Literary Devices and Techniques: A Comprehensive Guide, Apuntes de Literatura inglesa

¡Descarga Literary Devices and Techniques: A Comprehensive Guide y más Apuntes en PDF de Literatura inglesa solo en Docsity! DEVICE DEFINITION ALLEGORY story or poem in which characters, settings, and events stand for other people or events or for abstract ideas or qualities (Animal Farm) ALLUSION reference to someone or something that is known from history, literature, religion, politics, sports, science, or another branch of culture. An indirect reference to something (usually from literature) ANALOGY Comparison made between two things to show how they are alike APHORISM/ MAXIM brief, cleverly worded statement that makes a wise observation about life, or of a principle or accepted general truth APOSTROPHE calling out to an imaginary, dead, or absent person, or to a place or thing, or a personified abstract idea ELEGY a poem of mourning, usually about someone who has died. EPIC a long narrative poem, written in heightened language , which recounts the deeds of a heroic character who embodies the values of a particular society HYPERBOLE a figure of speech that uses an incredible exaggeration or overstatement, for effect. (“If I told you once, I’ve told you a million times….”) IMAGERY the use of language to evoke a picture or a concrete sensation of a person , a thing, a place, or an experience. IRONY a discrepancy between appearances and reality (VERBAL, SITUATIONAL, DRAMATIC) LYRIC POEM a poem that does not tell a story but expresses the personal feelings or thoughts of the speaker METAPHOR a figure of speech that makes a comparison between two unlike things without the use of such specific words of comparison as like, as, than, or resembles EXTENDED METAPHOR is a metaphor that is extended or developed as far as the writer wants to take it. (conceit if it is quite elaborate). METONYMY a person, place, or thing, is referred to by something closely associated with it. (“We requested from the crown support for our petition.”) OXYMORON combination of opposite or contradictory terms in a brief phrase. “Jumbo shrimp.” “Pretty ugly.” “Bitter-sweet” PARADOX a statement that appears self-contradictory, but that reveals a kind of truth. PERSONIFICATION attributing human characteristics to an animal or inanimate object PUN play on words SIMILE a figure of speech that makes an explicitly comparison between two unlike things, using words such as like, as , than, or resembles SYMBOL a person, place, thing, or event that has meaning in itself and that also stands for something more than itself SYNECDOCHE a figure of speech in which a part represents the whole. “If you don’t drive properly, you will lose your wheels.” The wheels represent the entire car POETRY - RELATED TO CONTENT DEVICE/FEATURE DEFINITION AMBIGUITY deliberately suggesting two or more different, and sometimes conflicting, meanings in a work. An event or situation that may be interpreted in more than one way- - this is done on purpose by the author, when it is not done on purpose, it is vagueness, and detracts from the work ANECDOTE Brief story, told to illustrate a point or serve as an example of something, often shows character of an individual ANTITHESIS Balancing words, phrases, or ideas that are strongly contrasted, often by means of grammatical structure. CHARACTERIZATION process by which the writer reveals the personality of a character INDIRECT CH. the author reveals to the reader what the character is like by describing how the character looks and dresses, by letting the reader hear what the character says, by revealing the character’s private thoughts and feelings, by revealing the characters effect on other people (showing how other characters feel or behave toward the character), or by showing the character in action. Common in modern literature DIRECT CH. the author tells us directly what the character is like: sneaky, generous, mean to pets and so on. Romantic style literature relied more heavily on this form. CLICHE word or phrase, often a figure of speech, that has become lifeless because of overuse COLLOQUIALISM a word or phrase in everyday use in conversation and informal writing but is inappropriate for formal situations CONCEIT elaborate metaphor that compares two things that are startlingly different. Often an extended metaphor. CONFLICT struggle between opposing forces or characters in a story INTERNAL CONF. a conflict can be internal, involving opposing forces within a person’s mind. EXTERNAL CONF. conflicts can exist between two people, between a person and nature or a machine or between a person a whole society CONNOTATION the associations and emotional overtones that have become attached to a word or phrase, in addition to its strict dictionary definition DICTION a speaker or writer’s choice of words DIDACTIC form of fiction or nonfiction that teaches a specific lesson or moral or provides a model of correct behavior or thinking ARGUMENTATION one of the four forms of discourse which uses logic, ethics, and emotional appeals (logos, ethos, pathos) to develop an effective means to convince the reader to think or act in a certain way DESCRIPTION EXPOSITION one of the four major forms of discourse, in which something is explained or “set forth.” NARRATIVE the form of discourse that tells about a series of events FLASHBACK a scene that interrupts the normal chronological sequence of events in a story to depict something that happened at an earlier time. FORESHADOWING the use of hints and clues to suggest what will happen later in a plot. MOOD An atmosphere created by a writer’s diction and the details selected. MOTIVATION the reasons for a character’s behavior. PLOT the series of related events in a story or play, sometimes called the storyline. POINT OF VIEW the vantage point from which the writer tells the story RHETORIC Art of effective