Literary/dramatic devices: Hamlet
Diction: The particular use of words (vocabulary) and patterns of words (syntax) in oral and
written discourse.

Denotation: The basic meaning of a word, independent of its emotional coloration or
association. The word kitten denotes a young cat.

Connotation: The emotional implications and associations that words carry. A word as
simple as kitten can connote softness, warmth, and playfulness.
Irony/Ironic Tone: A perception of inconsistency, sometimes humorous, in which the
significance and understanding of a statement or event is changed by its context. Example: The
firehouse burned down.
 Dramatic irony: The audience or reader knows more about a character’s situation than
the character does and knows that the character’s understanding is incorrect. Example:
In Medea, Creon asks, “What atrocities could she commit in one day?” The reader,
However, knows Medea will destroy her family and Creon’s by day’s end.
 Structural irony: The use of a naïve hero, whose incorrect perceptions differ from the
reader’s correct ones. Example: Huck Finn.
 Verbal Irony: A discrepancy between what is said and what is really meant; Sarcasm.
Example: A large man whose nickname is “Tiny.”
Figurative Language: Intentional departure from the normal use or meaning of words. F.L.
should not be interpreted literally, but should be understood to communicate ideas beyond the
literal meaning of words. Types include: Analogy, Personification, Hyperbole, Understatement
(Litotes):
Theme: an important and abstract idea at the center of a literary work. Themes are abstract
ideas that are explored by a writer in an attempt to understand something important about
human life. A story may have many themes.
 Theme can be a part of the author’s purpose or message. A poem like “I could not stop
for death” presents multiple themes about death: it’s a friendly companion; people
should appreciate the things around them. The author’s purpose is to communicate
something ABOUT the theme: People shouldn’t be afraid of death because it is a friendly
companion.
Archetype: the original pattern from which copies are made. The word archetype is derived
from the Latin noun archetypum, meaning a template, mold or copy. Examples: Hero, mentor,
temptress.
Allusion: a reference to a person, place, poem, book, event, etc., which is not part of the story,
that the author expects the reader will recognize. Example: “He was a real Romeo with the
ladies.” Romeo was a character in Shakespeare’s play, Romeo and Juliet, and was very romantic
in expressing his love for Juliet.
Aside: Words spoken by an actor in such a way that they are heard by the audience but
supposedly not by the other actors. These words usually represent the inner thoughts of the
speaker. Example: In Hamlet, Polonius says in an aside, while talking with Hamlet, “Though
this be madness, Yet there is method in it.”
Blank verse: Unrhymed lines of poetry written in iambic pentameter. Example: Was this` the
face` that launched` a thou `sand ships` and burned` the top `less towers` of il`I um`? – Dr.
Faustus
Foil: A character whose qualities or actions usually serve to emphasize the actions or qualities
of the main character, the protagonist, by providing a strong contrast. On occasion, the foil is
used as a contrast to a character other than the main one. Examples : Hotspur contrasts Prince
Hal in Shakespeare’s Henry IV, Part I; The Roadrunner of cartoon fame uses Wile E. Coyote as
his foil.
Pun : an expression that achieves emphasis or humor by utilizing:
 Two distinctly different meanings for the same word. Example : “play” meaning “fun:
and “play” meaning a performance on stage. Example: in Romeo and Juliet, one
character, Mercutio, says after being fatally stabbed, “ask for me tomorrow and you
will find me a grave man.”
Or
 Two similar sounding words. Example : Close/clothes .
Simile : A comparison between two different things using either like or as. Examples: I am as
hungry as a horse. The huge trees broke like twigs during the hurricane.
Soliloquy: lines in a play in which a character reveals thoughts to the audience, but not to the
other characters; it is usually longer than an aside and not directed at the audience. Example:
Hamlet’s famous “ To be or not to be” speech.