UNIVERSITY OF DAR ES SAALAM(MKWAWA BRANCH)

LITERARY DIVICESImageryDefinition of Imagery:As a literary device, imagery consists of descriptive language thatcan function as a way for the reader to better imagine the world ofthe piece of literature and also add symbolism to the work. Imagerydraws on the five senses, namely the details of taste, touch, sight,smell, and sound. Imagery can also pertain to details about movementor a sense of a body in motion (kinesthetic imagery) or the emotionsor sensations of a person, such as fear or hunger (organic imagery orsubjective imagery). Using imagery helps the reader develop a morefully realized understanding of the imaginary world that the authorhas created.

Common Examples of ImageryWe use imagery in everyday speech to convey our meaning. Here are someexamples of imagery from each of the five senses: Taste: The familiar tang of his grandmother’s cranberry saucereminded him of his youth. Sound: The concert was so loud that her ears rang for daysafterward. Sight: The sunset was the most gorgeous they’d ever seen; theclouds were edged with pink and gold. Smell: After eating the curry, his breath reeked of garlic. Touch: The tree bark was rough against her skin.Significance of Imagery in LiteratureImagery examples are prevalent in all types of literature fromcultures around the world. Poets, novelists, and playwrights useimagery for many reasons. One of the key usages is that the imagery in

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a piece can help create mood, such as the clichéd opening “It was adark and stormy night.” While this line is too hackneyed for anyauthor to actually use it, it is a good example of imagery in that thereader immediately pictures the kind of setting in which the story maytake place. This particular imagery also creates a mood of foreboding.Indeed, even Shakespeare used this type of opening for his famous playMacBeth: the three witches in the beginning speak of the “thunder,lightning [and] rain” and the “fog and filthy air.”While an author may use imagery just to help readers understand thefictive world, details of imagery often can be read symbolically. Inthe previous example of MacBeth, the thunder and lightning that openthe play symbolize both the storm that is already taking place inScotland and the one that is about to begin once MacBeth takes overthe throne. Thus, when analyzing literature it is important toconsider the imagery used so as to understand both the mood and thesymbolism in the piece.Examples of Imagery in LiteratureExample #1: Taste

On rainy afternoons, embroidering with a group of friends on thebegonia porch, she would lose the thread of the conversation and atear of nostalgia would salt her palate when she saw the strips ofdamp earth and the piles of mud that the earthworms had pushed up inthe garden. Those secret tastes, defeated in the past by oranges andrhubarb, broke out into an irrepressible urge when she began to weep.She went back to eating earth. The first time she did it almost out ofcuriosity, sure that the bad taste would be the best cure for thetemptation. And, in fact, she could not bear the earth in her mouth.But she persevered, overcome by the growing anxiety, and little bylittle she was getting back her ancestral appetite, the taste ofprimary minerals, the unbridled satisfaction of what was the originalfood.(One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez)

This passage from Gabriel García Márquez’s One Hundred Years ofSolitude discusses one of the character’s pica eating disorder. Thereare many examples of imagery using the sense of taste, including “a

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tear would salt her palate,” “oranges and rhubarb,” and “the taste ofprimary minerals.” The imagery in this excerpt makes the experience ofan eating disorder much more vivid and imaginable to the reader.Example #2: Sound My little horse must think it queer To stop without a farmhouse near Between the woods and frozen lake The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake To ask if there is some mistake. The only other sound’s the sweep Of easy wind and downy flake.

(“Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” by Robert Frost)

When most people think of Robert Frost’s famous poem “Stopping byWoods on a Snowy Evening,” the final refrain comes to mind: “And milesto go before I sleep.” Yet the short poem contains many imageryexamples that are simple yet set the scene well. In this excerpt,there is a juxtaposition of two sounds: the bright noise of thehorse’s harness bells and the nearly silent sound of wind andsnowflake. While the reader knows that this is a dark night, the senseof sound makes the scene even more realistic.Example #3: Sight

Outside, even through the shut window-pane, the world looked cold.Down in the street little eddies of wind were whirling dust and tornpaper into spirals, and though the sun was shining and the sky a harshblue, there seemed to be no colour in anything, except the postersthat were plastered everywhere. The black mustachioed face gazed downfrom every commanding corner. There was one on the house-frontimmediately opposite. BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU, the caption said,while the dark eyes looked deep into Winston’s own. Down at streetlevel another poster, torn at one corner, flapped fitfully in thewind, alternately covering and uncovering the single word INGSOC. Inthe far distance a helicopter skimmed down between the roofs, hovered

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for an instant like a bluebottle, and darted away again with a curvingflight.(1984 by George Orwell)One of the central conceits of George Orwell’s classic dystopian novel1984 is the all-pervasive surveillance of this society. This is aworld that has its eyes constantly open—“Big Brother is watching you”is the motto of the society—yet the world itself is almost colorless.All that the main character, Winston, sees is “whirling dust,” “tornpaper,” and posters of a “black mustachioed face” with “dark eyes.”These sensory details contribute to a general feeling of unease andforeshadow the way in which the world appears more chilling as thenovel goes on.Example #4: Smell In the period of which we speak, there reigned in the cities astench barely conceivable to us modern men and women. The streetsstank of manure, the courtyards of urine, the stairwells stank ofmoldering wood and rat droppings, the kitchens of spoiled cabbage andmutton fat; the unaired parlors stank of stale dust, the bedrooms ofgreasy sheets, damp featherbeds, and the pungently sweet aroma ofchamber pots. The stench of sulfur rose from the chimneys, the stenchof caustic lyes from the tanneries, and from the slaughterhouses camethe stench of congealed blood. People stank of sweat and unwashedclothes; from their mouths came the stench of rotting teeth, fromtheir bellies that of onions, and from their bodies, if they were nolonger very young, came the stench of rancid cheese and sour milk andtumorous disease.(Perfume: The Story of a Murderer by Patrick Suskind)

Patrick Suskind’s novel Perfume: The Story of a Murderer focuses on acharacter who has a very acute sense of smell. The novel, therefore,has numerous examples of imagery using descriptions of smell. Thisexcerpt comes from the beginning of the novel where Suskind sets upthe general palate of smells in eighteenth-century Paris. Using thesesmells as a backdrop, the reader is better able to understand theimportance of the main character’s skill as a perfumer. The reader isforced to imagine the range of smells in this novel’s era and settingthat no longer assault us on a daily basis.

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RepetitionRepetition consists of repeating a word, phrase, or sentence, and iscommon in both poetry and prose. It is a rhetorical technique to addemphasis, unity, and/or power. Due to this definition of repetition,it is a common technique for orators to use. There have been examplesof repetition throughout the course of human history, as it is a goodway to help remember a story, particular lines of a story, or a storyin song form. Thus, repetition has been an essential part of oralstorytelling and can be found in legends, folk tales, and religioustexts.

Different Types of Repetition

There are unique terms for many different types of repetition,most of them from Greek origin.

Anaphora: Repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning ofseveral subsequent lines. Martin Luther King Junior’s speech “I Have aDream” is a famous example, as he repeats “I have a dream” at thebeginning of several lines.

Mesodiplosis: Repetition of a word in the middle of everyline of clause. For example: “we are perplexed, but not in despair;Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed.”

Epistrophe: Repetition of a word at the end of every line orclause. For example: “What lies behind us and what lies before us aretiny compared to what lies within us.” (Ralph Waldo Emerson)

Symploce: A combination of anaphora and epistrophe, symploceis the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of a line andthe repetition of another phrase at the end of the line. For example,symploce occurs in the following statement from Bill Clinton: “Whenthere is talk of hatred, let us stand up and talk against it. Whenthere is talk of violence, let us stand up and talk against it.”

Antanaclasis: From the Greek for “bending back,” this isrepetition of the same word, but with different denotations orconnotations, often as a type of pun. For example, “Marriage is awonderful institution, but who wants to live in an institution?”(Groucho Marx)

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Antistasis: More extreme than antanaclasis, this is therepetition of words in opposite senses. For example: “We must, indeed,all hang together or, most assuredly, we shall all hang separately.”(Benjamin Franklin)

Negative-Positive Restatement: Repetition of an idea in anegative way first, and then in a positive way. An example is JFK’sfamous line “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what youcan do for your country.”

Epizeuxis or palilogia: Repetition of the same word or phrasewithout any words in between. For example, the first three words ofthe folk song “Row, row, row your boat.”

Diacope: Similar to epizeuxis, this is the repetition of aword or phrase with only one or two words between the repeated words.“Diacope” comes from the Greek for “to cut in two.” The famous linefrom Shakespeare’s rendition of the St. Crispin’s Day speech in HenryV is an example: “We few, we happy few, we band of brothers.”

Conduplicatio: Repetition of one word in different placesthroughout a line or paragraph. Elie Weisel used this technique in hisThe Perils of Indifference: “I am filled with a profound and abidinggratitude to the American people. Gratitude is a word that I cherish.Gratitude is what defines the humanity of the human being.”

Anadiplosis or gradatio: Repetition of the last word of oneline as the first word of the next. For example, the proverb “When thegoing gets tough, the tough get going.”

Epanalepsis: Repetition of the first word or words of a linealso at the end of that line. For example, “Nothing can be created outof nothing.” (Lucretius)

Diaphora: Repetition of a name to refer to the person andthen to the meaning of the name. The colloquialism “Boys will be boys”is an example of diaphora.

Epimone: Repetition of a phrase question for emphasis or todwell on a point. From the Greek for “delay.” An example of epimone isSojourner Truth’s speech from the Women’s Convention in 1851 where sherepeated the rhetorical question “And ain’t I a woman?” several timesover.

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Polyptoton: Repetition of words with the same root butdifferent forms. For example, “With eager feeding, food doth choke thefeeder.” (William Shakespeare, Richard II)

Poetic Forms that Use Repetition

The following poetic forms include repetition as necessary totheir structure:

Villanelle: A nineteen-line poem in which two lines fourtimes each in a specific pattern. See this example of repetition below(Example #3).

Sestina: A complex thirty-nine line poem broken into sixstanzas of six lines each and one final stanza with three lines. Eachline ends with one of six words, and these six words rotate in order.The final stanza includes all six words (with only three of themacting as the final words of the lines). Therefore, each word isrepeated a minimum of seven times throughout the poem.

Triolet: An eight-line poem wherein the first, fourth, andseventh lines are identical, as are the second and eighth. Therefore,the first two lines and final two lines are identical couplets.

Ghazal: Originating in 6th-century Arabic verse, a ghazal ismade up of five or more couplets where the final word of every coupletis the same.

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Repetition Examples from LiteratureExample #1

But for now Anders can still make time. Time for the shadowsto lengthen on the grass, time for the tethered dog to bark at theflying ball, time for the boy in right field to smack his sweat-blackened mitt and softly chant, They is, They is, They is.

