Literary Devices
He fished for compliments and for catfish. (Madison Kessinger)
zeugma
Examples include first person, third person omniscient, and third person limited. (Claire Talbert)
point of view
“I will not even mention the fact that you betrayed us in the Roman people by aiding Catiline.” --Cicero (Annika Roberts)
paralipsis
You forget what you want to remember, and you remember what you want to forget. (Amaya Johnson)
chiasmus
Usually found at the beginning of literary texts in the form of a quotation, phrase or poem to introduce the text or give insight on the theme. (Emily Grillo)
epigraph
And the government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth.” --Lincoln (Varshini Satoor)
epistrophe
I am a strong black woman who don't need no man to provide for me, who don't need no man to buy me clothes, who don't need no man to take me to dinner, who don't need no man to pay my rent. (Sara Brown)
anaphora
Ivan the Terrible and Peter the Great were a couple of czars.
epithet
“…we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty.” –John F. Kennedy (Varshini Satoor)
asyndeton
brings life to the lifeless or gives human behavior to inanimate objects (Ben Smith)
personification
We are flying to Florida and the Keys and Mexico and Puerto Rico! (Bailey Gibson)
polysyndeton
The strict dictionary meaning of a word and the emotional and imaginative association surrounding a word are the __________ and _________________. (Emily Grillo)
The car screeched to a halt so it wouldn’t crash into the school bus. (Emily Wolf)
onomatopoeia
So now what we are dealing with is the rubber meeting the road, and instead of biting the bullet on these issues, we just want to punt. (Liz Elsea)
Mixed Metaphor
synecdoche
Technique used in Finding Nemo, in which a fish gets lost on his way to school. (Hani Kharouta)
anthropomorphism
The atmosphere of a literary piece, as it creates an emotional setting that surrounds the readers. It is developed in literature through setting, theme, tone, and diction. (Amaya Johnson)
When two contrasting characters, settings, themes, or actions are placed side by side to achieve an effect. (Connor Melvin)
juxtaposition
The following quote achieves its effect through anaphora and _______________: “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....” Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities (Emilee Pfettscher)
antithesis
Repeated, symbolic use of the color green throughout The Great Gatsby to explore the empty promise of the American dream. (Annika Roberts)
motif
The language used by the people of a specific area, class, district, or any other group of people, as in this example from Twain's Huckleberry Finn: “I’ll take the canoe and go see, Jim. It mightn’t be, you know.” (Olivia Vincent)
dialect
An exaggerated imitation for comic effect, such as the film Austin Powers. (Liz Elsea)
parody
Describes the tone in the son's response.
Father: “We can’t go on vacation this summer.”
Son: “Yeah, great! That’s what I expected.”
(Hani Kharouta)
sarcasm
Harsh sounds as in the following:
"Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,an
And the mome raths outgrabe."
--Lewis Carroll’s "Jabberwocky" (Grace Higgins)
cacophony
This verse by T.S. Eliot employs one.
"No! I am not Prince Hamlet, nor was meant to be; Am an attendant lord, one that will do To swell a progress, start a scene or two, Advise the prince… (Grace Higgins)
Allusion