A work’s controlling idea, the main issue
the work addresses.
 Most extensive literary analyses address
theme, but should focus on the methods
by which the author conveys the theme
 Avoid simply examining a common
theme in all works; rather, examine how
the writer conveys the theme in each
work
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Series of events that occurs in a work
› Exposition
› Rising action
› Climax
› Falling Action
› Resolution
Time and place in which events unfold
 Sometimes setting must be inferred from
details in the text.
 Other times authors state setting details
directly at the beginning of a section.
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The mood or feeling of a work of
literature created by details of setting or
action
› For example, a dark, cold or rainy day
creates a gloomy and perhaps even scary
atmosphere, but a story set in a sunny beach
community might suggest a light mood.
› Think about movies . . .
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The way an author develops an
individual in a work
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A struggle between individuals, between
an individual and a social or
environmental force, or within an
individual
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Hints, within the work, or events to come
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Short, vivid description that creates
strong sensory impressions and that
appeals to the senses
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the repetition of the initial consonant
sounds in a group of words
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For example, in Edgar Allan Poe’s “The
Raven,” one line reads, “While I nodded,
nearly napping. . .”
Repetition of vowel sounds
 Ex: the “a” sound in “mad as a hatter”
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an indirect reference to another idea,
person, place, event, artwork, etc. to
enhance the meaning of the work in
which it appears
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For example, if a writer were to refer to
the mark of Cain, he would be making a
biblical allusion to the story of Cain and
Abel.
a comparison between two different items
that an author may use to describe, define,
explain, etc. by indicating their similarities
 For example, Gary Soto’s A Summer Life
reads, “The asphalt softened, the lawns
grew spidery brown, and the dogs crept like
shadows.”
 There are two analogies in this line: the
lawns compared to spiders and the way
dogs walk compared to shadows.
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two opposing ideas presented in a parallel
manner
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For example, the opening of Charles Dickens’
A Tale of Two Cities reads, “It was the best of
times, it was the worst of times, it was the age
of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was
the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of
incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the
season of Darkness. . .”
How about this statement from Alexander
Pope? “To err is human, to forgive, divine.”
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a device or figure of speech that is most
frequently found in poetry. It is when a
writer speaks directly to an abstract
person, idea, or ideal. It is used to exhibit
strong emotions.
 For example, Yeats wrote, “Be with me
Beauty, for the fire is dying.”
 Shakespeare wrote, “Blow, winds, and
crack your cheeks.”
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an adjective or adjective phrase that an
author uses to describe the perceived
nature of a noun by accentuating one of its
dominant characteristics, whether real or
metaphorical
 For example, in Homer’s The Iliad, Athena is
referred to as “grey-eyed Athena.”
 Sports figures are also often referenced by
a dominant trait, such as Wilt the Stilt
Chamberlain, Broadway Joe Namath,
Mean Joe Greene, and Air Jordan.
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exaggeration or overstatement to
emphasize a point or to achieve a specific
effect that can be serious, humorous,
sarcastic, or even ironic
 For example, calling a sports team
unbeatable or a coach immortal is using
hyperbole.
 Another example comes from Robert
Burns’s emphasis of the depth of his love
when he says it will last “until all the seas run
dry.”
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the opposite of hyperbole. This is when a
writer wishes to minimize the obvious
importance or seriousness of someone or
something, assuming that the audience
knows the subject’s significance.
 An example would be when a firefighter
says, “Just doing my job.”
 Another example would be when someone
writes a letter to the editor opposing the
building of a theater next to a school and
instead of calling his opponents “hedonistic
heathens,” he calls them “theater lovers.”
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a special type of understatement that is
used for emphasis or affirmation. It
asserts a point by denying the opposite
 For example, “Tornadoes are not
unheard of in Nebraska during the
summer.”
 “Our family did not fail to have its usual
tension-filled vacation,” is another
example.
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a direct comparison between two things
 For example, when Longfellow stated,
“Thine eyes are stars of morning,” he was
using a metaphor.
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an indirect comparison of two things
using like, as, than, or resembles
 An example of this comes from Isaac
Bashevis Singer. “The short story is like a
room to be furnished; the novel is like a
warehouse.”
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a metaphor in which the actual subject
is represented by another thing that is
related to it or emblematic of it
 An example of this follows: “The pen is
mightier than the sword.” The idea here
is that pen represents words or writing
and sword stands for violence or war.
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a metaphor that uses a part to represent
the whole or vice versa
 Referring to the congregation as “the
church” or a complete vehicle as my
“wheels”
 “In your hands, my fellow citizens, more
than mine, will rest the final success of
failure of our course.” John F. Kennedy
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a word that imitates the sound that is
being made
 Examples include buzz, sizzle, lisp,
murmur, hiss, roar, splat, whisper, and
bang.
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a paradoxical image created by using
two contradictory terms together
 Examples include bittersweet, jumbo
shrimp, and pretty ugly.
 Another example is when Jonathan Swift
wrote, “I do make humbly bold to
present them with a short account. . .”
