simba from the movie The Lion King

Imagery

sort of writing, encompasses the use of literal / figurative language to add symbolism & enable the reader to imagine the world of the piece of literature. Ex - - The autumn leaves are a blanket on the ground. - Her lips tasted as sweet as sugar.

Paradox

statement that may seem contradictory but can be true (or at least make sense) Ex - "It's weird not to be weird" "Whatever you do in life will be insignificant, but it is very important that you do it"

pathetic fallacy

the attribution of human emotion and conduct to things found in nature that are not human. Ex- clouds seem sullen, when leaves dance, or when rocks seem indifferent.

portmanteau

two or more words are joined together to coin a new word, which refers to a singe concept. Ex - chortle (from chuckle and snort), smog (from smoke and fog), brunch (from breakfast and lunch), mockumentary (from mock and documentary), and spork (from spoon and fork)

Hyperbole

uses extreme exaggeration to make a point or show emphasis. - I'm so hungry that I could eat a horse. - That purse looks like it cost a million dollars. - I Love You to the moon and back.

Symbolism

uses symbols, be they words, people, marks, locations, or abstract ideas to represent something beyond the literal meaning.

Allusion

when a piece of writing tries to hint at a person, place, thing, literature, or art. Example - You're acting like such a Scrooge! Alluding to Dickens's A Christmas Carol, this line means that the person is being miserly & selfish, just like the character Scrooge from the story.

Foreshadowing

writer gives an advance hint of what is to come later in the story. Foreshadowing often appears at the beginning of a story, or a chapter

Situational Irony

- A fire station that burns down - Winner of a spelling bee failing a spelling test - A t-shirt with a "Buy American" logo that is made in China - Marriage counselor divorcing third wife

Verbal Irony

- Telling a quiet group, "don't everybody speak all at once" - Coming home to a big mess and saying, "it's great to be back" - Telling a rude customer to "have a nice day"

Juxtaposition

2 ideas / places placed side-by-side (help the reader appreciate between both sides) Ex - - It was the best of times, it was the worst of times -The town mouse, & the country mouse

Satire

A literary work that criticizes human misconduct and ridicules vices, stupidities, and follies. Ex - A. In America, citizens have right to bear arms B. Oh, so its ok with u for hundreds of innocent kids to be killed each year with unregistered handguns?

circumlocution

The writer uses exaggeratedly long & complex sentences in order to convey a meaning that could have otherwise been conveyed through a shorter, much simpler sentence. He-who-must-not-be-named (for lord Voldemort)

Simile

a figure of speech and type of metaphor that compares two different things using the words "like" or "as." The purpose of a simile is to help describe one thing by comparing it to another thing that is perhaps seemingly unrelated. Ex - - You were as brave as a lion. - They fought like cats and dogs. - He is as funny as a barrel of monkeys. - This house is as clean as a whistle.

Anastrophe

a figure of speech in which the normal word order of the subject, the verb, & the object is changed. Ex - "Ready, are you" instead of "are you ready"

Flashback

a flashback is a scene that takes place before a story begins. Flashbacks interrupt the chronological order of the main narrative to take a reader back in time to the past events in a character's life. A woman is about to get married. As she puts on her veil, she remembers her fiancé three years before, swearing he would make her his wife someday. A tear comes to her eye and she prepares to walk down the aisle.

Irony

a literary device is a situation in which there is a contrast between expectation and reality.

Isocolon

a sentence or series of sentences composed of two or more phrases of similar structure and length. Ex - "buy one, get one,"

Aphorism

a short statement of a general truth, insight, / good advice. It's roughly similar to a "saying." Ex - Actions speak louder than words. - All for one and one for all. - Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes. - Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.

Allegory

a simple story that represents a larger point about society/ human nature, whose different characters may represent real-life figures. Example - the surface story might be about 2 neighbors throwing rocks at each other's homes, but the hidden story would be about war between countries.

Motif

a theme or idea that is frequently repeated throughout a piece of literature or music Ex - - A repeated reference or visual of shattered glass (something in life is about to break) - Recurring dishonest characters (to cue up the discovery of an unfaithful spouse)

Verse

a verse is formally a single metrical line in a poetic composition. However, verse has come to represent any division or grouping of words in a poetic composition, with groupings traditionally having been referred to as stanzas.

Onomatopoeia

a word describes a sound and actually mimics the sound of the object or action it refers to when it is spoken. Ex - The "boom" of a firework exploding, the "tick tock" of a clock, and the "ding dong" of a doorbell

Synecdoche

a word for a small component of something can stand in rhetorically for the larger whole, or vice versa.

Anachronism

person / a thing placed in the wrong time period. (To make it easier for audiences to relate to other historical periods, / to add an element of humor & surprise to a story) Ex - if a painter paints a portrait of Aristotle, & shows him wearing a wrist watch,

spoonerism

practice of interchanging the first letters of some words in order to create new words or even to create nonsensical words in order to create a humorous setting. "Three cheers for our queer old dean!" (rather than "dear old queen," which is a reference to Queen Victoria)

Point of view

refers to who is telling or narrating a story. A story can be told from the first person, second person or third person point of view (POV).

polysyndeton

repeated use of coordinating conjunctions to connect different items in a sentence. The repetition of conjunctions—and, but, or, nor—in close succession is a deliberate style choice to place emphasis on each listed word or phrase. The effect is often an excited or serious mood. Ex - "We have ships and men and money and stores," the coordinating conjunction "and" is used in quick succession to join words occurring together.

Anphora

serves the purpose of delivering an artistic effect to a passage. It is also used to appeal to the emotions of the audience in order to persuade, inspire, motivate & encourage them. Ex - Martin Luther King's famous "I Have a Dream" speech contains anaphora: "So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire.