alliteration
allusion
antithesis
apostrophe
assonance
consonance
details
diction
mood
figures of
speech
flashback foreshadowing
hyperbole
imagery
irony
metaphor
motivation
narration
oxymoron
paradox
personification
plot
onomatopoeia
prosody
protagonist
pun
repetition
rhyme
sarcasm
simile
sound devices
structure
style
suspense
symbol
theme
tone
understatement
websites
header page plagiarism
setting
point of view
shift or turn
synecdoche
syntax
north penn
Yahoo!
alliteration
“The twisting trout twinkled below.”
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Example
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is the practice of beginning several
consecutive or neighboring words
with the same sound.
allusion
is a reference to a mythological, literary, or historical
person, place or thing: e.g., “He met his Waterloo.”
Click here for a
good site on
allusion
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Example
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Tired of trying to explain
the creature to his students,
Mr. Swindells assumes the
necessary guise to enter
its habitat and convinces it
to pose for a photograph.
antithesis
is a direct juxtaposition of structurally parallel words, phrases, or
clauses for the purpose of contrast: e.g., “sink or swim.”
Sink or swim
“…for richer
or poorer…”
Anthony’s
nuptial
antithesis
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Example
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apostrophe
Oh,
period …
Thou
shouldst
be living!
Example
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the repetition of accented vowel
sounds in a series of words
the repetition of a consonant
sound within a series of words to
produce a harmonious effect
“And each
low
u k a
rawing- own of blind ”
“Cr b the hills de”
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Example
in Context
details
The facts revealed by
the author or
speaker that support
the attitude or tone
in a piece of
poetry or prose.
Example
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Diction is word choice intended to convey a certain effect.
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figures of speech
Words or phrases that describe
one thing in terms of something
else. They always involve some
sort of imaginative comparison
between seemingly unlike
things.
Not meant to be taken
literally, figurative language
is used to produce images
in a reader’s mind and to
express ideas in fresh, vivid
and imaginative ways.
Example
in Context
The most common examples of figurative language, or figures of speech,
used both in poetry and prose, are simile, metaphor and personification.
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Some said that the order in which they walked was to
foreshadow the order of their deaths…
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hyperbole
A deliberate, extravagant, and often outrageous exaggeration:
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Imagery
The words or phrases a writer
uses to represent persons,
objects, actions, feelings, and
ideas descriptively appealing to
the senses.
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Example
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Irony
Example
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Verbal irony: when a person says one thing,
but means the exact opposite: e.g., “It is easy
to stop smoking. I’ve done it many times.”
Situational irony: when a situation turns out
differently from what one would expect —
though often the twist is oddly appropriate:
e.g., a deep sea diver drowning in a bathtub.
“Isn’t it
ironic, don’t
you think?”
Dramatic irony: when a character or speaker
says or does something
that has different
meanings from what he
or she thinks it has,
though the audience and
other characters
understand the full
implications of the
speech or action: e.g.,
Romeo kills himself
believing Juliet has died,
while the audience
knows Juliet is still alive.
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Metaphor
A COMPARISON OF TWO UNLIKE
THINGS NOT USING “LIKE” OR “AS.”
Example
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Example 2
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“TIME IS MONEY.”
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Mood
The atmosphere or
predominant emotion
in a literary work.
Obvious
Example
Less
Obvious
Example
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Motivation
A circumstance or set of
circumstances that prompts a
character to act in a certain way or
that determines the outcome of a
situation or work.
Example
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narration
Example
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Onomatopoeia
The use of words
that mimic the
sounds they
describe: e.g.,
“hiss,” “buzz,” and
“bang.”
When onomatopoeia
is used on an
extended scale in a
poem, it is called
imitative harmony.
(imitative harmony)
Example
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OXYMORON
A form of paradox that combines a pair of
opposite terms into a single unusual expression.
Example
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PARADOX
Ah, yes …
everything is going
according to my
plans…
Paradox occurs when the
elements of a statement
contradict each other.
Although the statement may
appear illogical, impossible,
or absurd, it turns out to
have a coherent meaning
that reveals a hidden truth:
e.g., “Much madness is
divinest sense.”
Example
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Personification
Example
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PLOT
THE SEQUENCE OF EVENTS OR ACTIONS IN A SHORT STORY, NOVEL, PLAY, OR
NARRATIVE POEM.
Example
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Point of view
The perspective from which a story is told.
Example
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PROSODY
The study of sound and rhythm.
Example
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protagonist
Fortunately, not only could our
CanPROTAGONIST
our protagonist
save
fly … he was
also the
A day!?!?
HELP
PRO diver!
ME
!!!
