Literary Devices

1. Literary Devices

2. Theme

3.  A universal idea or message that stretches through an entire story, the main idea of a text Definition

4. Mood

5. The atmosphere that pervades a literary work with the intention of evoking a certain emotion or feeling from the audience Mood may be created by a combination of elements such as SETTING, VOICE, TONE and THEME definition

6. Tone

7.  The attitude of an author, as opposed to a NARRATOR or PERSONA, toward her subject matter and/or audience Tone is closely linked to MOOD, but tends to be associated more with VOICE definiton

8. Setting

9. The locale, time, and CONTEXT in which the ACTION of a literary work takes place "It was a dark and stormy night . . ." is a cliche example of setting definiton

10. Simile

11. A comparison of two different things, usually using the words "like" or "as“ "Oh, my love is like a red, red rose“ “Her eyes were as blue as the sea” definiton

12. Metaphor

13. A comparison of two different things which states that the two are actually the same thing, often through a form of the verb "to be“ "Black Poets / Are / The Trumpets of Black Warriors" Defintion

14. Point of View

15. The intellectual or emotional perspective held by a NARRATOR or PERSONA. A narrator or persona's point of view may be classified according to whether it is in the "first-person," where the speaker uses the pronoun "I"; the "second-person," where the speaker uses the pronoun "you"; or the "third-person," where the speaker uses the pronouns "he," "she," "it" or "they." The third-person point of view may be further classified according to whether it is all-knowing, or "omniscient"; or limited in its knowledge, or "limited omniscient” Definiton

16. Protagonist/ Antagonist

17. Protagonist is the central, main character in a story Antagonist is the character who is opposite to or challenges the protagonist Definition

18. Conflict

19. The struggle between opposing forces such as characters or ideas that provides the central ACTION and interest in any literary PLOT  The struggle between the Capulet and Montague families in Romeo and Juliet is a classic example of conflict Definition

20. Internal conflict is the struggle occurring within a character's mind External conflict is the struggle between a character and an outside force such as nature or another character, which drives the dramatic action of the plot

21. Climax

22.  A moment of great intensity in the plot of a literary work, generally bringing events to a head and leading to the conclusion Definition

23. Symbol

24. A symbol is something that stands for something else. Symbolism is multi-dimensional--it may convey a number of meanings. The symbol of the great white whale in  Moby Dick, for example, may stand for the devil, nature, the forces of the universe, or even something else Definition

25. Irony

26. An intentional contradiction between what something appears to mean and what it really means. Irony is normally conveyed through contradictions between either what is said and what is meant or appearance and reality. There are many forms of irony; verbal irony, the most familiar form, involves speaking words which say something quite unlike what is meant (ex. I just love to write papers). Definition

27. Situational irony – one expects something to happen, but something entirely different occurs Dramatic irony - the author causes a character to speak or act incorrectly, out of ignorance of some portion of the truth of which the audience is aware. In other words, the audience knows the character is making a mistake, even as the character is making it

28. Alliteration

29. The repetition of the same leading sound in a phrase of two or more words "around the rock the ragged rascal ran“ "You'll never put a better bit of butter on your knife" Definition

30. Personification

31. Giving human characteristics to something non-human "Oreo: Milk’s favorite cookie.“ The wind stood up and gave a shout Definition