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(“Bullet to the Brain” by Tobias Wolff)

This excerpt of Wolff’s “Bullet to the Brain” contains the finaltwo lines of the short story. The types of repetition represented hereare anadiplosis, anaphora, and epizeuxis. The protagonist of the storyhas been reflecting on a grammatical error he heard as a young boy,and now in the last few moments of his life the phrase keeps repeatingitself in his head. The effect in the story is to mimic theprotagonist’s thought pattern as his brain starts to shut down.

Example #2

I’ve known rivers: I’ve known rivers ancient as the world and older than the

flow of human blood in human veins.

My soul has grown deep like the rivers.

(“The Negro Speaks of Rivers” by Langston Hughes)

Hughes uses different types of repetition here, includinganaphora and conduplicatio. The effect of repetition in this poem isto make the poem sound as though it’s coming from a storyteller.

Example #3

Do not go gentle into that good night, Old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right, Because their words had forked no lightning they Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay, Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

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Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight, And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way, Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay, Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on the sad height, Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray. Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

(“Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night” by Dylan Thomas)

Dylan Thomas’s poem “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night” isone of the most famous villanelles ever written. The repeated lines“Do not go gentle into that good night” and “Rage, rage against thedying of the light” continue to build intensity throughout the poemuntil the power of the final couplet.

Example #4

How the danger sinks and swells, By the sinking or the swelling in the anger of the bells, Of the bells, Of the bells, bells, bells, bells, Bells, bells, bells— In the clamor and the clangor of the bells!

(“The Bells” by Edgar Allen Poe)

This famous poem by Edgar Allen Poe features many differentrepetition examples, including epizeuxis, conduplicatio, andpolyptoton. The word “bells” is repeated 62 times throughout the poem,often without words in between (epizeuxis). This particular type ofrepetition helps to make the poem sound much like the tolling ofbells.

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DictionAs a literary device, diction refers to the choice of words and styleof expression that an author makes and uses in a work of literature.Diction can have a great effect on the tone of a piece of literature,and how readers perceive the characters.

One of the primary things that diction does is establishing whether awork is formal or informal. Choosing more elevated words willestablish a formality to the piece of literature, while choosing slangwill make it informal. For example, consider the difference between “Iam much obliged to you, sir” and “Thanks a bunch, buddy!” The formerexpression of gratitude sounds much more formal than the latter, andboth would sound out of place if used in the wrong situation.

Common Examples of Diction

We alter our diction all the time depending on the situation we arein. Different communication styles are necessary at different times.We would not address a stranger in the same way as a good friend, andwe would not address a boss in that same way as a child. Thesedifferent choices are all examples of diction. Some languages havecodified diction to a greater extent. For example, Spanish is one ofmany languages that has a different form of address and verbconjugation if you are speaking to a stranger or superior than if youare speaking to a friend or younger person. Here are more examples ofdifferent diction choices based on formality:

“Could you be so kind as to pass me the milk?” Vs. “Give me that!” “I regret to inform you that that is not the case.” Vs. “You’rewrong!” “It is a pleasure to see you again! How are you today?” Vs. “Hey,what’s up?” “I’m a bit upset,” Vs. “I’m so pissed off.” “I would be delighted!” Vs. “Sure, why not?” “I’ll do it right away, sir,” Vs. “Yeah, just a sec.”

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Significance of Diction in Literature

Authors make conscious and unconscious word choices all the time whenwriting literature, just as we do when speaking to one another. Thediction in a piece establishes many different aspects of how we readthe work of literature, from its formality to its tone even to thetype of story we are reading. For example, there could be twopractically identical spy novels, but in one we are privileged to themain character’s innermost thoughts about the situation while in theother we only see what the main character does. The author has chosenverbs either of introspection or action, and this type of diction thusdetermines what kind of story the book presents. This is thedifference between spy novels by, for example, John le Carré (Tinker,Tailor, Solider, Spy; A Most Wanted Man) and Dan Brown (The Da VinciCode; Inferno).Examples of Diction in LiteratureExample #1

MACBETH: Is this a dagger which I see before me, The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee. I have thee not, and yet I see thee still. Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible To feeling as to sight? Or art thou but A dagger of the mind, a false creation, Proceeding from the heat-oppressèd brain?

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MACBETH: I have done the deed. – Didst thou not hear a noise? LADY MACBETH: I heard the owl scream and the crickets cry. Did not you speak? MACBETH: When? LADY MACBETH: Now. MACBETH: As I descended?

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LADY MACBETH: Ay.

(Macbeth by William Shakespeare)

This is an interesting example of diction from Shakespeare’s famoustragedy Macbeth. As modern readers, we often consider Shakespeare’slanguage to be quite formal, as it is filled with words like “thou”and “thy” as well as archaic syntax such as in Macbeth’s questions“Didst thou not hear a noise?” However, there is striking differencein the diction between these two passages. In the first, Macbeth iscontemplating a murder in long, expressive sentences. In the secondexcerpt, Macbeth has just committed a murder and has a rapid-fireexchange with his wife, Lady Macbeth. The different word choices thatShakespeare makes shows the different mental states that Macbeth is inin these two nearby scenes.Example #2

It seemed to me that a careful examination of the room and thelawn might possibly reveal some traces of this mysterious individual.You know my methods, Watson. There was not one of them which I did notapply to the inquiry. And it ended by my discovering traces, but verydifferent ones from those which I had expected.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

This diction example is quite formal, even though Sherlock Holmes isspeaking to his close friend Dr. Watson. He speaks in very fullsentences and with elevated language (“might possibly reveal sometraces” and “not one of them which I did not apply to the inquiry”).When speaking to such a close acquaintance, most people would chooseother constructions and less formal language. However, this dictionemployed by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle shows that Sherlock Holmes isalways a very formal character, no matter the situation.Example #3

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You just hold your head high and keep those fists down. No matterwhat anybody says to you, don’t you let ‘em get your goat. Tryfighting with your head for a change.

(To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee)

This is a quote from Atticus Finch, the father of To Kill aMockingbird’s narrator, Scout. Atticus uses very formal language inhis profession, as he is a celebrated lawyer. When speaking to hisdaughter, though, he changes his diction and uses short, simplephrases and words. He also uses the clichés “hold your head high” and“don’t you let ‘em get your goat.” This informal diction shows hisclose relationship to his daughter and makes him seem moreapproachable than if we only saw him in his lawyerly role.Example #4

His adolescent nerdliness vaporizing any iota of a chance he hadfor young love. Everybody else going through the terror and joy oftheir first crushes, their first dates, their first kisses while Oscarsat in the back of the class, behind his DM’s screen, and watched hisadolescence stream by. Sucks to be left out of adolescence, sort oflike getting locked in the closet on Venus when the sun appears forthe first time in a hundred years.

(The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz)

Contemporary writer Junot Díaz is noted for using a very distinctdiction in his books. He often sprinkles in Spanish words and phrasesin his works to make his characters—many of whom are from theDominican Republic—seem more authentic. In this excerpt from his novelThe Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Díaz uses very informallanguage, even creating the word “nerdliness.” He uses the slang term“sucks” to reinforce the sense of his character Oscar’s youth.

EllipsisEllipsis has been derived from a Latin word, “elleipsis” which meansto leave out. It is an act of omitting unnecessary words in a

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sentence, a line, a paragraph or an event, which occurs in longnarratives. Depending on its placement in a line or sentence, anellipsis indicates a slight pause, an unfinished thought, or anawkward or a nervous silence. This practice of leaving out unimportantwords allows the readers to understand the missing text through theirmind’s eye. Sometimes the omitted words are shown by a series of threefull stops as “...” These three dots or periods express an incompletethought. For instance, “The pamphlet states: “The environment ispeaceful and calm … and we won’t be able to hear the trains.” We canoften find the use of ellipsis in movies, where the writers leave outsome parts in their story.

Use of Ellipsis

Ellipsis is a literary device, which is a pause in writing. However,it is also used in academic writing in different meanings anddifferent sense. Even in prose writing, it is simply used to omit longsentences just for clarity or brevity. According to different academicwriting styles such as Chicago Manual of Style and APA, the use ofthree periods having spaces between them without small brackets isrecommended, while MLA style proposes the use of square bracketsbefore and after three dots such as this […].Significance of Ellipsis in Literature

The best function of ellipsis is to save the time. When time is animportant factor, it becomes necessary to omit many unnecessary scenesto advance the story ahead. Ellipsis, in literature, is a very useful,as sometimes a quote might be clunky, or too long to fit in the text.It is a good way to evade lengthy texts and use short, brief andcompact sentences that could convey the meanings directly and withoutany complexities. Also that in stories and dialogues, it mightdemonstrate a pause. The writers use ellipsis as a source ofexpression, because it can create a connection between the writer andthe readers in that then the readers are allowed to interpret thestory by understanding this pause. In addition, ellipsis could make aliterary work brief, condensed, comic, effective as well assophisticated. Ellipsis also helps a writer to convey his/her ideas or

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thoughts like epithets, which usually cannot pass through thecensorship rules. However, through ellipsis, the writers can expresswithout explicitly stating their ideas.♦

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Examples from of Ellipsis from LiteratureExample 1

“His brow was furrowed, his mouth peevish.”

(P.G. Wodehouse, Leave It to Psmith, 1923)

This sentence is highly terse, as it does not use conjunctions like“and,” “or,” or ‘because.” However, it still retains the clarity ofits meaning. The reader must connect the two phrases, but ellipsisallows this to be done easily.Example 2

Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools, becausethey have to say something.

(Plato)

This is a famous saying by Plato. He uses punctuation marks instead ofusing markers and transition words to make his point clear. Themeaning of his sentence remains clear regardless and it providesreaders with a better example of terse and pithy writing.Example 3

Prosperity is a great teacher; adversity a greater.

(William Hazlitt)

Here a semicolon is used instead of the traditional three periods or acomma that we have seen in the other examples. But the sentence is

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still shortened and retains a greater impact and more poetic qualityby its use of ellipsis.Example 4

In proportion as he simplifies his life, the laws of the universewill appear less complex, and solitude will not be solitude, norpoverty poverty, nor weakness weakness.

(Henry David Thoreau, Walden, 1854)

This is an example of a very good use of ellipsis that is so subtlethat the reader may not even initially realize how it is done. Therepeated use of “poverty and weakness” makes it clear that thesentence should have been long instead of terse; however, the use ofthe dual terms enhances its meaning.Example 5

Her eyes are sunk and reverting to liquid, her gait is stooped,her upper lip crowned with a moustache of close to squadron-leaderdensity.

(Joe Bennett, Mustn’t Grumble: In Search of England and the English.Simon & Schuster UK, 2006)

This sentence by Joe Bennett also shows how terseness and concisenessmake language powerful and poetic. Had he used other markers andtransition words, the sentence would not flow as smoothly nor be aspowerful.Example 6

This example of ellipsis, by popular ghost story author M. R. James,makes fun of the ellipsis form itself while also replicating it. Inhis essay “Stories I have Tried to Write,” he writes, “dots arebelieved by many writers of our day to be a good substitute foreffective writing. They are certainly an easy one. Let us have a fewmore …” James is mocking the use of ellipsis here, but alsodemonstrating how they can be used effectively.

