Literary Devices
Day 1
1. Characterization
What it is:
The process by which the author reveals the personality of a character.
How is it done?
Direct characterization – The author uses a specific adjective to
reveal a significant quality in the character’s personality.
Example: In Animal Farm, Orwell has the narrator observe that
Clover is “motherly”; the narrator says she is “a stout motherly
mare approaching middle life, who had never quite got her figure
back after her fourth foal.”
Indirect characterization – The author uses one or more of the
following “indirect methods of characterization” as clues to help
the reader figure out what the character is like. The methods
include:
1.
Describing how the character looks or dresses
2.
Letting us hear how the character speaks (and/or what
s/he says)
3.
4.
Revealing the character’s private thoughts or feelings
Revealing what other characters think about the character
so that we can see the character’s effect on other people
5.
Showing the character’s actions
Example: In Animal Farm, the narrator observes that Squealer
could “turn black into white.” What does this reveal? _________
2. Irony
What it is:
The “surprise” or “shock” that comes from a contrast, discrepancy or
mismatch between a reader’s (or character’s) expectations of the plot or the truth and what
really happens or is shown to be true
How is it done?
Verbal irony: (1) a writer, speaker, or character says one thing,
but really means or is trying to suggest something else; (2) when
what you mean is the opposite of what you say, the verbal irony is
also being used as sarcasm
Example: (1) In “The Cask of Amontillado,” Montresor tells
Fortunato that he is a “mason”; Fortunate believes that
Montresor is identifying himself as a Freemason, but, really,
Montresor is referring to a brick mason and is revealing how
Fortunato is about to die—that is, by being interred behind a wall
of bricks.
(2) In “Cask,” when Montresor calls Fortunato his
“friend,” he is using sarcasm because we know that the opposite is
true.
Situational Irony: what actually happens is the opposite of what
is expected or appropriate, given what we’ve been set up to
believe is true.
Example: In Great Expectations, Pip’s finding out that Biddy has married
Joe is an example of s.i. because Pip was intending to propose to her and,
based on earlier suggestions in the book, we believe it likely that Biddy
loves Pip and would accept his proposal. (Get ready for Oedipus Rex!!!)
Dramatic irony: the audience knows something important that a
character in a play or story does not know; it is often used to
generate suspense or intensify comic relief.
Example: In Romeo and Juliet, we know that Romeo and Juliet are
married, although Tybalt and Mercutio do not, which heightens
the emotion and suspense of the fight scene in Act III that
results in both of the characters’ deaths. (We also happen to
know what’s going on in Juliet’s room when her parentals are
conferencing with Paris and planning his and Juliet’s marriage!
This made the groundlings in Shakespeare’s time very happy!!!)
Day 2
3. Setting
What it is: the time and place of a story, play, or narrative poem.
A thorough analysis of setting should include the narrative’s
- physical location.
- time of day/year.
- historical context. (This is a BIGGIE!)
How do author’s use setting?
--to create conflict for characters
--to reveal characters’ personalities
--to create a mood
*Often, the above aspects of setting allow authors to engage
in social criticism.
Example: In Great Expectations, Dickens sets significant parts of
his story in Jaggers’ law office, in the court and in the prison. The
mood associated with each of these physical locations is always dark
and oppressive. Often, the convicts are shown to have redeemable
qualities, while those who are allegedly law-abiding or socially
acceptable have repugnant qualities. A clear conflict is created
between the convicts and the society that alienates them—which is
often a conflict between poor and rich. Dickens uses all three of
these aspects of setting to highlight the inherent and ironic injustice
of the legal system during the Victorian period in which he lived and
to emphasize why it needed to be reformed.
4. Subject/Topic v. Theme
What it is:
*Subject/Topic = general idea that is the focus of a work;
can often be expressed in a word or two: old age, ambition,
love, etc.
*Theme = the author’s message about or insight s/he crafts
the work to convey about the subject/theme; it must be
expressed in sentence form; the theme is subjective and
reveals the writer’s view of the world and/or thoughts on
human nature.
THEY ARE NOT THE SAME!!!
How it is done:
Most themes are implied. It is up to the reader to piece
together all the clues the writer has provided about the
work’s total meaning. Two of the most important clues to
consider are how the main character has changed and how the
conflict has been resolved. Longer works may have more than
one theme.