communication, especially persuasive discourse STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS a style of writing that portrays the inner (often chaotic) workings of a character’s mind PROSE COMEDY in general, a story that ends with a happy resolution of the conflicts faced by the main character or characters FABLE very short story told in prose or poetry that teaches a practical lesson about how to succeed in life FARCE a type of comedy in which ridiculous and often stereotyped characters are involved in silly, far-fetched situations PARABLE a relatively short story that teaches a moral, or lesson about how to lead a good life. PARODY a work that makes fun of another work by imitating some aspect of the writer’s style. ROMANCE in general, a story in which an idealized hero or heroine undertakes a quest and is successful. SATIRE a type of writing that ridicules the shortcomings of people or institutions in an attempt to bring about a change. TRAGEDY in general, a story in which a heroic character either dies or comes to some other unhappy end. GENRES-SUBGENRES NAME DESCRIPTION TIME PURITANISM Writing style of America’s early English-speaking colonists. emphasizes obedience to God and consists mainly of journals, sermons, and poems 1620-1770 PLAIN STYLE Writing style that stresses simplicity and clarity of expression (but will still utilize allusions and metaphors), and was the main form of the Puritan writers NEOCLASSICISM/ RATIONALISM/ AGE OF REASON a movement that began in Europe in the seventeenth century, which held that we can arrive at truth by using our reason rather than relying on the authority of the past, on the authority of the Church, or an institution 1770-1800 IMPRESSIONISM a nineteenth-century movement in literature and art which advocated a recording of the artist’s personal impressions of the world, rather than a strict representation of reality ROMANTICISM a revolt against Rationalism that affected literature and the other arts, beginning in the late eighteenth century and remaining strong throughout most of the nineteenth century 1800-1870 TRASCENDENTALISM a nineteenth century movement in the Romantic tradition , which held that every individual can reach ultimate truths through spiritual intuition, which transcends reasons and sensory experience SYMBOLISM a literary movement that originated in late nineteenth century France, in which writers rearranged the world of appearances in order to reveal a more truthful version of reality. REALISM a style of writing, developed in the nineteenth century, that attempts to depict life accurately without idealizing or romanticizing it. 1850-1900 REGIONALISM literature that emphasizes a specific geographic setting and that reproduces the speech, behavior, and attitudes of the people who live in that region. 1884-1900 NATURALISM a nineteenth century literary movement that was an extension of realism and that claimed to portray life exactly as it was 1800-1900 MODERNISM a term for the bold new experimental styles and forms that swept the arts during the first third of the twentieth century 1920-1945 SURREALISM movement in art and literature that started in Europe during the 1920s. Surrealists wanted to replace conventional realism with the full expression of the unconscious mind, which they considered to be more real than the “real” world of appearance 1920s POST-MODERNISM 1945- WRITING MOVEMENTS ANTAGONIST Opponent who struggles against or blocks the hero, or protagonist, in a story. PROTAGONIST the central character in a story, the one who initiates or drives the action. Usually the hero or anti-hero ANTIHERO Central character who lacks all the qualities traditionally associated with heroes. may lack courage, grace, intelligence, or moral scruples FOIL A character who acts as contrast to another character. Often a funny side kick to the dashing hero, or a villain contrasting the hero. STATIC CHAR. one who does not change much in the course of a story DYNAMIC CH. is one who changes in some important way as a result of the story’s action FLAT CHARACTER has only one or two personality traits. They are one dimensional, like a piece of cardboard. They can be summed up in one phrase ROUND CHAR. has more dimensions to their personalities-they are complex, as real people are CHARACTERS FEATURES / CHARACTERS ROLES DEVICE DEFINITION ALLITERATION repetition of the same or similar consonant sounds in words that are close together ANAPHORA Repetition of a word, phrase, or clause at the beginning of two or more sentences in a row. This is a deliberate form of repetition and helps make the writer’s point more coherent ASSONANCE the repetition of similar vowel sounds followed by different consonant sounds especially in words that are together CHIASMUS Repetition of words in successive clauses in reverse grammatical order COUPLET two consecutive rhyming lines of poetry FREE VERSE poetry that does not conform to a regular meter or rhyme scheme IAMBIC PENTAMENTER a line of verse with five metrical feet, each consisting of one short (or unstressed) syllable followed by one long (or stressed) syllable, for example Two households, both alike in dignity. INVERSION the reversal of the normal word order in a sentence or phrase PARALLEL STRUCTURE (parallelism) the repetition of words or phrases that have similar grammatical structures. QUATRAIN a poem consisting of four lines, or four lines of a poem that can be considered as a unit. REFRAIN a word, phrase, line, or group of lines that is repeated, for effect, several times in a poem RHYTHM a rise and fall of the voice produced by the alternation of stressed and unstressed syllables in language SONNET a poem of fourteen lines using any of a number of formal rhyme schemes, in English typically having ten syllables per line. STANZA a group of lines forming the basic recurring metrical unit in a poem POETRY - RELATED TO FORM