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Archetype

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Any idea, character, action, institution, event, or setting, etc. containing essential characteristics which are primitive, general, universal and recur frequently throughout literature, mythology and folklore E.g. birth, coming of age, love, guilt, death - archetypal subjects the rebel, clown, wanderer, enchantress, which - archetypal characters

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Assonance

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The close repition of identical vowel sounds, especially in stressed syllables E.g. "In XAnAdu did KublA khAn/A stAtely pleasure dome decree"

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Atmosphere

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Also referred to as mood The prevailing, dominant feeling or "vibe" May establish a feeling that sets up readers' expectations as to what will happen

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Bathos

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Achieved when a writer, striving at the sublime, over reaches and becomes absurd Bathos is a false or forced emotion that is humorous or silly, rather than touching

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Black Comedy

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Humorous treatment of horrific, shocking and macabre subjects

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Carpe Diem

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In Latin means "seize the day" A common motif which espouses full enjoyment of the present time

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Apostrophe

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Adressing an absent or dead person, thing, or abstract idea as if it is alive or present E.g. "Oh, love, where have you gone?"

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Anaphora

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The repotition of a word or group of words at the beginning of successive sentences

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Epistrophe

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Occurs when multiple sentences end with the same word

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Analogy

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An extended comparison based on a partial resemblence between two different things E.g. Comparison between a nation and a beehive, and then go on to explain the workings of the nation with reference to aspects of a beehive

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Anagram

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The letters of word or phrase transposed to form a new word E.g. letters - settler

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Anachronism

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When an element of a story is placed where is doesn't belong chronologically E.g. and Anciet Roman telling time by clock

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Ambiguity

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Use of a word, expression or idea to signify multiple things E.g. The ending of a text may be ambigous, in which readers are not sure whether a character dies or not

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Chronology

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The sequence in which events happen Chronology is called linear when (except for some flashbacks), the narration mostly moves forward through time Chronology is called non-linear when it jumps back and forth, seemingly random or in a psychological sense of time

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Alliteration

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Repetition of the same sound at the beginning of words in close succession E.g. "The Blazing Brightness of her Beauties Beam"

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Allusion

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A brief reference, either explicit or indirect, to a person, place or event from real life/history E.g. References towards Virginia Woolf in "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?"

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Allegory

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When characters or setting of a literary work represent general concepts, moral qualities, political or religious beliefs, real persons from history, etc. E.g. The main character in The Yellow Wallpaper represents the sexism the other was faced with

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Consonance

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Close repetition of identical consonant sounds which occur after different vowel sounds E.g. I heard a creaK and the traCK broKE

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Denotation

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Denotation of a word is the thing to which the word specifically (the dictionary definition) E.g. A home denotes where one lives

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Diction

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The selection if words, the vocabulary used in a text

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Connotation

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The connotations consist of the associated meanings implied or suggested E.g. A home connotes shelter, food, family comfort, privacy, etc

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Didactic

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Any text which teaches or instructs

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Epithet

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An adjective or phrase expressing some quality or attribute which is characteristic of a person or thing which typifies it E.g. Bruce Wayne's house is always referred to as "stately Wayne manor"

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Euphony

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The quality of having pleasant, easily pronounced or smooth flowing sounds. Usually vowels are more euphonious

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Cacophony

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Is the use of harsh sounding words that are hard to pronounce in close succession

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Figure/Trope

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Any literary device which produces a certain effect in writing Deviation from the normal, ordinary usage of language Can include metaphor, simile, personification, metonymy, synecdoche, etc

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Flashback

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An interruption in the continuity of a text by the narration or portrayal of an earlier event or series of episodes; going back in time

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Foreshadowing

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A hint or sign suggestion something that will happen later in the text

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Genre

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A kind of literary type or class E.g. a mystery novel, a horror film, romantic poem, adventure video game, etc

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Form and Content

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Generally, form refers to HOW something is written, while content refers to WHAT it's about

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Imagery

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Descriptions or figures if speech ghat create mental sensations in readers' minds (produced by memory or imagination) which appeal to any of the five senses: sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell

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In Media Res

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In Latin means "into the middle of things" This device is used at the beginning of a text where in the action is seen to begin in the middle of a crucial point; this event both initiates a chain of events to follow and at the same time originates as the result of proceeding events

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Invocation

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An appeal or request for help addressed to a god, muse, or other deity