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What is a pun? The following information is from the Pun FAQtory. In Italian, 'puntiglio' means "a
fine point," hence a verbal quibble, and is most likely the source of the English "punctilious.“ A pun
is defined by Webster as "the humorous use of a word, or of words which are formed or sounded
alike but have different meanings, in such a way as to play on two or more of the possible
applications; a play on words."
Why do people groan when a pun is told? A pun is often considered obvious humor, since the
person relating it is merely balancing the humor in it on a twist of a word's meaning or sound.
Children love this type of obvious humor and can laugh at it without reproachments. Adults, on the
other hand, are more likely to have a twinge of envy, and "why didn't I think of that?". It is this envy
in adults that subconciously causes them to groan upon hearing a pun. As time goes on, it can only
be hoped that we adults will eventually learn to react more like a child and less like a groan-up!
There are different types of puns. Homographic puns make use of multiple meanings from a single
spelling (e.g., "pen" for writing instrument or animal enclosure). These are also referred to as
"antanaclasis". Homophonic puns use like sounds but with different spellings and meanings. This
is also referred to as polyptoton. Examples of homophones are scent and sent, jeans and genes,
waive and wave, and buy and bye.
Slide 2
Example
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Repetition
The deliberate use of any element of language more than once.
This can be repetition in sound, word, phrase,
sentence, grammatical pattern, or rhythmical pattern.
Example
in Context
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Types of Rhyme:
true rhyme or perfect rhyme — late-fate; hollow-follow
Masculine rhyme: a single stressed syllable — still-hill
Feminine rhyme (also double rhyme): a stressed syllable
followed by an unstressed syllable — ending-bending
eye rhyme: appears the same, but does not sound the same —
prove-love; come- doom
imperfect rhyme, partial rhyme, near rhyme, slant rhyme —
loads-lids-lads, groaned-crooned
Example
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The use of verbal irony in which a person appears to be praising
something but is actually insulting it: e.g., “As I fell down the stairs
headfirst, I heard her say, “Look at that coordination!”
Example
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in which events in a short story, novel,
play or narrative poem take place.
Example
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A comparison of two different things or ideas through the use
of the words “like” or “as.” A definitely stated comparison
where the poet says one thing is like another. For example…
Example
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Stylistic techniques that convey meaning through sound.
Some examples of sound device are…
Two words having the same sound.
Repetition of similar vowel sounds.
Repetition of similar consonant sounds.
Words beginning with the same consonant sound.
Words that sound like their meaning.
Example
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Structure
The framework or
organization of a
literary selection.
The structure of fiction is usually
determined by plot and by chapter
division; the structure of drama
depends upon its division into acts
and scenes; the structure of an essay
depends upon the organization of
ideas; the structure of poetry is
determined by its rhyme scheme and
stanzaic form.
Example
in Context
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Style
It was quite
obvious…
…they had no
style.
Example
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SUSPENSE
Example
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Suspense is the quality of a short story, novel, play, narrative
poem or movie that makes the reader or audience uncertain or
tense about the outcome of events.
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Symbol
Any object, person, place, or action that has both a
meaning in itself and that stands for something larger
than itself, such as a quality, attitude, belief, or value:
Example
in Context
e.g., the land turtle in Steinbeck’s
The Grapes of Wrath suggests or
reflects the toughness and resilience
of the migrant workers.
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Synecdoche (metonymy)
Synecdoche is a form of metaphor where part of something is
used to signify the whole: e.g., “All hands on deck.”
The reverse, whereby the whole can represent a
part, is also synecdoche: e.g., “Canada played
the United States in the Olympic hockey finals”
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Example
in Context
In one last form of
synecdoche, the material
from which an object is
made stands for the object
itself: e.g., “The quarterback
tossed the pigskin.”
Another form of synecdoche is when the
container represents the thing being
contained: e.g., “The pot is boiling.”
In metonymy, the name of
one thing is applied to
another thing with which it
is closely associated: e.g.,
“I love Shakespeare.”
Syntax
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Example
in Context
Theme
The central message of a literary work.
The theme is the
idea the author
wishes to convey
about that subject. It
is expressed as a
sentence or general
statement about life
or human nature.
It is not the
same as
subject, which
can be
expressed in a
word or two:
courage,
survival, war,
pride, etc.
A literary work can have more than one theme, and
most themes are not directly stated, but are implied.
The reader must think about all the elements of the
work and use them to make inferences, or reasonable
guesses, as to which themes seem to be implied.
Example
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Tone is the writer’s or speaker’s
attitude toward a subject,
character, or audience, and it is
conveyed through the author’s
choice of words and detail.
“Eat my
shorts,
man!”
Tone can be serious,
humorous, sarcastic,
indignant, objective, etc.
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The opposite of hyperbole. A kind of irony that deliberately
represents something as being much less than it really is:
e.g., “I could
probably manage to
survive on a salary
of two million dollars
per year.”
Example
in Context
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