Literary Devices In Cathedral – Flashcards
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Allusion
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A reference to something in history or literature. Example She had a Cinderella wedding
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Alliteration
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The repetition of initial sounds. Example Seven steaks sizzled.
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Anaphora
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A form of repetition, in which the same words (or words) is repeated at the beginning of two or more lines, clauses or sentences. Example What the hammer, what the chain? In what furnace was thy brain?
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Assonance
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The repetition of vowel sounds. Example My words like silent raindrops fell, [I sigh, why did I die]
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Cacophony
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Language with a harsh sounding or unpleasant to the earl. Example Rats!
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Diction
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Refers to the writers choice of words. The kind of vocabulary used. When discussing writing you must refer to the type of diction the author uses. For example, is it sophisticated? Is it dark? Is it a celebratory?
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Euphony
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The words used are pleasing to the ear. Example 'Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness, Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun; Conspiring with him how to load and bless With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run' (Keats)
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Imagery
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Mental Images or pictures created by a writer's use of vivid description appealing the the five senses (sight, touch, taste, hearing, and smell). Example Summer had been blue with flowers. Now it was a shallow
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Juxtaposition
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The placement of contrasting things side by side. The effect can be startling, amusing or illuminating. Example "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness..."
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Metaphor
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An implied comparison between unlike things. Example He's a bull, but she's a peach.
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Mood
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The atmosphere created by a writer in her or his work. (This relates the the reader's reaction.)
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Motif
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Something that recurs (appears often) in a work of literature. It can be a symbol, an image, an incident, a concept, etc. Because it appears often in a work of literature, a motif takes on a greater meaning.
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Personification
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Giving human characteristics to an animal, object, or idea. Example The tree stood like a lonely soldier on guard in the meadow
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Paradox
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An apparent contradiction, which is still true on some level. Example It's a love/hate relationship Walking is less trying than standing
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Onomatopoeia
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Words whose sounds suggests their meaning. Example buzz, click, snap, chop, ding, bang, boom, crack, pow, shwoosh, splat...
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Oxymoron
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The setting together, for effect, two words of opposite meaning Example Burning cold, screaming whisper
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Hyperbole
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An extreme exaggeration used for effect. Example I've told you a million times not to exaggerate.
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Simile
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A comparison between two unlike things using words such as like or as Example Quiet as a mouse Crazy like a fox
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Symbol
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Roughly defined as something that means more than what it is. Example A wedding ring is a symbol of commitment An eagle could be a symbol of courage
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Synaesthesia
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The description of a sense impression (smell, touch, sound, etc) bit in terms of another inappropriate sense. Example A deafening yellow
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Tone
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the writer's attitude towards her or his subject matter
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Irony
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A figure of speech in which words are used in such a way that their intended meaning is different from the actual meaning. Example The very idea of having a rat in a kitchen is gross to some people, so Disney making an ironic movie about a rat that just happens to be a master chef
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Causura
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A short pause within a line of poetry (a - in poetry)
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Enjambment
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A run-on line of poetry in which logical and grammatical sense carries over from one line into the next.