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Example 7

Some people go to priests; others to poetry; I to my friends.

(Virginia Woolf)

This is a wonderful use of literary ellipsis by a great Britishauthor. This example, with its use of double semicolons to provideemphasis, comes from her 1931 experimental novel, The Waves. Woolfoften uses ellipsis to make narration resemble the patterns of ourthoughts more closely. She made use of this device in her other work,such as in her novel Mrs. Dalloway, published in 1925.

ConnotationConnotation of a word refers to the emotional or cultural associationwith that word rather than its dictionary definition. The connotationdefinition is therefore not the explicit meaning of the word, butrather the meaning that the word implies.

Connotation comes from the Latin word “connotare,” which means, “tomark in addition.”

In some cases, connotation can also be similar to symbolism as ithinges on culturally-accepted meanings. For example, the connotationof a red rose is love and passion, and if an author were to refer to ared rose while talking about a relationship, the reader wouldunderstand that this connotation and symbolism was at play. However,there are many cases of connotation that don’t use symbolism, as shownbelow in the “Examples of Connotation in Common Speech” section.

Difference Between Connotation and Denotation

Connotation and denotation are opposite concepts. The denotation of aword is its literal meaning, whereas the connotation is an implicitmeaning. As a mnemonic to remember the difference, it can be helpfulto note that “denotation” and “dictionary definition” all start withthe same letter.

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Examples of Connotation in Common Speech

There are many words that can be understood as synonyms with the samedefinition, yet their connotations are notable different. For example:

“House” versus “Home”: Both words refer to the structure in whicha person lives, yet “home” connotes more warmth and comfort, whereas“house” sounds colder and more distant. “Cheap” versus “Affordable”: While both words mean that somethingdoes not cost a lot, “cheap” can also connote something that it notwell-made or of low value, while “affordable” can refer to a qualityitem or service that happens to be well-priced. “Riots” versus “Protests”: The difference between these two wordsis that “riots” connotes a violent gathering of people who are notnecessarily in the right, while “protests” can have a more peacefulconnotation and is often used when there is sympathy with theprotesters.

The connotations of words can also change drastically from one cultureto the next. For example, to call someone “fat” in some cultures is ahuge insult, whereas in others, it connotes that the person is healthyand well-fed.♦

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Significance of Connotation in Literature

Connotation plays a role in almost every type of communication, as itadds nuance and more subtle meaning. Authors use connotation to allowthe readers to infer more meaning than there is explicitly written onthe page, making the readers more active parts of the interpretiveprocess.Examples of Connotation in LiteratureExample #1

My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun; Coral is far more red than her lips’ red;

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If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun; If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.

(“Sonnet 130” by William Shakespeare)

In this famous sonnet, Shakespeare compares his lover unfavorably tomany wonderful things. Shakespeare uses the sun, the coral, and thesnow to connote beauty, love, and purity. By saying that his lover isnot like any of these things, she carries none of their connotations.Therefore, she is not beautiful and certainly not pure or innocent.Example #2

Some say the world will end in fire, Some say in ice. From what I’ve tasted of desire I hold with those who favor fire. But if it had to perish twice, I think I know enough of hate To say that for destruction ice Is also great And would suffice.

(“Fire and Ice” by Robert Frost)

This short poem by Robert Frost imagines the two possible apocalypticscenarios, and which one he would prefer. There are clear connotationsof passion and aggression Frost’s usage of fire imagery, while ice hasthe connotation of hard hatred. The world, in his imagination, willeither burn up or freeze, and he doesn’t just mean in geologicalterms. Instead he places human emotion into the two concepts of fireand ice.Example #3

How can I move thee? Will no entreaties cause thee to turn afavourable eye upon thy creature, who implores thy goodness andcompassion? Believe me, Frankenstein: I was benevolent; my soul glowedwith love and humanity: but am I not alone, miserably alone? You, my

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creator, abhor me; what hope can I gather from your fellow-creatures,who owe me nothing? they spurn and hate me.

(Frankenstein by Mary Shelley)

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein plays with the concept of what can countas human and what is less than human. The word “creature” is usedthroughout the novel to refer to Frankenstein’s monster, somethingless than human. Yet in this excerpt, the monster uses the word“creature” as he addresses Frankenstein, the human scientist, and therest of humanity. The connotation of creature is that this beingdeserves less empathy and less love than a “normal” human being. Bycalling Frankenstein and other humans “creatures,” Frankenstein’smonster levels the playing field and shows that he is as deserving aslove as any other.Example #4

I am an invisible man. No, I am not a spook like those who hauntedEdgar Allen Poe; nor am I one of your Hollywood-movie extoplasms. I ama man of substance, of flesh and bone, fiber and liquids—and I mighteven be said to possess a mind. I am invisible, understand, simplybecause people refuse to see me. Like the bodiless heads you seesometimes in circus sideshows, it is as though I have been surroundedby mirrors of hard, distorting glass. When they approach me they seeonly my surroundings, themselves, or figments of their imagination—indeed, everything and anything except me.

(Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison)

In Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man, the concepts of invisibility, sight,and blindness take on great meaning. These are not just abstractconcepts or basic physical descriptions, but instead indicative ofsociety as a whole. Invisibility and blindness therefore take on verynegative connotations, as they refer to the society’s inability andeven unwillingness to see the narrator, a black man, as a real humanbeing. This connotation example thus creates connotations where thereader might not have had them before; invisibility is not necessarily

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a negative concept in other contexts, yet Ellison elevates itsnegative connotation to be a central theme in the book.Example #5

War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.

JuxtapositionAs a literary technique, the juxtaposition definition is to place twoconcepts, characters, ideas, or places near or next to each other sothat the reader will compare and contrast them. This technique alsomay imply a link that is not necessarily real or to be trusted.

The word juxtaposition comes from the Latin for “side by side” with“position,” originally a French word that became standardized intoEnglish. In grammar, the use of juxtaposition is the absence ofconjunctions when grouping words in a list, such as omitting the “but”or “and.”

Common Examples of Juxtaposition

Many proverbs in English include examples of juxtaposition, as thecontrasts between concepts can provide a lesson.

What’s good for the goose is good for the gander. In this case,the female goose is a contrast to the male gander, yet what is goodfor one is good for the other. This means that whatever is good for anindividual is for the good of all. When it rains, it pours. In this case, there is a contrast ofmagnitude. The literal meaning is that when it rains, one can expect adownpour. The proverbial meaning is that when one thing goes rightmany things will go right, or, conversely, when one thing goes wrongeveryone goes wrong. All’s fair in love and war. Love and war are opposites, and yetthis proverb shows that they have one thing in common which is thatanything goes. This juxtaposition demonstrates that there is more

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alike between the concepts of love and war than one might originallythink. Better late than never. While being late is a negative thing, thepossibility of something never happening or someone never arriving ismuch worse. Therefore, this juxtaposition puts things intoperspective. Beggars can’t be choosers. To beg and to choose are oppositefunctions, and this proverb implies that in fact one cannot be bothdesperate and have any choice in the decision or result. Making a mountain out of a molehill. Once again, this is ajuxtaposition of magnitude. A molehill is almost invisible compared toa mountain. This proverb warns not to magnify a problem that is, infact, not such a big deal. When the cat’s away the mice will play. In this contrast, the catis an authority figure while the mice are the subservient creatures,being the natural prey of cats. This proverb means that without anauthority figure watching over people will do what they want. This canbe either a positive negative thing, depending on the usage (forexample, it can be a positive thing to remove a repressive authorialforce, yet it can be negative if chaos breaks out without orderenforced). You can’t teach an old dog new tricks. In this contrast betweenold and new, the proverb indicates that once someone has gotten eitherliterally too old or metaphorically too stuck in a way of thinkingthere is no way to change that person’s mind or manners.

Difference Between Juxtaposition and Foil

The concept of the foil in literature refers to a character with whomanother character (most often the protagonist) can be contrasted. Afoil either has completely opposite characteristics from the maincharacter, or is very similar and yet has one striking difference ormakes one strikingly different decision. The foil character can thenbe a way to show what would have happened if the protagonist had madea different choice or had started off in a slightly or completelydifferent condition. A good example of a foil character is DracoMalfoy in J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series. He and Harry start at

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school together, but, due to their different personalities andupbringings, make drastically different decisions and end up onopposite sides of the final battle.

A foil character can be seen as a special case of juxtaposition, asthe definition of juxtaposition covers contrasting concepts of anytype, including contrasts between characters.♦

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Examples of Juxtaposition from LiteratureExample #1

IAGO: Zounds, sir, you’re robbed! For shame, put on your gown. Your heart is burst, you have lost half your soul. Even now, now, very now, an old black ram Is tupping your white ewe. Arise, arise, Awake the snorting citizens with the bell Or else the devil will make a grandsire of you. Arise, I say!

(Othello by Shakespeare)

Much of the drama in Shakespeare’s play Othello hinges on the bigotedattitudes that characters have about the interracial relationshipbetween Othello the Moor and Desdemona, a Venetian beauty. There areseveral instances throughout the play that juxtapose Othello’s darkskin with Desdemona’s light skin, implying a moral judgment about thedivergent natures of the two lovers. In this excerpt, the villain Iagorefers to Othello as “an old black ram” and Desdemona as a “white ewe”to inflame the anger of Desdemona’s father. Though Othello was wellrespected in Venice before his relationship with Desdemona, thejuxtaposition of his darkness with Desdemona’s lightness casts ashadow over Othello’s character and there is an assumption that he hasruined her innocence.Example #2

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It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was theage of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch ofbelief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light,it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was thewinter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing beforeus, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct theother way – in short, the period was so far like the present period,that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received,for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.

(A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens)

This famous opening to Charles Dickens’s novel A Tale of Two Citiescontains many juxtaposition examples. There are many functions thatthese juxtapositions play. The title already sets up the idea ofcomparison, in that there are two cities, and indeed the entire novelis full of doubles. This passage sets up the expectation of that themecontinuing, while also showing the intense struggle between love andhatred, freedom and oppression, and good and evil that lead up to theFrench Revolution.Example #3

Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy inits own way.

(Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy)

This is another famous opening line to a novel. Tolstoy posits adifference between happy families and unhappy families, and the waysin which they function. Whether the juxtaposition leads to a truestatement is highly debatable, yet the quote is often repeated. Thisline creates the desire in the reader to know the exact way in whichthe unhappy family in the novel is unhappy.Example #4

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by,

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And that has made all the difference.

(“The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost)

Metaphor A metaphor is a rhetorical figure of speech that compares two subjectswithout the use of “like” or “as.” Metaphor is often confused withsimile, which compares two subjects by connecting them with “like” or“as” (for example: “She’s fit as a fiddle”). While a simile statesthat one thing is like another, a metaphor asserts that one thing isthe other, or is a substitute for the other thing.

A metaphor asserts a correlation or resemblance between two thingsthat are otherwise unrelated. The English word “metaphor” originatesfrom the Greek metaphorá, which means “to transfer” or “to carryover.” Indeed, a metaphor transfers meaning from one subject on toanother so that the target subject can be understood in a new way.

