Literary Devices Workshop 1

1. Literary Devices Workshop 1

2. Looking at Irony • Irony • Verbal Irony • Situational Irony • Dramatic Irony • Pun

3. Irony • Conveys the opposite of what is meant or what would be expected.

4. Verbal Irony • This is the contrast between what is said and what is meant. In other words, sarcasm. Example: Saying “You’re so graceful!” to someone who has just tripped.

5. Situational Irony • This is the most common in literature.  It is the contrast between what happens and what was expected (or what would seem appropriate).  Because it emerges from the events and circumstances of a story it is often more subtle and effective than verbal or dramatic irony. A lifeguard drowning in a bathtub.

6. Dramatic Irony • A special kind of literary irony is when the reader (or viewer) knows something the character doesn’t. This is common in horror movies.

7. Pun • A humorous use of a word that has two meanings, or of words with the same sound but different meanings. For example, in the sentence “The violinist spent the night in a vile inn,” vile inn (=poor hotel) sounds like violin.

8. Literary Devices Workshop 2

9. Juxtaposition • Imagery • Foreshadowing

10. Juxtaposition • Two or more things that are placed side by side, even though they usually aren’t associated with each other. “Today I am/ a small blue thing like a marble/ or an eye” -Suzanne Vega

11. Imagery • A picture created by a writer using concrete details, adjectives, and figures of speech, which gives readers a vivid impression of what or who is being described.

12. Foreshadowing • Refers to clues that hint at what is going to happen later in the plot. Foreshadowing is used to arouse the reader’s curiosity, build suspense and help prepare the reader to accept events that occur later in the story.

13. Literary Devices Workshop 3

14. Symbolism • Metaphor • Simile • Pathetic fallacy • Cliché

15. Symbolism • Using one object to stand for something else or to mean something else. Actions can also be symbolic, such as washing hands to indicate non-involvement. Some symbols are universal, with generally accepted meanings, such as a crown to mean superiority or the color red to mean danger. Some are specific to a particular work of literature, such as the white whale in Moby Dick. Symbols, especially specific ones, often mean more than one thing.

16. Metaphor • A comparison without using “like” or “as.” Example: “He’s a pig” is a metaphor.

17. Simile • Comparisons. A simile uses the words “as” or “like.” Examples: “He looks like a pig” and “He’s as fat as a pig”

18. Pathetic Fallacy • When the weather mimics the feeling of the story. Example: As I was writing my test, and couldn’t remember anything that I studied, I looked out the window at the rain pouring outside.

19. Cliché • Phrase or idea that is not original. a phrase or idea that is boring because people use it a lot and it is no longer original.

20. Literary Devices Workshop 4

21. Allusion • Hyperbole • Flashback • Paradox

22. Allusion • A reference to a previous work or historical event as a comparison. Its purpose is to provide an image that links the literary work to that previous work or historical event to increase the range of meaning through the context of the alluded work. For example, in “The Progressive Insanities of a Pioneer,” Atwood refers to the story of Noah’s Ark.

23. Hyperbole • Literary exaggeration. Example: I’ll give you the moon and stars.

24. Flashback • This is a writers’ technique in which the author interrupts the plot of the story to recreate an incident of an earlier time (goes back in time; like giving the reader a memory).  This device is often used to provide additional information to the reader.

25. Paradox • a statement, proposition, or situation that seems to be absurd or contradictory, but in fact is or may be true. Ex. controlled hysteria

26. Literary Devices Workshop 5

27. Analogy • Onomatopoeia • Euphemism • Slang • Colloquialism

28. Analogy • Compares two things to explain or clarify an unfamiliar idea by showing how the idea or object is similar to a familiar one. It often explains abstract things in a more concrete way.

29. Onomatopoeia • Words or phrases that sound like what they mean. Examples: pop, click. “The pitter-patter of little feet” is full of the “T” sound, which emphasizes the meaning.

30. Euphemism • The expression of an unpleasant reality with a pleasant sounding word or phrase. Example: died = passed away.

31. Slang • words, expressions, and usages that are casual, vivid, racy, or playful replacements for standard ones, are often short-lived, and are usually considered unsuitable for formal contexts.

32. Colloquialism • An informal word or phrase that is more common in conversation than in formal speech or writing.

33. Literary Devices Workshop 6

34. Personification • Oxymoron • Anecdote • Archetype • Idiom

35. Personification • Attributing human or other animate characteristics to an inanimate object. • Example: Clouds cry.

36. Oxymoron • a phrase in which two words of contradictory meaning are used together for special effect, e.g. "wise fool" or "legal murder"

37. Anecdote • A short personal account of an incident or event.

38. Archetype • Something that serves as the model or pattern for other things of the same type • Example: The movie was one of the archetypes of the American Western.

39. Idiom • A fixed distinctive expression whose meaning cannot be deduced from the combined meanings of its actual words. Ex. He really went to town on that issue.

40. Literary Devices Workshop #7

41. Assonance • Consonance • Alliteration • Repetition

42. Assonance • Sounding alike in the middle. Example: moody blues.

43. Consonance • A close similarity between consonants or groups of consonants, especially at the ends of words, e.g. between "strong" and "ring."

44. Alliteration • Sounding alike at the beginning. Example: Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.

45. Repetition • Using a sound, syllable, word, phrase, line, stanza, or pattern more that once. • Example: Twinkle, twinkle little star.