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a metaphor that gives human attributes
to subjects that are nonhuman, abstract,
and/or without life
 An example would be love is blind.
 Another example comes from
Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet when
Romeo says, “Arise fair sun, and kill the
envious moon/ Who is already sick and
pale with grief. . .”
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When a writer employs grammatically
similar constructions to create a sense of
balance that allow the audience to
compare and contrast the parallel subjects
 These constructions can be words, phrases,
clauses, sentences, paragraphs, and whole
sections or a longer work.
 In his speech delivered in front of the
Lincoln Memorial in 1963, Martin Luther King,
Jr. used parallel structure by beginning
each major paragraph with “I have a
dream that. . .”
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When a writer poses a question to an
audience and does not expect an
answer or does not intend to provide
one
 For example, Ernest Dowson asks,
“Where are they now, the days of wine
and roses?”
 Advertising uses rhetorical questions, as
well: “Got milk?”
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a construction (word, phrase, another
sentence) that is placed as an
unexpected aside in the middle of the
rest of the sentence
 This can be done either by parenthesis or
by dashes.
 For example, “If you pick up the kids by
5:00 (by the way, you’re a dear for doing
this) we can all meet for dinner at the
Clubhouse Restaurant.”
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how, when, where, and how often you
use rhetorical devices
 Examples include diction, syntax, tone or
attitude, point of view, and organization.
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Also called word choice, it is the
conscious decision the author makes
when choosing vocabulary to create an
intended effect.
 Some words used to describe diction are
formal, informal, poetic, heightened,
pretentious, slang, colloquial, ordinary,
simple, complex, etc.
 Knowing your audience and purpose is
essential to diction.
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the grammatical structure of sentences
This is the careful choosing of sentence structure for
variety to develop the subject, purpose, and/or
effect.
To discuss syntax you must have a working
knowledge of these basic terms: phrases, main
clauses, subordinate clauses, declarative sentence,
imperative sentence, exclamatory sentence,
interrogative sentence, simple sentence, compound
sentence, complex sentence, compound-complex
sentence, loose sentence, periodic sentence,
inverted sentence, paragraphing, punctuation, and
spelling.
an author’s perception about a subject
and its presentation to an audience
 Generally speaking, tone can be divided
into three categories: informal, semiformal, and very formal.
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used in everyday writing and speaking
and in informal writing
 It includes slang, colloquialisms, and
regional expressions.
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is what students use in assigned essays
for their classes
 They include standard vocabulary,
conventional sentence structure, and
few to no contractions.
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is what you would find in a professional
scholarly journal or paper presented in
an academic conference
 In this you may find polysyllabic words,
professional jargon, and complex syntax
that you would not use in ordinary
conversations or informal writing.
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bitter
sardonic
objective
idyllic
naïve
compassionate
sarcastic
ironic
mocking
scornful
satiric
indifferent
scathing
confidential
factual
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informal
facetious
critical
resigned
joyous
whimsical
wistful
nostalgic
humorous
astonished
pedantic
didactic
inspiring
remorseful
disdainful
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laudatory
mystified
reverent
lugubrious
elegiac
gothic
macabre
reflective
maudlin
sentimental
patriotic
admiring
detached
angry
sad
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A discrepancy or incongruity of some kind
› Verbal irony: discrepancy between literal words
and what is actually meant (sarcasm is an
example; ministry names in 1984)
› Dramatic irony: discrepancy between what the
speaker says and what the author means or
what the audience knows (audience knows
Juliet is just sleeping when Romeo laments her
death)
› Situational irony: the outcome is contradictory to
what is expected (surprise endings)
Vice or folly, with the purpose of
developing awareness and perhaps
even bringing reform
 Using wit and irony to attack absurdity
and injustice
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An object, place, characteristic, or
phenomenon that suggests one or more
things, often abstract
A recurring word, phrase, image, figure
of speech, or symbol that has
significance
 Ex: Use of blood and sleeplessness in The
Tragedy of Macbeth
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the way an author presents ideas to an audience
Some organization patters that are most often used
are
chronological
cause/effect
spatial
contrast/comparison
least to most important
general to specific
specific to general
most important to least
flashback/fast forward
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the method the writer uses to narrate the story
First person is when the narrator is the main character of
the tale.
Third person objective is when the narrator is an
uninvolved reporter.
Third person omniscient is when the narrator is an allknowing onlooker who tells the reader what the character
is thinking, gives background information, and provides
material unknown to the characters.
Stream-of-consciousness is when the reader is placed in
the mind of the character and is privy to all his random or
spontaneous thoughts.
Interior monologue is a type of stream-of-consciousness
that lets the reader in on a character’s on-going thoughts,
perception, or commentary about a particular subject.
Individual in the work who relates the
story
 Not the same as the author
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the unique way an author consistently
presents ideas.
 Authors’ choices of diction, syntax,
imagery, rhetorical devices, structure,
and content all contribute to a particular
style.
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