Rhetoricians have further elaborated on the definition of metaphor byseparating and naming the two key elements. There are a few differentsets of names for these two parts: they can be called the “tenor” andthe “vehicle”, the “ground” and the “figure”, or the “target” and the“source”. Consider this famous example of a metaphor fromShakespeare’s “As You Like It”:

All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players.

In this example, the world is the primary subject, and it gainsattributes from the stage (ie, from theater). Thus, in the binarypairs, the world is the “tenor,” the “ground,” and the “target,” whilethe stage is the “vehicle,” the “figure,” and the “source.”

Difference between Metaphor and Simile, and Other Types of Analogies

Metaphor is a type of analogy, which is a class of rhetorical figuresof speech that creates comparisons between different objects. Other

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examples of analogies are similes, allegories, hyperboles, and puns.Here are the key differences between these different terms:

Simile: As stated above, a simile posits a likeness or similaritybetween two things by connecting them with “like” or “as.” Since ametaphor asserts that one thing is, in fact, identical to another itis often considered a stronger form of analogy than a simile. Forexample, stating, “Frank is a pig” is a stronger statement of disgustthan “Frank is like a pig.” Allegory: An allegory is a complete story that uses an extendedmetaphor throughout the entire story to illustrate complex ideas in acomprehensible way. George Orwell’s novel Animal Farm is an allegorythat uses the extended metaphor of animals starting a revolution ontheir farm to characterize the figures of the Russian Revolution.

Hyperbole Hyperbole: Hyperbole compares or describes things in anexaggerated way for the sake of emphasis. It is common, for example,to pronounce, “I’m starving” when one is merely hungry or “I’mfreezing” when one is quite cold. The state of starvation is much moredire than mere hunger, and so we say we are starving to emphasize theneed for food.

Pun Pun: Like metaphor, a pun uses comparison to create cognitivelinks between two things. The difference between the two terms is thata pun does so for comedic effect. For example: “I’m glad I know signlanguage, it’s pretty handy.” In this pun, the word “handy” refersboth to the usefulness of sign language and also to the fact thatsigns language relies on the speakers’ hands.

Examples of Metaphor from Common Speech

Many common sayings are metaphors. Here are just a few examples:

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Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. It was raining cats and dogs. Never look a gift horse in the mouth. People who live in glass houses should not throw stones. A watched pot never boils.

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Significance of Metaphor in Literature

Metaphor is a key component of all forms of literature, includingpoetry, prose, and drama. This is not only because metaphor is ahighly useful literary device, but also because it is such a vitalpart of all language and communication. Many cognitive theorists haveresearched and written about the importance of metaphor in the way weunderstand the world around us. For example, in western culture thephrase “time is money” is quite prevalent. This is not just a cliché,though; we talk about time in terms of wasting it, spending it, savingit, and so on. The metaphorical comparison of these two concepts endsup influencing the way people in cultures actually perceive time.

It should come as no surprise, therefore, that there are examples ofmetaphor in literature from every culture. The use of metaphor allowsauthors to present unfamiliar ideas or situations in ways that thereader is able to comprehend by comparing unknown things to knownthings. This can be a good technique for fantasy writers or sciencefiction writers to make the worlds they create seem more familiar tothe reader. Metaphors can also be used, however, to compare verycommon things to one another. This type of usage forges a cognitivelink between previously unrelated objects and makes readers appreciatethem in a new way.Examples of Metaphor from LiteratureExample #1

But, soft! what light through yonder window breaks?

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It is the east, and Juliet is the sun.

(“Romeo and Juliet” by William Shakespeare)

As one of the most famous romances of all time, Shakespeare’s “Romeoand Juliet” has many often-quoted lines about love. In this line,Romeo uses the metaphor of Juliet being the rising sun to demonstratehis devotion. Sunrise can signify new hope, which is how Romeo viewshis relationship with Juliet. Furthermore, the planet revolves aroundthe sun and Romeo feels that his world now revolves around Juliet.Example #2

He says, you have to study and learn so that you can make up yourown mind about history and everything else but you can’t make up anempty mind. Stock your mind, stock your mind. You might be poor, yourshoes might be broken, but your mind is a palace.

(Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt)

Frank McCourt’s memoir Angela’s Ashes is primarily about the povertyin which he grew up. This lovely excerpt, however, demonstrates how hewas able to conceptualize his life as having a large amount ofpotential. Even though McCourt was poor, he could think of his mind asa palace and therefore have riches beyond belief available to him.Example #3

I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness, starving hysterical naked… …who disappeared into the volcanoes of Mexico leaving behind nothing but the shadow of dungarees and the lava and ash of poetry scattered in fireplace Chicago.

(“Howl” by Allen Ginsberg)

Allen Ginsberg’s 1955 poem “Howl” contains hallucinatory images andwild descriptions. In this particularly vivid excerpt, Ginsberg slidesfrom the imagery of Mexican volcanoes to the “lava and ash of poetry”

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left behind in fireplaces. The unexpected juxtaposition of these twoimages is a good example of how metaphor can work to broaden areader’s conceptual base for a concept, in this case about poetry.

AnalogyIs a comparison between two things. Analogies function to describe orexplain one thing by examining its similarities with another thing.The two things may be very dissimilar and the analogy forces thereader or listener to understand the connection between them. On theother hand, the analogy could provide a comparison between two verysimilar things, one of which might be more obscure; the analogyprovides a way for a reader or listener to understand the more obscurething by picturing the more common thing.

Many common literary devices are examples of analogy, such asmetaphor, simile, allegory, parable, and exemplification. We examinethe differences between these devices below.

Analogy comes from the Greek word analogia, which is a combination ofthe prefix ana- (upon, again, or back) and the suffix -logos (ratio,word, or speech). Together, the word means something akin to“proportion.”

Types of AnalogyAs the definition of analogy includes all types of comparisons, thefollowing list of literary devices all qualify as analogies:

Metaphor: A metaphor compares two subjects without any connectingwords such as “like” or “as.” Metaphors are considered a strong formof analogy as they assert that one thing is another. Simile: A simile is a comparison between two things using theconnecting words “like” or “as.” Not quite as strong of a comparisonas metaphor, simile still requires the reader to understand thesimilarities between the two things and make new cognitive links. Allegory: An allegory is a story in which the characters, images,and/or events function as symbols. These symbols can be interpreted to

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have deeper significance and may illustrate moral truths or apolitical or historical situation. Parable: Similar to allegory, though more condensed, a parable isa simple story used to illustrate an instructive lesson or principal. Exemplification: Exemplification is the relation between a sampleand what it refers to. For example, if a sign at an arboretum said“oak” in front of an oak tree, that tree would be an exemplificationof the label.

Common Examples of Analogy

Analogy is not only a literary term. Indeed, the concept of analogy isused in many different fields, from math to biology to philosophy.Analogy is an important part of high-level perception in humans; theability to form and understand analogies requires high cognitivefunctioning.

Analogies have been used as a part of the American SAT exam to testcognitive functioning. Here are some simple examples of analogy thatone might have found on the SAT test:

GREEN : COLOR :: ORCHID : FLOWER SCIENTIST : EINSTEIN :: MUSICIAN : MOZART HUMAN : FINGERNAIL :: TIGER : CLAW

There are many other analogies that we can find in common speech. Hereare some examples of simile, one of the main types of analogy:

Mary had a little lamb / Her fleece was white as snow. As light as a feather As dead as a doornail As busy as a bee As quiet as a mouse As happy as a clam Sly like a fox You’re as sweet as sugar That would be as difficult as finding a needle in a haystack.

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“We will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters,and righteousness like a mighty stream” –Martin Luther King, Jr. “Ihave a dream” speech

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Significance of Analogy in Literature

Analogy is very important in literature, and it can be found in itsmany forms in literature from every culture and era. Analogy helpsreaders and listeners explore relationships between like and unlikethings, thereby expanding connective tissue between concepts. Greekphilosophers such as Plato and Aristotle theorized about analogy,calling it a shared abstraction. The objects being compared shared apattern, idea, philosophy, or effect, and the analogy helped clarifythis mutual attribute. Authors use analogies in all types ofliterature for many reasons, such as to provide comparisons betweenlike and unlike things, to create deeper significance in their works,and to help readers visualize characters and places.Examples of Analogy in LiteratureExample #1

So. The Spear-Danes in days gone by And the kings who ruled them had courage and greatness. We have heard of those princes’ heroic campaigns. There was Shield Sheafson, scourge of many tribes, A wrecker of mead-benches, rampaging among foes. This terror of the hall-troops had come far. A foundling to start with, he would flourish later on As his powers waxed and his worth was proved. In the end each clan on the outlying coasts Beyond the whale-road had to yield to him And begin to pay tribute. That was one good king.

(Beowulf, translated by Seamus Heaney)

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The anonymous author of the Old English epic Beowulf used a particulartype of analogy called a “kenning.” A kenning is a compound word thatis a metaphorical recreation of a common concept. In the aboveexcerpt, which is the opening paragraph of Beowulf, there are severalkennings. “Spear-Danes,” “mead-benches,” “hall-troops,” and “whale-road” are all kennings. “Whale-road,” for example, is a kenning forthe sea. The metaphorical meaning is that the sea is the road thatwhales use. Kennings were a very popular type of analogy in OldEnglish, but have fallen almost completely out of favor in modernEnglish.Example #2

O, she doth teach the torches to burn bright! Her beauty hangs upon the cheek of night, Like a rich jewel in an Ethiop’s ear.

(Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare)

Shakespeare used analogy examples in all of his works. In these threelines there are a few analogies. The “cheek of night” is an analogy,as the comparison between “her beauty” and “a rich jewel.” Even theidea that Juliet could “teach the torches to burn bright” is ananalogy example in its comparison of her ability to brighten what isalready characteristically bright.Example #3

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay, Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

(“Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night” by Dylan Thomas)

There are a couple examples of analogy in just this short excerpt fromDylan Thomas’s “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night.” The concept of“blinding sight” is a juxtaposition of seemingly opposite terms, buthints at the metaphorical understanding of how the end of life is bothblinding and gives much clarity. The second line of this excerpt

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contains a simile comparing “blind eyes” and “meteors” and how theysimilarly “blaze.” The entire poem functions as an analogy, as “thedying of the light” is actually a metaphor for death.Example #4

The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig,and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say whichwas which.

(Animal Farm by George Orwell)

George Orwell’s novel Animal Farm is an allegory about the RussianRevolution; the pigs that take over control of the farm are a symbolof the men who took control of the Russian government after theRevolution. At the end of the novel men come to the farm to talk withthe pigs, and the other farm animals outside cannot tell whichcreature is which. This is an example of analogy because the reader isforced to think about the ways that the pigs have taken on the verycharacteristics they meant to work against.

AmbiguityA literary device, ambiguity, takes place when a statement or a phraseis interpreted in several different ways, and each meaning seemscorrect to a section of the society and scholars. It is sometimesknown as fallacy of ambiguity, which you can interpret in multiplesways.

