Ralph Matawhay Jr. BSED ENG III Literary Genres Poetry - a type of literature based on the interplay of words and rhythm. It often employs rhyme and meter (a set of rules governing the number and arrangement of syllables in each line). In poetry, words are strung together to form sounds, images, and ideas that might be too complex or abstract to describe directly. Fiction - any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places that are imaginary, or in ways that are imaginary. Nonfiction - a genre of literature that focuses on factual events and real people. Drama - a piece of writing that tells a story and is performed on a stage. Literary Techniques In Prose: Parallelism - refers to the plotting of events that are similarly constructed but altogether separate. Sometimes these parallels develop on accident, but they are powerful tools for highlighting important events and themes. Foil Characters - refers to any two characters who are “opposites” of each other. Diction - the choice and use of words and phrases in speech or writing. Mood - refers to the overall emotional tone it invokes. Foreshadowing - a powerful literary device in fiction, drawing readers ever-closer to the story’s climax. A foreshadow refers to any time the writer hints towards later events in the story, often underscoring the story’s suspense and conflict. In Media Res - refers to writing a story starting from the middle; by throwing the reader into the center of events, the reader’s interest piques, and the storytelling bounces between flashback and present day. Dramatic Irony - a literary device in prose in which the audience understands more about the situation than the story’s characters do. This is an especially important literary device in fiction, as it often motivates the reader to keep reading. Vignette - refers to a passage of prose that’s primarily descriptive, rather than plot-driven. Vignettes throw the reader into the scene and emotion, often building the mood of the story and developing the character’s lens. Flashback - refers to any interruption in the story where the narration goes back in time. The reader may need information from previous events in order to understand the present-day story, and flashbacks drop the reader into the scene itself. Soliloquy - is a long speech with no audience in the story. Soliloquies are synonymous with monologues, though a soliloquy is usually a brief passage in a chapter, and often much more poetic. In Poetry: Anaphora - describes a poem that repeats the same phrase at the beginning of each line. Conceit - essentially, an extended metaphor. Apostrophe - describes any instance when the speaker talks to a person or object that is absent from the poem. Metonymy & Synecdoche - Metonymy: a part for a part. Synecdoche: a part for a whole. Enjambment & End-Stopped lines - End-stopped lines are lines which end on a period or on a natural break in the sentence. Enjambment, by contrast, refers to a line break that interrupts the flow of a sentence: either the line usually doesn’t end with punctuation, and the thought continues on the next line. Zeugma - occurs when one verb is used to mean two different things for two different objects. Repetition - an important poetic technique that sees writers reuse words, phrases, images, or structures multiple times within a poem. Internal & end rhyme - two rhyming words juxtaposed inside of the line, rather than at the end of the line. Ralph Matawhay Jr. BSED ENG III Alliteration - refers to the succession of words with similar sounds. Alliteration refers specifically to the sounds at the beginning Consonance & Assonance - consonance and assonance refer to the sounds within words. Technically, alliteration is a form of consonance or assonance, and both can coexist powerfully on the same line. Consonance refers to consonant sounds, whereas assonance refers to vowel sounds. Euphony & Cacophony - Euphony, from the Greek for “pleasant sounding,” refers to words or sentences which flow pleasantly and sound sweetly. Cacophony is euphony’s antonym, “unpleasant sounding,” though the effect doesn’t have to be unpleasant to the reader Meter - is a literary device that works as a structural element in poetry. Essentially, meter is the basic rhythmic structure of a line within a poem or poetic work.
