a list of literary devices to look for when analyzing a text

a list of literary devices to look for when analyzing a text

All authors carefully choose their words.

Some authors use literary features or techniques to help you figure out what the theme is.

What SMART readers do: S = summarize M = make

connections A = ask questions R = re-read &

research T = track

techniques

Baptised Chimps is a list of literary elements and techniques to always look for when you are analyzing a text. They are NOT the ONLY literary elements

and techniques. They ARE the most basic ones and a good

place to start when analyzing a text.

Not to be ignored! It sets up the mood, tone, and style of

the text. Example: the opening passage of

Fahrenheit 451 Introduced Montag Introduced thematic concept of change Set the mood

an implied or indirect reference to something outside of the text. It is up to you to research it and figure out how it connects to the text and to the theme.

Example: “And I’m brainless/which means I’m headless/like Ichabod Crane is” – “Dumb it Down,” Lupe Fiasco;

Fiasco’s alluding to “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” by Washington Irving. You have to know the story to understand why he included it in his text.

1st person: the narrator is telling you the story and is a character in the action of the story.

3rd person omniscient: the narrator is not a character in the story but can tell you everything about all of the characters including what they are doing.

3rd person limited: the narrator is not a character in the story and is limited to telling you everything about one character in the story.

the speaker, character, or narrator’s attitude towards another character or element of the text

Look carefully at the words used

Tone = how the speaker feels about a character, etc. Character, etc = thematic concept Tone = how the speaker feels about the thematic

concept

You can sometimes infer that is how the text feels about the thematic concept.

an author uses specific detailed words and language to appeal to any of your five senses (taste, touch, smell, hearing, and sight).

The beef of the cheeseburger glistened with gooey cheddar cheese. As I put the crispy, butter yellow bun on top, my mouth began to water with anticipation. I opened wide for one large bite, and felt the bun and cheese melt together as I worked on chewing the tender hamburger meat. Best cheeseburger ever!

Sound imagery can help create mood.

Alliteration: the repetition of a consonant sound at the beginning of words

EX: “With old woes new

wail my dear time's waste.” (Shakespeare, Sonnet 30)

• Assonance: the repetition of vowel sounds in several words in a phrase

EX: Margaret are you grievingOver Goldengrove unleaving?

• Consonance: the repetition of consonant sounds in several words of a phrase

when an author describes a concrete object in a way that causes it to represent an abstract, big idea.

Examples: Phoenix = rebirth The red hunting hat =

protection/confidence The ducks in central

park = Holden’s situation and search for a place to belong

All texts have endings which should not be ignored

How a text ends can dictate what you should think about the theme

Example: The ending of “The

Catcher in the Rye” Holden changes his

perspective on the loss of innocence while watching Phoebe ride the carousel

Shows the ultimate interpretation that innocence has to be lost

choice of words an author uses to tell his/her story

helps you figure out what you should think about what’s happening in the story and about the theme.

Helps you identify other literary techniques

look at the imagery, diction, tone, symbolism, and other literary devices used to describe those characters.

• Sometimes the character’s journey is connected to theme development

Just because there’s irony doesn’t mean the text is a satire

Must pay attention to catch

Usually extremely important when figuring out theme.

3 TYPES: Verbal: a character or

narrator is saying one thing but meaning something else.

Situational irony: when something completely opposite of what is expected happens

Dramatic Irony: when the reader knows more than the characters

comparisons that show how two things that are not alike in most ways are similar in one important way

Can be a single image or carry throughout the text

Example: Her eyes were stars.

Alike in no other way except for the sparkle

giving human traits to inanimate, non-human objects

Examples: any Pixar movie character Wall-E The crazy robots from

Wall-E Nemo Buzz Lightyear

The order in which ideas in a story are presented for you

Consider: Is the story

chronological or does time skip around?

Is something repeated at the beginning or the end?

Consider the difference between: “And so I step up, into

the darkness within; or else the light.”

“And so I step up, into the light; or else the darkness within.”

There are several structural techniques.

Justaposition: the author seems to be indirectly comparing two elements of a text side by side in a story. EX: Montag and

Mildred with the books

• Flashback: the story suddenly pauses to tell a story about something that has already happened; usually a character’s memory of something

• Stanza division: happens in poetry; pay attention to what ideas are included in which stanzas and if there’s a reason they’re in that order

• Boxed narrative/frame: when a certain image, idea, sentence or other element occurs at the beginning of a story and at the end

Techniques like imagery and symbolism will generally be used to create a particular setting.

Setting can also help enhance mood.

Sometimes can clue us into theme as well

Examples of key settings the woods where

Montag floats in the river and dreams of being technology free

The pond in Central Park that Holden almost falls into

the train station in “Hills Like White Elephants”

All of these techniques and features can be key in helping you analyze a text for a theme.

You must notice them and annotate for them when you read.

You will not always find all of them.

If you do, ask your question.

Take out an index card.Respond to the prompts below.

Turn in before you leave.

- Explain what you learned about how identifying and analyzing literary techniques and features can help you interpret the theme of a work?

- Choose one of the techniques, and explain how that technique can help you identify the theme of a text.