Ambiguous statements or words create vagueness and that constitutesthe basis of unintended comedy. Ambiguity is found in the use of wordchoice such as:

“I saw a dead cow walking.”

This sentence is undoubtedly confusing, because ambiguity is in playin it. The readers are led to believe that the onlooker saw a dead cow

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walking, which is completely senseless. We can understand the samesentence clearly, when this is simplified and written as,

“While I was walking, I saw a dead cow.”

Another kind of ambiguity arises when homonyms, words having samespellings but different meanings, are used in such a way that createsambiguity. The following is a famous example:

“An ambassador is an honest man sent to lie abroad for the good ofhis country.”

In the following sentence, the word “lie” causes ambiguity. It playswith the idea of “lying abroad”, which means living in another countryversus that of telling untruths in another country. This dual natureof meanings creates ambiguity and makes the audience confused.However, they can resolve such ambiguity by understanding the contextof the situation.Significance of Ambiguity in Literature

In literary pieces, ambiguity can become a source of deeper meaning.Through ambiguous statements, writers allow their readers a chance tointerpret different meanings in multiples ways. It is due to thisambiguity that readers are able to use their imaginations to find outother hidden meanings. Hence, it gives freedom to the audiences totake part in the reading of prose or poetry.

Difference Between Ambiguity and IronyAmbiguity and irony are two different terms, though you may not see itat first. Irony takes place when the intended meaning is differentfrom what is apparent. Ambiguity means the use of words, which haveseveral different layers and meanings. Irony may have strong emotionsattached to it, mostly negative or pungent. Ambiguity, on the otherhand, does not necessarily have any negative emotional quality.

Have a look at the following:

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A fire hydrant is burning.

The firefighters are on fire because of the unfair and negativecomments about their firefighting skills by the mayor.

The first sentence is an example of situational irony, whereas thesecond sentence uses ambiguity with the help of phrase “on fire.”♦

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Common Examples of Ambiguity

The following are some very common instances of ambiguity in everydayconversation:Example 1

The police shot every thief with guns.

The sentence as a whole is ambiguous and you cannot understand themeaning easily. Omitting “with guns” or restructuring the sentencewill remove confusion.Example 2

The son saw his father drunk.

Here, the structure of the sentence is what creates ambiguity.Example 3

The angry tailor pressed a suit in his shop and another in thelocal municipal court.

The sentence is ambiguous as the word “suit” has been used twice withdifferent meanings to create confusion.Example 4

The pig is ready to eat.

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You need to read again and think hard to understand what the writermeans when he says “ready to eat”. The sentence doesn’t make much of asense in this form. Is the pig ready to eat something? Or is it readyto be eaten?Example 5

Tonight, nothing is on TV.

Are there no interesting shows on TV or is the broadcast not coming inat all? And what if a TV program that the person is watching isentitled, “Nothing”? There are too many layers of meanings and youcan’t be sure what is being suggested.♦

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Examples of Ambiguity in Literature

Often, critics consider ambiguity as a technical flaw in literarywriting, while some writers believe that this literary device makesthe readers comprehend a literary piece of writing in more than oneways, by providing deeper meaning and complexity to their texts.

Let us consider some prominent examples in literature.Example 1

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald employs narrative ambiguity ina successful way. Narrative ambiguity is the most practiced form ofambiguity in literature. It takes place when the reader is unable todetermine the real nature of a character. The writer has skillfullyused narrative ambiguity by making the leading character, Gatsby,ambiguous in the sense that a reader cannot easily determine if Gatsbyis genuinely great or evil. The writer complicates ambiguity furtherthough the narration by Nick Carraway, who is clearly a good characterin the novel.Example 2

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Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad is an excellent example of moralambiguity. This kind of ambiguity takes place when a piece of writingforces us to question right and wrong. Joseph Conrad develops afantastically ambiguous character, Kurtz, in his novel. The reader isunable to understand whether the evil in Kurtz is just present in himor exists in all of us. Because of the atmosphere of ambiguity createdby Kurtz, the whole novel demands more than usual concentration fromthe reader.Example 3

Lord of the Flies by William Golding also has ambiguity at the verystart when a boy with a mulberry birthmark disappears in an ambiguousway. The reader does not receive a clear-cut answer about the boy’sdisappearance. There are signs such as the ominous drum roll of fire,which clarify the reason for the disappearance a little, but notcompletely. The reader can judge that this incident is meaningful whenit is taken at a symbolic level. It suggests that the survival ofother boys on the island is in risk, though it does not explainexactly why.Example 4

William Shakespeare uses ambiguity in his Romeo and Juliet by causingthe statements made by different characters to have many layers. Forexample, the play shows a clear use of ambiguity when the dyingMercutio says, “Ask for me tomorrow and you shall find me a graveman.” This puns on the use of grave as serious and grave as beingentombed. Within the context of the play, such an ambiguous statementgives rise to confusion and multiple meanings.Example 5

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter is full of ambiguousdevelopments and actions. The ending of the novel is especiallyambiguous. The reader is unable to understand it clearly, as the novelis open to more interpretations than one. You cannot easily understandwhy Hester comes back, and Hawthorne does not fully explain whathappens to Pearl. There is no indication as to whether Hester has a

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sense of remorse for her behavior. The use of ambiguity towards theend of the novel makes it all the more complex.

RhythmThe repetition of stressed (/) and unstressed (x) syllables produces amusical feature in a line or a sentence that is called rhythm. Thisliterary device occurs in almost all types of language, written andspoken, but it is essential in poetry. The word rhythm originates froma Greek word “rhythmos” that means “measured motion.” The stressed andunstressed syllabic patterns, which are also called meters, createrhythm in the language. Rhythm could also be defined as a pattern ofstressed and unstressed syllables in written or spoken language,specifically in poetry. Rhythm is literally the heartbeat of the poem,and serves as the background through which the imagery and ideas flow.Significance of Rhythm in Literature and Poetry

The importance of rhythm in writing is similar to a beat in music. Inspeech, we often use rhythm intentionally or unintentionally to createidentifiable patterns. Rhythm forcefully stresses certain words for alonger period of time than other words. This repetition createsrhythmic effects. Rhythm is something that readers can expect frommusic and poetry and sometimes even from prose. It involves qualitiesof repetition, pattern, and movement which are essential to heightenthe sense of musicality in songs and poetry. Pose may also exhibitsame qualities, though in a less organized sense. Rhythmic patternsprovide a sense of harmony to the readers, leading to an increase inemotional responses.

Poets employ rhythm in their poems in three different ways. The firstis by a caesura, which is a pause or break in the line of a poem thatchanges the final pattern of the line without changing the number ofpoetic feet, such as in the lines “because of his courage when hekilled the dragon / the guardian of the hoard / Under grey stone”(Beowulf, trans. by Seamus Heaney). The second is through the use ofenjambment, which occurs when an idea from one line moves into thenext line. This does not change the meter, but changes the overallrhythm of the line, such as in the lines, “When the evening is spread

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out against the sky/ Like a patient etherized upon a table” (“The LoveSong of J. Alfred Prufrock” by T.S Eliot). The third way is by usingemphasis to change from iambic pentameter to trochaic hexameter, wherereaders notice a considerable change in rhythm or shift from one typeof meter to another.

Difference Between Rhythm and MeterThere is a slight difference between these two terms. Rhythm is ageneralized term that involves a pattern of accented and unaccentedsyllables in the lines of a poem, which is intended to create a soundpattern. On the other hand, meter is a specific term referring to aparticular pattern or type of rhythm. In simple words, we can say thatrhythm is a pattern of beats, while meter organizes these beats in anunderstandable way such as in iambs, trochees, and spondees.Types of Rhythm

Depending upon the method of metrical arrangement, there are fivebasic rhythms in poetry: iambic, trochaic, spondaic, anapestic, anddactylic. Rhythm and rhyme together form a recurrence of soundpatterns in poetry, prose, and music. The most common rhythm in poetryis iambic pentameter, which has five feet and ten syllables in eachline.♦

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Examples of Rhythm in Literature

Below are a few examples of the five basic types of rhythmical poemsfrom English poetry.Example 1

If ever two were one, then surely we. If ever man were lov’d by wife, then thee. If ever wife was happy in a man, Compare with me, ye women, if you can. I prize thy love more than whole Mines of gold Or all the riches that the East doth hold.

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(“To My Dear and Loving Husband” by Anne Bradstreet)

In the following lines, we can see iambic pentameter with anunstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable. This creates aspeech with regular patterns, and giving a rhythmic sense to the poem,which heightens its drama. All iambs have been bolded so that you cansee the pattern.Example 2

On the day of the explosion Shadows pointed towards the pithead: In the sun the slagheap slept. Down the lane came men in pitboots Coughing oath-edged talk and pipe-smoke Shouldering off the freshened silence….

(“The Explosion” by Philip Larkin)

The trochaic syllable consists of two syllables with an accentedsyllable followed by an unaccented syllable. It is widely used inpoetry, though iambic remains the most popular metric form. As itsname shows, it has four stressed syllables out of eight.Example 3

The Assyrian came down like a wolf on the fold And his cohorts were gleaming in purple and gold And the sheen of their spears was like stars on the sea When the blue wave rolls nightly on deep Galilee.

(“The Destruction of Sennacherib” by Lord Byron)

In the following excerpt, the poet has used an anapestic metricalpattern, which involves two unaccented syllables followed by oneaccented syllable. It is also called antidactylus. Since it ends in astressed syllable, it creates a powerful music in the lines.Example 4

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Know ye the land where the cypress and myrtle Are emblems of deeds that are done in their clime, Where the rage of the vulture, the love of the turtle, Now melt into sorrow, now madden to crime? Know ye the land of the cedar and vine, Where the flowers ever blossom, the beams ever shine; Where the light wings of Zephyr, oppress’d with perfume, Wax faint o’er the gardens of Gúl in her bloom; Where the citron and olive are fairest of fruit…

(“The Bride of Abydos” by Lord Byron)

Byron has written this poem in dactylic rhythm, which produces arising movement. This rhythmic pattern consists of three syllables: anaccented or long syllable followed by two short or unaccentedsyllables. This type of rhythm is quite rare in English poetry.Example 5

Break, break, break, On thy cold grey stones, O Sea! And I would that my tongue could utter The thoughts that arise in me.

(“Break, Break, Break,” by Alfred, Lord Tennyson)

The first two lines in this poem are example of spondaic meter, inwhich two consecutive syllables are stressed. This meter is not commonin poetry. Here, the poet uses it in combination with other meters.When iamb is used in combination with spondee, as shown here, itusually slows down the momentum of a line.