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Metaphor

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An implicit comparison without using like or as; for example, "you are the sunshine of my life"

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Metonymy

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A literary device which sets up a relationship or makes use of a relationship between two things such that one thing can stand for another E.g. "the White House stated there would be no war," the White House stands for the president

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Motif

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One of the dominant ideas in a text, a motif is part of the main theme E.g. motif of water in a text to reinforce a central theme of change and transformation

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Conveit

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A complex metaphor which is usually part of a larger pattern of imagery that combines objects and concepts in unconventional ways

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Liminality

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Liminality expresses a "between state" which is often useful in texts, considering that many initiation stories take place as the protagonist is in a between-state, such as ending childhood and becoming adult. In this way, liminality suggests a kind of ambiguity

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Cosmic Irony

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When gods/destiny/the workings of the universe appear to be manipulating events so as to lead false hopes, which frustrates and even mocks the protagonist

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Dramatic Irony

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When readers, or audience or narrator knows information that the characters within the text do not

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Hyperbole

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An overstatement which is an extreme exaggeration of fact to make one's point

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Litotes

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An understatement expressing something as being less important (or less in size) in order to intensify it

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Situational Irony

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Actions or events that involve coincidence

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Structural Irony

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When a work shows sustained irony in order to create duplicity of meaning

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Verbal Irony

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When the literal meaning is the opposite of the implied meaning

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Paradox

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A statement or idea that seems absurd or to contradict itself, but actually has a coherent meaning

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Parallelism

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Consists of phrases or sentences of similar construction and meaning placed side by side

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Parody

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Close imitation of a particular work or well-known style of a particular author in order to expose or magnify weaknesses in a humorous way

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Pastiche

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A patchwork of words, sentence or complete passages from various authors or from one author's different works; a kind of imitation of a particular work or well-known style

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Pathos

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Evoking feelings and emotion, often of tenderness or pity

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Pathetic Fallacy

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When inanimate nature appears to posses or to be in sympathy with human emotions

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Persona

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Persona is the character created by the voice and narration of the speaker of a text. Persona implies an act of disguise

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Personification

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giving/ascribing human qualities to an inanimate object, as if it had human-like capacities or feelings

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Poetic License

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The freedom to blend rules of grammar, syntax, pronunciation, etc. to suit the needs of the artistic text

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Poetry

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Writing which employs lines of specific length and poetical devices

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Prose

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Ordinary writing which does not employ lines of any specific length, like essays, articles in journalism, short stories, novels, etc

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Protagonist

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The protagonist is the main character/hero whom the action centres

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Antagonist

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The antagonist is the adversarial character who opposes and competes with the protagonist

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Pun

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A play on words which are either identical or similar in sound or spelling, but which have very different meanings

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Reflexivity

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When a writer calls attention to the act of writing, language, storytelling and the fundamental difficulties of creating art

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Satire

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A satirical writing style is the literary art of diminishing a subject by making it look ridiculous and evoking an attitude in readers of amusement, contempt or scorn

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Setting

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The general physical location and historical time in which the text is set

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Similie

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A comparison using like or as

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Sumblime

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Connotes subjects of surpassing excellence, where great thoughts, noble feeling, and lofty, figurative language and elevated diction all combine

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Sub-Plot

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A subsidiary plot or action in a play or story which is secondary to the main

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Sub-Text

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The things that are not directly said or done, but are implied, suggested or hinted at

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Symbol

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An object which stands for or represents something else which is universally recognized. A cross is a public example of a symbol signifying a christian god A poet's private symbolism may be a rose, that suggests doomed love

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Synecdoche

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A literary device in which a part of something is used to signify the whole E.g. calling a clever student a "brain" or calling a car your "wheels"

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Synaesthesia

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The mixing of sensation, the simultaneous appeal to more than one sense, or the response of several senses to the stimulation of one. A "heavy odour", a "light sound"

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Syntax

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Refers to the way words are arranged; word order Yoda

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Theme

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The main idea or argument or subject; theme may be the moral, message, thesis, meaning, or dominant idea in a text

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Tone

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The general attitude of the narrator to the subject matter

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Voice

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How the speaker of a literary work presents him/herself to readers; the character of the speaker

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Willing Suspension of Disbelief

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The receptivity and ability of readers/audience to believe in, identify and sympathize with the plot and characters of the text; the putting aside of disbelief or the feeling of "that could never happen!" in order to get into the story

Literary Devices Definitions – Flashcards

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