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ENG 1D Literary Techniques. What are literary techniques?. The term “literary technique” (or device) refers to any specific , deliberate constructions or choices of language which an author uses to convey meaning in a deeper way
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What are literary techniques? • The term “literary technique” (or device) refers to any specific, deliberate constructions or choices of language which an author uses to convey meaning in a deeper way • They are techniques used by an author to emphasize themes of text, develop character, advance plot, etc. • Authors use literary techniques to make their writing interesting, vivid, and profound.
Types of Literary Techniques • By the end of the semester, you must be familiar with the literary techniques below. The words in purple will be defined in this slideshow and the remaining terms will be defined throughout our units of study. • Alliteration • Allusion • Comic relief • Flashback • Foreboding • Foreshadowing • Hyperbole • Imagery • Irony • juxtaposition • Malapropism • Metaphor • Motif • Nemesis • Onomatopoeia • Oxymoron • Paradox • Pathetic fallacy • Pathos • Personification • Pun • Repetition • Satire • Simile • Symbol • Understatement
Alliteration • The repetition of consonant letters or sounds, especially at the beginning of words. • Alliteration is used to draw attention to an important word, image, or idea. • Example: Children need both praise and protection.
Allusion • allusion – a reference to something outside of the text, which brings deeper understanding of character, theme, etc. • biblical allusion – a reference to the Bible • classical allusion – a reference to Greek or Roman mythology • historical allusion – a reference to a historical event • literary allusion – a reference to another work of literature • topical allusion – a reference to a contemporary event, person, thing, etc. from the popular culture of the period in which the narrative is set
Flashback • Presenting something that happened earlier (often prior to when the reader begins reading) that helps explain something about the current situation
Foreboding • Clues that something bad or evil is going to happen in the future; a feeling of impending disaster • Example: The witches in the opening scene of Shakespeare's Macbethforebode the evil events that will follow.
Foreshadowing • A technique for providing clues about events that may happen later in the story.
Hyperbole • A description which exaggerates, usually employing extremes and/or superlatives to convey a positive or negative attribute • Example: “Mr. Smith is the greatest human being ever to walk the earth.”
Metaphor • A direct relationship where one thing or idea substitutes for another. • A direct comparison between 2 unlike things that does not use the words “like” or “as” • Examples: She is so kind that she must be an angel. He had pit-bull tenacity.
Onomatopoeia • Sounds are spelled out as words; or, when words describing sounds actually sound like the sounds they describe. • Example: Ouch! EEK! Crash!
Oxymoron • A contradiction in terms. • Examples: jumbo shrimp, bitter sweet, deafening silence, “I must be cruel to be kind.”
Pathetic fallacy • when elements of the physical setting/nature (weather, etc.) are used to reflect the characteristics or the emotional state of a character
Personification • Human characteristics are given to animals, ideas, abstractions, and inanimate objects • Example: The snowflakes danced on my nose.
Simile • A direct comparison between 2 unlike things using the words “like” or “as” • Example: “The moon appeared crimson, like a drop of blood hanging in the sky.” • “My love for you is as strong as steel.”
Application Exercise 1) Read “The Seven Ages of Man,” an excerpt from William Shakespeare’s play, As You Like It, 2.7. 2) Highlight and label an example of each of the following: a) simile b) metaphor c) alliteration d) onomatopoeia
The Seven Ages of Man All the world's a stage,And all the men and women merely players,They have their exits and entrances,And one man in his time plays many parts,His acts being seven ages. At first the infant,Mewling and puking in the nurse's arms.Then, the whining schoolboy with his satchelAnd shining morning face, creeping like snailUnwillingly to school. And then the lover,Sighing like furnace, with a woeful balladMade to his mistress' eyebrow. Then a soldier,Full of strange oaths, and bearded like the pard,Jealous in honour, sudden, and quick in quarrel,Seeking the bubble reputationEven in the cannon's mouth. And then the justiceIn fair round belly, with good capon lin'd,With eyes severe, and beard of formal cut,Full of wise saws, and modern instances,And so he plays his part. The sixth age shiftsInto the lean and slipper'd pantaloon,With spectacles on nose, and pouch on side,His youthful hose well sav'd, a world too wide,For his shrunk shank, and his big manly voice,Turning again towards childish treble, pipesAnd whistles in his sound. Last scene of all,That ends this strange eventful history,Is second childishness and mere oblivion,Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.