FlashbackA flashback is a device in a narrative that enables the writer toinsert an event from the past in the current action. Writers employthis technique in their narratives to provide context or backgroundfor a current event. By employing flashbacks, writers allow the reader

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to achieve insight into a character’s motivation and create abackground for the current conflict. Flashbacks are introduced in thenarrative with the help of various methods which include dreamsequences, memories, and sudden remembrance.Significance of Flashbacks in Literature

The purpose of using a flashback is to convey necessary information toreaders, such as a character’s motives that can be responsible forcertain actions and developments later in the plot. Because theyconvey this sort of information, the use of flashback in a story candeepen the inner conflict. A flashback creates stimulus for theconflict, allows the reader to feel sympathy (even for the villain),and deepens the moving effect of the story. The purpose of a flashbackin a narrative is to enhance the tension. The use of flashback makesthe reader wish to know more about the secrets and the untold past, sohe keeps reading on to discover what secrets lie beneath a terribleincident or moving character. All this provides motivation for thecreation of conflict.Differences between Flashback and Foreshadowing

Flashbacks and foreshadowing are completely opposite from each other.Flashback takes place when the current action in a narrative isinterrupted by an incident from the past in the form of a memory,dream etc., whereas foreshadowing means hinting at incidents which arecoming up in the future. In literature, writers use foreshadowing byhinting at elements of an incident which will happen later in thestory. A flashback is completely different from foreshadowing, as in aflashback, the present action is interrupted and the reader is takenback to the past of a character. Flashbacks and foreshadowing havecompletely opposite applications in literature.Common Examples of Flashbacks

Take a look at the following example of a flashback from everydaylife:

Gazing at the school gate, I remembered how, as a child, I wouldenter that school rather unwillingly and leave it so excitedly. Today,

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I was here to collect my child who, perhaps just like me, had the sameunwillingness to come to school.

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Examples of Flashbacks in Literature

Here are some prominent examples of flashbacks in literary works.Example 1

In Hamlet, Shakespeare uses flashbacks quite skillfully by presentinga play within the play. This technique works as the flashback toreveal how Claudius murdered the late King—Hamlet’s father. With thehelp of these flashbacks, the author can explain the happenings to thereader efficiently. Most of these events have taken place even beforethe play starts. The murder of Hamlet’s father is skillfully describedto the reader through flashbacks.Example 2

To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf is one of the most significantnovels in English literature that uses flashbacks very often toenhance the appeal of the plot. The “Time Passes” section especiallycombines flashback and present day to create a sense of the fluidityof time. When after the death of Mrs. Ramsay, the whole family isgoing to visit the lighthouse, Woolf again uses the technique offlashback to show how the family remembers Mrs. Ramsay’s desire tovisit this very lighthouse many years ago. The whole novel seemsscattered with flashbacks and gets even greater attention from thereader because of the appealing use of these flashbacks.Example 3

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s masterpiece The Great Gatsby makes use offlashbacks throughout the novel and narrates the whole story in theform of different flashbacks. Nick Carraway, the narrator of thenovel, describes the story of Jay Gatsby through his own flashbacks.The novel starts with the narrator telling the reader what he has

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already been through, and the rest of the story is basically acombination of different flashbacks. This novel is a prime example ofthe effective use of flashbacks to relate the incidents which havealready taken place and their possible impact on the current action.When the novel opens, Nick Carraway is already affected by the time hehas spent in New York in the company of Jay Gatsby.Example 4

In the novel Hatchet by Gary Paulsen, the central character, 13-year-old Brian Robeson, sees flashbacks related to his mother. In Chapter7, when Brian is all alone on the island, he sees some of the mostpainful events of his life through flashbacks. The writer uses thetechnique of flashbacks to detail the pain and agony that thischaracter goes through as a result of his tormented past, especiallythe weak character of his mother. In many ways, the novel achieves abetter level of narrative and attracts more attention from the readerbecause of the use of flashbacks. The inner conflict that Brian facesbecomes even more evident due to the flashbacks used by the writer.Example 5

In the satirical novel Catch-22 by the American novelist JosephHeller, we see the writer employ flashbacks to enhance the intensityof the climax. During the climax in the novel, when Yossarian faces aconflict between two decisions to choose from, he has a flashback toSnowden’s death. This flashback is extremely important for theresolution of the main conflict in the novel, as with the help of aflashback at this stage in the narrative, the author reveals thedetails of the critical event of Snowden’s death. Yossarian is giventwo choices, and one of these choices relies heavily on the use offlashback in the novel.

Example 6J. R. R. Tolkien’s famous fantasy novel The Hobbit uses flashbacks onmany occasions to deepen the intensity of the plot and give the readera better understanding of the present action. For example, in Chapter18, most of the action immediately after Bilbo’s unconsciousness isexplained through a flashback. In the same way, the novelist employs

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flashbacks to tell the details of the battle where the forces of goodmanaged to defeat the forces of evil. The novel is a good example of anarrative which fits in flashbacks very nicely. The tool of flashbackslets Tolkien help the reader understand the intricacies of the past ofthe dwarves and their sinister enemies.

SyntaxSyntax is the arrangement of words into a sentence that make sense ina given language. Syntax also refers to the rules and principles thatgovern sentence structure in a language, i.e., how words and phrasesmay be joined. Syntax therefore is not a strictly literary device, butinstead is part of every utterance and written line, and even themajority of thoughts. Though linguists have looked for syntacticalrules that are universal in every language, it is now clear that thereis no “natural way” to express a thought. Syntax varies widely indifferent languages.

The word syntax comes from the Ancient Greek word syntaxis, whichmeans to arrange or put in order.Difference Between Syntax and Diction

Syntax and diction are both equally integral parts of the formation ofmeaning into sentences. However, diction refers to the meanings of thewords used while syntax refers to the arrangement of words. An authormust make choices of both diction and syntax to properly convey acertain voice, and the two concepts together create a unique style forthe author. One tip for remembering the difference is that“dictionary” begins with “diction,” both associated with the meaningsof words.Common Examples of Syntax

As stated above in the definition of syntax, every proper grammaticalsentence or utterance is an example of syntax. Here are some examplesof how syntax governs English.

Agreement: She is a person. versus She am a person.

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Case: He took me to the restaurant. versus He took I to therestaurant. Reflexive pronouns: I bought myself a new shirt. versus I boughtmy a new shirt. Word order: We ate fish for dinner. versus For dinner ate we fish.

Note again that these are all very specific to English. Otherlanguages may have similar syntactical phenomena, but differentapplications and possibilities. For example, in German there must beagreement between the gender of the word “the” with the noun—eitherder, die, or das. German also allows for many different word orderpossibilities than English. The example of “For dinner ate we fish”would actually be an acceptable word order in German.♦

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Significance of Syntax in Literature

Syntax is clearly quite necessary in literature, and yet writers oftentake more liberties with syntax than other language users. Poets areespecially known for playing with syntax, rearranging words intounusual orders. Syntax has also changed over time, and what was oncecommon is now obscure, such as the form “wert thou” instead of “wereyou.” Literature has thus helped linguists study syntax acrosscultures and time periods, leading to greater understanding of howpeople think.Examples of Syntax in LiteratureExample #1

Love will not be constrain’d by mastery. When mast’ry comes, the god of love anon Beateth his wings, and, farewell, he is gone. Love is a thing as any spirit free.

(The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer)

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This syntax example comes from a translation of Geoffrey Chaucer’sMiddle English masterpiece The Canterbury Tales. Indeed, even thoughit is modernized it still carries hints of the Middle English syntax.For example, we can see the agreement of the subject “the god of love”and the verb “beateth.” The final line has an unusual arrangement ofwords: “Love is a thing as any spirit free.” However, Chaucer hasstill chosen an arrangement that makes sense to an English-speakingreader. He is saying that love is like a free spirit, but in a morepoetic way.Example #2

ARIEL: Full fathom five thy father lies. Of his bones are coral made. Those are pearls that were his eyes. Nothing of him that doth fade, But doth suffer a sea-change Into something rich and strange. Sea-nymphs hourly ring his knell

(The Tempest by William Shakespeare)

This example of syntax comes from Ariel’s song in Shakespeare’s TheTempest. The first line “full fathom five thy father lies” is a uniqueinverse of what a person might say in normal speech—“Your father isburied at sea five fathoms down.” The way the Shakespeare wrote it,however, creates both alliteration of the “f” sound as well asassonance between “five” and “lies.” This arrangement also puts thestress on almost every syllable, making it sound very rhythmic andstrong. The rest of the excerpt contains interesting syntacticalchoices, such as the inverse arrangement in “Of his bones are coralmade.” Shakespeare’s syntax is a key part of what makes his works sopoetic and so memorable.Example #3

The woman brought two glasses of beer and two felt pads. She putthe felt pads and the beer glass on the table and looked at the man

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and the girl. The girl was looking off at the line of hills. They werewhite in the sun and the country was brown and dry. ‘They look like white elephants,’ she said. ‘I’ve never seen one,’ the man drank his beer. ‘No, you wouldn’t have.’ ‘I might have,’ the man said. ‘Just because you say I wouldn’thave doesn’t prove anything.’

(“Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway)

Ernest Hemingway was famous for his short, declarative sentences. Herarely even used adjectives and almost never used adverbs. In thisfamous story, “Hills Like White Elephants,” an unnamed man and girlsit talking. The entire story seems very straightforward, and yetthere is a very serious subtext. Hemingway’s choice to use the mostbasic construction of sentences belies the seriousness of the subjectabout which the man and girl are speaking.

EuphemismEuphemism means the use of indirect and polite expressions to replaceimpolite and harsh words and phrases. These polite words and indirectexpressions can also be used to replace words that suggest somethingbitter or unpleasant.

