Figures of Speech
Forms of Writing/Modes of Discourse
Poetic Devices
Drama Passages
Literary Devices
100
This is a statement that appears to contradict itself. This figure of speech may conjure a humorous effect, but the main purpose is to reveal some latent truth in an innovative way. Example: In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the title character states, “I must be cruel to be kind.” This statement appears incongruent because it suggests that there is kindness in cruel actions. However, we know that Hamlet wants to avenge his father’s death by killing Claudius, the person who murdered him. Claudius also happens to be married to Hamlet’s mother. Hamlet knows that killing Claudius will devastate his mother, but he believes in the ultimate benevolence of his actions.
What is PARADOX.
100
A story or poem in which the characters and events are symbols that stand for larger ideas about human life, politics, morals or history. The goal of this form of writing is usually educational. The author wants to impart some idea or principle to the reader.
What is ALLEGORY.
100
A means of structuring a poem so that one line runs over to the next with no punctuation.
What is ENJAMBMENT.
100
Characters that serve to contrast each other in a deep and meaningful way.
What are FOILS.
100
Assigning human characteristics to a nonhuman object or to an abstraction such as love, death, envy, victory, and so on.
What is PERSONIFICATION.
200
A rhetorical device in which two opposite ideas are put together in a sentence to achieve a contrasting effect. Authors use this device to draw parallels and to give the reader greater insight into a subject matter.
What is ANTITHESIS.
200
A written tribute that praises a person or thing, especially someone/something who has died. This is just laudatory writing, meant to celebrate the life and/or accomplishments of a person who has passed away. This form of writing is intended to stir an emotional response from readers/listeners.
What is EULOGY.
200
This type of poem is 14 lines written in iambic pentameter. It is divided into three “quatrains” (sections, in essence) of four lines each (quat = four); the last two lines, called a couplet, resolve the conflict outlined in the three quatrains.
What is a SHAKESPEAREAN SONNET.
200
A term to refer to a character who is the perfect example of a well-known trope.
What is an ARCHETYPE.
200
A phrase that seems self-contradictory or incompatible with reality. Examples: "Eloquent silence", "jumbo shrimp", "civil war", "free gift", "pretty ugly", etc.
What is OXYMORON.
300
A rhetorical term for breaking off discourse to address some absent person or thing. Authors use this figure of speech to express emotion or create a vivid image.
What is APOSTROPHE.
300
The use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues.
What is SATIRE.
300
Olfactory and kinesthetic imagery refer to which two of one's five senses?
What is SMELL and TOUCH.
300
An impassioned speech by one character addressed to another characters.
What is MONOLOGUE (not to be confused with SOLILOQUY, in which the character will reveal to us, the audience, and only us, what they are thinking and feeling.)
300
An implied contrast between what exists and what might be. Name the three types of this kind of contrast and explain them.
What is VERBAL, SITUATIONAL, and DRAMATIC IRONY.
400
The repetition of the same word or phrase at the beginning of successive lines, clauses, or verses. Authors use this repetition to emphasize specific ideas and artistically draw readers' attention to them. Ex: In Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities, he uses this figure of speech to enlighten the reader about the period of time in which the story takes place. “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, IT WAS the spring of hope, IT WAS the winter of despair.”
What is ANAPHORA.
400
A dramatic device in which a character is alone and speaks his or her thoughts aloud. Within a play, this mode of discourse is used to communicate a character’s inner thoughts to the audience. This helps make the character more relatable, and may contribute to dramatic irony. Example: Hamlet’s “To be or not to be” speech. Hamlet sparks an internal theoretical deliberation on the advantages and disadvantages of existence, and whether it is one’s right to end his or her own life.
What is SOLILOQUY.
400
Unrhymed iambic pentameter, often seen in Shakespeare.
What is BLANK VERSE (do not confuse this with "free verse" which has no particular metrical structure).
400
The use of specific props, a character's gesture, or unusual interaction with setting, or recurring ideas in characters speeches to relate to the larger themes of the play.
What is SYMBOLISM.
400
A figure of speech that substitutes a word or phrase that relates to a thing for the things itself. Example: "White House" stands not for the mansion on Pennsylvania Avenue, but for its current occupants. Or, "The crown will find an heir", substitutes crown for "king".
What is METONYMY.
500
When you refer to something by the name of one of its parts. Authors use this figure of speech to inject creativity into their writing, but also for brevity. It can also have symbolic implications. Common example: “All hands on deck.” Here, “hands” actually refers to people. An example from literature is in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar: “Friends, Romans, countrymen: lend me your ears.” Again, “ears" actually refers to people, specifically their attention.
What is SYNECDOCHE (not to be confused with METONOMY, in which the word used to describe another thing is closely linked to that thing but is not necessarily a part of it).
500
This point of view or perspective narration gives writers the greatest freedom of expression. Examples: Jane Austen’s novel, Pride and Prejudice is told from this point of view, which gives readers a bird’s-eye view into the lives of all the characters. This allows the readers to (somewhat objectively) judge the characters as they judge themselves and each other.
What is THIRD-PERSON OMNISCIENT.
500
A nineteen-line poetic form consisting of five tercets (three lines of poetry forming a stanza) followed by a quatrain (four lines of poetry forming a stanza). There are two refrains and two repeating rhymes, with the first and third line of the first tercet repeated alternately until the last stanza, which includes both repeated lines. This type of poem is an example of a fixed verse form.
What is a VILLANELLE.
500
The three main genres in drama.
What are COMEDIES, TRAGEDIES, and HISTORIES.
500
A form of understatement in which a positive fact of stated by denying a negative one. Example: "Not at all bad" to mean good. Or, in the funeral oration of Julius Caesar, Marc Anthony uses this figure of speech in "Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more."
What is LITOTES.
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