Lit. Devices and Figurative Lang.
The representation of abstract principles by characters or events in dramatic form
Allegory
The running on of thoughts without a break in the stanza or line
Enjambment
The alter ego of a character or the suppressed side of one’s personality that is usually unaccepted by society.
Doppelganger
Starting a story in the middle of the action
In Medias Res
Specific word choice or the use of words in speech or writing. Words are chosen to reflect and change the tone of the text, thus changing the intended response from the audience.
Diction
One word governs two others differently, often creating a clever effect (Ex: He stole my heart and my wallet)
Zeugma
A poem appropriate to or greeting the dawn
Aubade
A novel concerned with the education, development, and maturing of a young protagonist. A coming-of-age story following their growth
Bildungsroman
An unexpected, improbable resolution to a plot
A character who contrasts with another to highlight qualities
Foil
A figure of speech where a part of something is used to represent the whole, or the whole is used to represent a part. (Ex: All "hands" on deck)
Synecdoche
A pause within a line of poetry, often to control rhythm
Caeseura
Tragic flaw or error in judgement that leads to a hero's downfall (Ex: Oedipus)
Hamartia
The final clarification or resolution of a story
Denouement
When one thing is said, but something else, usually the opposite, is meant. So closely related to sarcasm that it often gets confused with it. (Ex: "It shall be Romeo, whom you know I hate, / Rather than Paris".-Juliet is in love with Romeo)
Verbal Irony
A repetition of a word/phrase at beginning of successive lines (Ex: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times")
Anaphora
Pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables
Meter
A person or thing that is detected, loathed, or damned
Invective/Anathema
A moment of critical recognition or discovery in the plot
Anagnorisis
Language that avoids the true meaning of the words. (Ex: Characters' simple discussion of the weather could be interpreted as turmoil brewing)
The use of a word or phrase to stand in for something else which it is often associated (Ex: the Lamb means Jesus Christ of Nazareth)
Metonymy
An unstressed extra syllable at the end of a line of poetry. If most lines have five beats, a feminine ending has six. Ex: Of detail, burned, dissolved, and broken off /Like graveyard marble sculpture in the weather.” The word “weather” is extra: it creates the feeling of trailing off
FEMININE ENDING
A narrative in which the narrator knows everything about all characters and events, including thoughts, feelings, unseen actions (Ex: Death in The Book Thief)
Omniscient narrative/POV
Introduction of setting, characters, and basic conflict
Exposition
Narrator whose credibility is compromised (Ex: Nick Carraway in The Great Gatsby)
Unreliable Narrator