Euphemism can also be when an idiomatic expression is intentionallydeprived of its literal meaning to refer to something else to lessenor hide bitterness and unpleasantness. For instance, “ethniccleansing” is the euphemism used for the unpleasant word “genocide.”Similarly, “sanitation engineer” is an example of a euphemism that isused to replace the rather embarrassing “garbage man.” Euphemism isdependent on the social background and context of the writer orspeaker, who may need to replace certain words that could beembarrassing for some readers or listeners.Techniques Used in the Creation of Euphemism

Euphemism masks an impolite or rude expression and conveys the ideapolitely and clearly. Different techniques and methods are employed

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for the use of euphemism. Sometimes it is used in the form of anabbreviation or foreign words that replace impolite expressions suchas “faux” for “fake,” or “faux pas” for “foolish error,” etc.Euphemism can also be in the form of abstractions such as “before Igo”, which is used instead of “before I die.” Euphemism is alsoemployed with the help of indirect expressions that replace directones, which can otherwise sound offensive and unpleasant. For example,“unmentionables” and “rear end” are euphemisms for “underwear” and“buttocks.” The use of more formal words can also hide the tinge ofunpleasantness associated with uncomfortable words. For example,“sweat” can be placed with “perspiration,” “farting” can be replacedwith “flatulence,” and “mentally challenged” can be used to describe astupid person. Technical terms may also be employed to minimize therudeness conveyed by direct and bitter words, and, similarly, thedeliberate mispronunciation of offensive words may reduce the severityof the blunt and direct words.Significance in of Euphemism in Literature

Euphemism provides writers with a tool to convey ideas that aresocially taboo or are embarrassing and unpleasant to mention in publicor directly. A writer skillfully chooses suitable words to discuss orrefer to a subject in an indirect manner. In this way, the unpleasantand embarrassing words that cannot be published because of strictsocial censorship, such as political theories, religious fanaticism,death, and sexuality can be incorporated into literary works. In thisway, euphemism becomes a handy tool for writers to figurativelydiscuss concepts and ideas which have become libelous issues. TheVictorian and Elizabethan Ages are among the literary ages whereeuphemisms were very frequent because of the strict social disapprovalof direct and open words for sex, drinking, death, etc. This is thereason we find literary pieces produced in these two ages abundantlyemploying euphemism. Euphemism provides writers with the opportunityto discuss concepts and notions which are otherwise virtuallyimpossible to discuss openly. It gives writers an effective outlet topresent even those concepts which may not be received without a senseof disapproval by their readers if discussed directly.Difference between Euphemism and Irony

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Euphemism and irony may look similar because they are both indirectexpressions, but actually, the difference between the two is crystalclear. Though both of them are employed intentionally, they serveopposite purposes. Euphemism is the intentional use of less impolitewords in an attempt to reduce the bitterness of direct and impolitewords. Contrary to this, irony is an indirect use of words and phrasesto expose the follies of a person or institution. Euphemism doesn’tcarry any hidden meanings; it is an attempt on the part of thecommenter to lessen the intensity of the bitterness that couldotherwise be conveyed through words. Irony is the use of tricky wordswhich are indirect, but are intended to unveil some weakness,shortcoming, or vice of the targeted person or thing.Common Examples of Euphemism

Euphemism is commonly used in everyday life to reduce theunpleasantness associated with certain ideas, concepts, andsituations. Let’s consider the following examples of euphemism that wecome across in our daily life.

• The boy is getting more interested in adult entertainment(pornography).• He intends to get into the business of adult beverages (beer).• Your cousin is a little too big-boned (fat).• Poverty has pushed her to become a comfort woman (prostitute).• The baby is unaware that it is breaking wind (passing gas).• The mayor is always economical with the truth (liar).• These days, her fiancé is between jobs (unemployed).• She is a part-time domestic engineer (maid).• The teacher is vertically challenged (short).♦

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Examples of Euphemism from LiteratureExample 1

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Charles Dickens’s masterpiece Oliver Twist makes use of euphemismseveral times. One of the best examples is the concept of death forthe leading character, Oliver. For others, death is represented bypain, black colors, and fear, but this is not the case with Oliver. Hethinks death is “a calm and lasting sleep.” Euphemism is obvious here.Oliver’s untraditional concept of death being a peaceful sleep isbecause of his bitter life experiences. The writer employs euphemismfor death and in this way effectively conveys to us the feelings ofthe leading character towards the undesirable and painful reality ofhis life.Example 2

Mark Twain employs euphemism in his novel Huckleberry Finn andimpressively explains some of the most prominent taboos ofcontemporary society. For example, Huck refers to hell by employingthe euphemism “the bad place.” The writer also portrays Huck’s desireto be a member of Tom Sawyer’s “gang of outlaws.” The “gang ofoutlaws” is actually a euphemism for Tom Sawyer’s hoodlum boys. Suchuse of euphemism shows how the text is satirizing polite society andshows the writer’s skill at displaying rather unpleasant concepts inan easy manner.Example 3

“My Last Duchess” written by Robert Browning is a very good example ofthe use of euphemism in poetry. Different euphemisms have beenemployed to show the nature of the Duchess and barbarism of thecommand the Duke gave to kill her. The speaker, the Duke, uses aeuphemism “too soon made glad” for his Duchess, by which he means thatshe was very easily pleased. He considered that the Duchess wastrifling with his rank by being pleased with gifts from every otherperson. Subsequently, he uses another euphemism when describing hermurder. The Duke said, “This grew; I gave commands; / Then all smilesstopped together.” This is another euphemism used to describe thecruel act of ordering her to be killed. By “smiles stopped”, he meansthat she is dead.

Consonance51

Consonance is a literary device in which a consonant sound is repeatedin words that are in close proximity. The repeated sound can appearanywhere in the words, unlike in alliteration where the repeatedconsonant sound must occur in the stressed part of the word.Consonance is also a similar concept to assonance, which refers to therepetition of vowel sounds in quick succession.

The word consonance comes from the Latin word consonantem, which means“harmony” or “agreement.” In different contexts the word consonancehas different meanings, but the definition of consonance as a literaryterm came into being in the mid-1500s.Difference Between Consonance and Assonance

Consonance and assonance are related, yet opposite, poetic devices. Asstated above, consonance refers to the repetition of consonant soundsin nearby words whereas assonance refers to the repetition of vowelsounds. In both cases it does not matter where in the words therepeated sounds occur. An easy way to remember the difference betweenthe two is that “consonance” begins with a consonant, whereas“assonance” begins with a vowel.Special Cases of Consonance

Alliteration Alliteration is a well-known form of consonance. It refers to therepetition of consonant sounds, but only in the stressed part of aword. For example, “The Wind in the Willows” is an example ofalliteration because the “w” sound occurs in the stressed part of thewords. “The Catcher in the Rye,” on the other hand, is an example ofconsonance but not of alliteration because the “r” sound is repeatedin one unstressed incidence (catcher) and in one stressed incidence(rye). Sibilance: Sibilance is a special case of consonance because itinvolves the repetition of consonant sounds, but only of sibilantconsonants, i.e., “s,” “sh,” and “z.” One common example of sibilanceis the following tongue twister: She sells seashells by the seashore.

Common Examples of Consonance

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Many common phrases, idioms, and tongue twisters as well as famousspeeches contain examples of consonance:

All’s well that ends well. The early bird gets the worm. Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. Curiosity killed the cat. A blessing in disguise.

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sonsof former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able tosit down together at the table of brotherhood.—Martin Luther King, Jr. My fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you, askwhat you can do for your country.—John F. Kennedy So I close in saying that I might have had a tough break – but Ihave an awful lot to live for!—Lou Gehrig So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thingwe have to fear is fear itself.—Franklin Delano Roosevelt

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Significance of Consonance in Literature

Consonance has played a big part in the creation of works ofliterature in many languages. It is especially significant in English,and has been found in works dating back to Old English epics, such asBeowulf. Languages that don’t have as many rhymes, such as English,often depend on other poetic techniques to create cohesion andinternal rhythm. Consonance, therefore, is used frequently in poetryand drama as a technique to add aural harmony and rhythm. Consonancecan also be found in prose, but it is not as common or obvious of atechnique as in poetry.Examples of Consonance in LiteratureExample #1

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HAMLET: To be, or not to be: that is the question: Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, And by opposing end them?—To die,—to sleep,— No more; and by a sleep to say we end The heartache, and the thousand natural shocks That flesh is heir to,—’tis a consummation Devoutly to be wish’d. To die,—to sleep;— To sleep: perchance to dream:—ay, there’s the rub;

(Hamlet by William Shakespeare)

This famous speech from Shakespeare’s Hamlet contains severalconsonance examples. In this case you can see the sibilance in thewords “question,” “tis,” “suffer,” “slings,” arrows,” “outrageous,”and so on. Note that the “s” sounds occur in different places in eachword, in both stressed and unstressed syllables. Sibilance, thespecial case of consonance, produces sounds that mimic whispering andalso the sense of sleepiness. This is perfect for Hamlet’s monologueas he speaks to himself about the serious question of the nature ofexistence and the connection between sleep and death.Example #2

It was many and many a year ago, In a kingdom by the sea, That a maiden there lived whom you may know By the name of Annabel Lee; And this maiden she lived with no other thought Than to love and be loved by me.

(“Annabel Lee” by Edgar Allen Poe)

In this excerpt from Edgar Allen Poe’s poem “Annabel Lee” there isconsonance of the “n” sound and the “l” sound. Poe repeats the name ofhis lost lover, Annabel Lee, many times in the poem (at least once in

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each stanza). He also uses many words with similar sounds to createunity and rhythm throughout the poem.Example #3

I trust the sanity of my vessel; and if it sinks, it may well be in answer to the reasoning of the eternal voices, the waves which have kept me from reaching you.

(“To the Harbormaster” by Frank O’Hara)

This excerpt from Frank O’Hara’s poem “To the Harbormaster” contains afew different examples of consonance. Like in Hamlet, there is therepetition of “s” sounds in “sanity,” “vessel,” “sinks,” and so on.There is also the repetition of the “v” sound from “vessel” to“voices” to “waves.” This excerpt represents the final four lines ofthe poem, and the images of the vessel, voices, and waves are veryimportant. The consonance between the three images helps to connectthem aurally.Example #4

It’s when I’m weary of considerations, And life is too much like a pathless wood Where your face burns and tickles with the cobwebs Broken across it, and one eye is weeping From a twig’s having lashed across it open.

(“Birches” by Robert Frost)

Again, there are many different examples of consonance in this excerptfrom Robert Frost’s famous poem “Birches.” There is the repetition ofthe “w” sound in “when,” “weary,” “wood,” “where,” “cobwebs,”“weeping,” and “twig.” All of these concepts are negative in the poem,producing a sense of being dragged down. Then there is also therepetition of the “l” sound in “life,” “like,” pathless,” “tickles,”and “lashed.” The line “life is too much like a pathless wood”especially emphasizes the consonance of this sound, connecting the

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concepts of life and the sense of desperation that comes with notone’s path.

FoilIn fiction, a foil is a character that possesses qualities which arein sharp contrast to those of another character. This highlights thetraits of the other character. Foil is a term that is generallyemployed to develop a contrast, and draw a comparison to show adifference between two things. In literature, we observe that a foilis a secondary character that contrasts with a major character andenhances the significance of the major character. Etymologically, afoil justifies the aforementioned qualities, as the word “foil” hasbeen taken from the skill of backing gems with foil in order to makethem shine more brightly.Significance of Foil in Literature

In literature, a foil is of integral value for the portrayal ofcertain traits in characters. The comparison of contrasting traits ofcharacters lets the readers not only comprehend characters’personalities, but also understand the significance of their roles ina piece of writing.Difference Between an Antagonist and a Foil

A foil is a human character in a literary work. The foil doesn’t haveto be necessarily negative or an opponent of the protagonist, ratherhe portrays traits which magnify the protagonist’s qualities. Anantagonist is an opposing force, negative character, or destructivesituation which necessarily works against the plans and schemes of theprotagonist. A foil lacks something in terms of important qualitieswhich are possessed by the protagonist and in this way that thereaders notice the significance of those qualities in the protagonisteven more. Contrary to this, an antagonist’s main purpose is to undothe achievements of the protagonist. It is important to note that anantagonist can also be a foil. To better understand the differencebetween an antagonist and a foil, take a look at the followingexamples of the two:

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I. The sharks in the short story “The Old Man and the Sea.”II. Mr. Bingley in Jane Austen’s novel Pride and Prejudice.