Example: One subject/topic in Great Expectations is education. Dickens
uses both Pip’s negative character development and the plot, which
depicts the consequences that come from his striving to be “uncommon,”
as well as Biddy’s characterization and experiences to argue that the
educational system of his day needed to be reformed so that a quality
education could be made available to ALL children—including the poor—
thus improving their senses of self-worth, potential and economic
prospects (which would, in turn, improve society).
Day 3
6.
Diction-
What it is: deliberately selected word choice
“Significant diction” (which you’ll often hear me ask you to analyze) gives evidence
of a writer’s consciously using a word’s denotation and/or connotation to have a
specific, usually emotional, effect on an audience and/or to convey a tone
(whether the author’s, another character’s, or the audience’s) toward a specific
character or topic.
How is it done? Every word has a denotation and a connotation.
*Denotation- the literal dictionary definition of a word
*Connotation- all the meanings, emotions or associations (historical, social,
psychological) that a word suggests.
Example: skinny v. slender—They basically have the same denotation, but which
would you prefer to be called? Why?
7. tone
What it is: the attitude the writer takes toward his subject, toward a character,
or (often in satire) toward his audience
How it is done: Tone is conveyed through the writer’s choice of words and the
details he gives (e.g. descriptions of characters and setting).
In analyzing tone, strive to use adjectives (e.g. amused, angry, indifferent, or
sarcastic).
Literary Example from Romeo & Juliet:
But, soft! what light through yonder window breaks?
It is the east, and Juliet is the sun. (…)
She speaks:
O, speak again, bright angel!
*Where do we see Shakespeare having Romeo employ significant diction?
*What connotations are associated with each word?
*What is Romeo’s tone toward Juliet as expressed by his diction?
*What is Shakespeare’s tone toward Romeo as conveyed by the diction?
Day 4
Metaphor (Direct and Implied)
What it is: A figure of speech that makes a comparison
between two seemingly unlike things without using connective
words like, than, as, or resembles.
*A direct metaphor states that one thing is another.
Example- “Juliet is the sun” (Romeo and Juliet, II.ii).
*An implied metaphor suggests that something is similar to
another thing without identifying what that second ‘thing’ is;
you must use the diction in the text to infer what the
comparison is. Implied metaphors often lead to extended
metaphors.
Example: Against her black formal gown, she wore a
constellation of diamonds.
What is being compared? _________ to _________
AND _________ to ___________
How do you know?
Symbol/Motif
What a symbol is: A person, place, thing or event that stands
for itself and something beyond.
Example: Who and what did Napoleon represent in AF?
What a motif is: a word, character, object, image (or related
imagery), metaphor, or idea that recurs in a work/works.
Example: the mist in Great Expectations
Day 5
Allusion
What it is: a reference to a statement, person, place, event, or thing that is known
from literature, history, religion, myth, politics, or some other field of knowledge.
Example: in “The Sniper,” when the protagonist is identified
as a Republican sniper (you would have to know a wee bit
about Irish history to understand the reference to “Republican”)
Why use it? It demonstrates how learned an author is and helps the reader
understand something that might be unfamiliar/new by connecting it to something
about which the reader has knowledge. (BTW…Biblical allusions are BIG in much of
the classical literature you will read, so be forewarned.)
Rhetorical devices--What they are: Rhetoric is essentially the conscious use and
manipulation of language to persuade. Rhetorical devices are the tools rhetoricians
use to accomplish their objective. They include (but are not limited to…wait till AP
11) the following:
*logos (logical appeal)—the use of (what is considered) objective information to
support one’s opinion in order to show that the position is reasonable and logical (i.e.
“makes sense”); objective details = facts, reasons, statistics, quotations from an
expert or authority on a topic
BEWARE of Logical Fallacies, ideas that seem to make sense, but really don’t.
Example: Squealer argues that the pigs need milk and apples because
they are the brainworkers on the farm. This “makes sense” EXCEPT for
what?
*pathos (emotional appeal)—the use of subjective details (examples, anecdotes,
sensory details, or observations) and/or strongly connotative diction (“loaded
words”) so that the audience’s emotions influence their agreement with the
rhetorician’s position
Example: Old Major’s opening speech emphasizes examples of only mistreatment of
the animals so that they become angry and willing to rebel.
*ethos (ethical appeal)—the use either of one’s own position, expertise, celebrity or
respectful, trustworthy persona or that of someone who is supporting you to make
oneself and, by extension, one’s position appear credible, reliable and worthy of
consideration
Example: Squealer’s position and proximity to Napoleon lend credit
and weight to his words so that the animals accept and obey him.