The sharks in the novel are antagonistic forces, as they undo all thehard work by Santiago, the protagonist of the novel. He fights againstthem to protect the fish that he has killed and hooked and to claimhis victory fully, but to no avail. Mr. Bingley in Pride and Prejudiceis a foil for Mr. Darcy. The former is a rather naive character, andlacks certain positive qualities which the protagonist possesses.Bingley is not necessarily an opponent of Darcy; rather the two arevery good friends of each other. So, he is a foil for Darcy, but notan antagonist.♦

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Examples in of Foil in Literature

The following are some prominent examples of foils in literature.Example 1

Hetty Sorrel in George Eliot’s Adam Bede is a foil for Dinah Morris.Hetty wants to be admired and have a rich husband. She is a spoiledgirl, unrealistic and proud of her beautiful looks. Contrary to thischaracter, the closest girl to her, Dinah Morris, is a well-roundedcharacter as she is realistic, sensible, and a responsible lady. Thenovelist presents a sharp contrast between the two with the help ofthese opposing traits. Due to the missing qualities in Hetty Sorrel,the reader is made to realize the significance of good qualities inand sublimity of Dinah Morris, who otherwise could have beencompletely overshadowed because of the awesome beauty of Hetty Sorrel.Example 2

Shakespeare employs a foil in Othello by showing a sharp contrastbetween Desdemona and Emilia. Desdemona is faithful to her husband,doesn’t lie, and is innocent. Contrary to this leading character,Emilia is cunning and a worldly character, and helps her husband Iagoin his evil plot against Othello. Only towards the end of the play

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does Emilia feel regret at having wronged Desdemona and Othello, butby that point, the reader is in a position to see the sharp contrastbetween the two female characters. The reader realizes thesignificance of good qualities in Desdemona because of her foil’sweaknesses.Definition of Mood

As a literary device, mood is the emotional feeling or atmosphere thata work of literature produces in a reader. All works of literatureproduce some sort of emotional and psychological effect in theaudience; though every reader may respond differently to the same workof literature there is often a similar type of mood produced. Forexample, in a thriller most readers will feel some sort of suspense,while dramatic novels may produce a sense of sentimentality. Authorsuse many different factors to create mood, including setting, theme,voice, and tone.Difference Between Mood and Tone

Though mood and tone are related and often confused, they are verydifferent literary devices. Tone refers to the author’s attitudetoward the work, while the definition of mood is that it is theemotions provoked in the reader. Thus, the difference can beunderstood in this way: tone is how the author feels, while mood ishow the reader feels.Common Examples of Mood

There are many different things that affect our emotions on a dailybasis. Politicians use their speeches to create a certain feeling inthe audience, including everything from hope to anger. Politicians tryto provoke these feelings to advance their own agendas, win votes,sway opinions, and so forth. Advertisers also try to produce certainemotions such as nostalgia or fear to influence customers to buy theirproducts. Here are examples of mood in these two cases:Political speeches

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In his presidency, Barack Obama has given speeches to arouse manydifferent types of moods. In this first example, he is trying to makehis listeners feel hopeful and united:

The pundits, the pundits like to slice-and-dice our country intored states and blue states; red states for Republicans, blue statesfor Democrats. But I’ve got news for them, too. We worship an “awesomeGod” in the blue states, and we don’t like federal agents pokingaround in our libraries in the red states. We coach Little League inthe blue states and yes, we’ve got some gay friends in the red states.There are patriots who opposed the war in Iraq and there are patriotswho supported the war in Iraq. We are one people, all of us pledgingallegiance to the stars and stripes, all of us defending the UnitedStates of America.

In the following example, President Obama had just released hisofficial birth certificate and was trying to make Americans feelannoyed and frustrated that he had to address this issue instead ofmore pressing matters:

I know that there’s going to be a segment of people for which, nomatter what we put out, this issue will not be put to rest. But I’mspeaking to the vast majority of the American people, as well as tothe press. We do not have time for this kind of silliness. We’ve gotbetter stuff to do. I’ve got better stuff to do. We’ve got bigproblems to solve. And I’m confident we can solve them, but we’regoing to have to focus on them — not on this.

AdvertisementsMany advertisements, such as the following one from Listerine in the1950s, try to inspire fear in the consumer so they will think theyneed a certain product so as not to fail:

Jane has a pretty face. Men notice her lovely figure but neverlinger long. Because Jane has one big minus on her report card –halitosis: bad breath.

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Other advertisements try to make customers think about how muchhappier they will be when they have the product. Here are someexamples of this strategy:

Disneyland: The happiest place on earth. Coca Cola: Open happiness. McDonald’s: I’m lovin’ it. Holiday Inn: Pleasing people the world over. KFC: Finger lickin’ good.

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Significance of Mood in Literature

Much of literature’s power rests in its ability to provoke and inspiredifferent emotions and psychological states in the reader. Readersoften appreciate literature more when the emotional and psychologicalpayoff is greater. For example, if a character is killed off in thefirst few pages the reader won’t feel much emotion. However, if thebook establishes good characterization and the reader feels aconnection to a particular character, the reader will be much moreaffected emotionally if the character dies later in the book.

All literature creates some sort of feeling in the reader, whether itis positive, negative, or neutral. Even indifference is an example ofmood. The mood that a work provokes often changes many timesthroughout the book.Examples of Mood in LiteratureExample #1

But thy eternal summer shall not fade, Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st, Nor shall death brag thou wand’rest in his shade, When in eternal lines to Time thou grow’st. So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see, So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

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(“Sonnet 18” by William Shakespeare)

Shakespeare’s famous “Sonnet 18” is a poem that provokes a feeling oflove and sentimentality in most readers. Shakespeare does this bydescribing his feelings of eternal passion for his beloved.Example #2

For the moon never beams, without bringing me dreams Of the beautiful Annabel Lee; And the stars never rise, but I feel the bright eyes Of the beautiful Annabel Lee; And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side Of my darling—my darling—my life and my bride, In her sepulchre there by the sea— In her tomb by the sounding sea.

(“Annabel Lee” by Edgar Allen Poe)

Edgar Allen Poe’s poem “Annabel Lee” tells a tragic story of love andloss. The mood that this poem provokes in the reader is generally oneof sadness and nostalgia. Poe inspires this mood by establishing asomber psychological setting and showing the art of the relationshipup to Annabel Lee’s death.Example #3

They’re trying to kill me,” Yossarian told him calmly. “No one’s trying to kill you,” Clevinger cried. “Then why are they shooting at me?” Yossarian asked. “They’re shooting at everyone,” Clevinger answered. “They’retrying to kill everyone.” “And what difference does that make?”

Catch-22 by Joseph Heller)

Joseph Heller’s novel Catch-22 is famous for its absurd situations. Inthis piece of dialogue, the protagonist Yossarian explains that he’s

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upset about being targeted. The character of Clevinger thinks he’sparanoid, but Yossarian shows the logic behind his fear. This exchangeprovokes a feeling of bemusement in the reader.

EpiphanySometimes we face life-changing incidents in our lives, when we get asudden realization or an insight into reality in a new way that altersour whole perception and mindset about that particular thing, idea orincident. Following this revelation, we change our actions. Thissudden realization, thought or an insight into something or someone inliterary works is known as a moment of epiphany. Epiphany as anintuitive perception awakens our consciousness about something good.This is a literary device that writers use to exhibit character’sgrowth and bring a major shift in the plot. Oxford dictionary definesthis literary device as “A moment of sudden and great revelation orrealization.”

Several writers have used epiphanies in their works specifically shortstories. For example, for Hamlet this moment comes at the end when itdawns up him that his doubt about Claudius is true.Significance of Epiphany

One of the major functions of epiphany is to create awareness andenlightenment in the protagonist about the world around him. In anarrative, this is the defining moment in the life of a character.Another important function of epiphany is to give a character a newvistas of perceptions about others, about the situation he is livingin, or about the culture, he is going to live in. It could also be anindication of how the story is going to conclude and provides arationale how a plot will twist. Besides, it can reveal the strengthsand weaknesses of the characters. For readers, a character’s epiphanycan give them new insight into the story and its happenings.♦

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Epiphany Examples from LiteratureExample 1

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I turned to go home. Street lights winked down the street all theway to town. I had never seen our neighborhood from this angle. Therewere Miss Maudie’s, Miss Stephanie’s–there was our house, I could seethe porch swing–Miss Rachel’s house was beyond us, plainly visible. Icould even see Mrs. Dubose’s…Atticus was right. One time he said younever really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk aroundin them. Just standing on the Radley proch was enough…

(“To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee)Towards the conclusion of this novel, Scout standing on Boo Radley’sporch and taking a glance over the Maycomb, looks at herself, thentown, and then seeing world all together from an entirely newperspective. This is an example of epiphany, where entire plot revealsawakening of her consciousness. Scout felt herself grown up, andexperienced at this point in her life.Example 2

“He glanced back at the wall. How like a mirror, too, her face.Impossible; for how many people did you know who reflected your ownlight to you? People were more often–he searched for a simile, foundone in his work–torches, blazing away until they whiffed out. Howrarely did other people’s faces take of you and throw back to you yourown expression, your own innermost trembling thought?”

(Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451)

This is an excerpt from Fahrenheit 451, a famous futuristic novel bynovelist Ray Bradbury, which depicts reading as a crime. Montag, theprotagonist, comes to know how dull and meaningless his life isthrough the conversation of a young girl, Clarisse. This makes himrealize that he needs to reform his life. He seeks solace and answersthrough banned books. This becomes a source of his socialdisobedience, which leads to another epiphany for him.Example 3

Just off the Highway to Rochester, Minnesota

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Twilight bounds softly forth on the grass. And the eyes of those two Indian ponies Darken with kindness. They have come gladly out of the willows To welcome my friend and me. We step over the barbed wire into the pasture Where they have been grazing all day, alone. They ripple tensely, they can hardly contain their happiness That we have come. They bow shyly as wet swans. They love each other. There is no loneliness like theirs. At home once more, They begin munching the young tufts of spring in the darkness. I would like to hold the slenderer one in my arms, For she has walked over to me And nuzzled my left hand. She is black and white, Her mane falls wild on her forehead, And the light breeze moves me to caress her long ear That is delicate as the skin over a girl’s wrist. Suddenly I realize That if I stepped out of my body I would break Into blossom.

(“A Blessing” by James Wright)

James Wright is a popular writer of narrative poems which tell storiesabout different things. Several of his poems are merely descriptionsof the speakers. “A Blessing” is such a poem, where the speaker andhis friend are interacting with two ponies. In the last three lines,the poem takes an epiphanic turn. The speaker is at one with thenature and the time and it seems to him that spring will burst out ofhim. In this moment, he is overflowing with life.Example 4

Goodman Brown is a beautiful short story in which the protagonisttakes a journey into a forest to meet the devil. He sojourns with the

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devil and goes through several experiences with him. However, theDevil informs him that he is a good puritan, but that all of his nearand dear ones are already the Devil’s disciples. This makes GoodmanBrown bitter.

This is a moment of epiphany for him. It is revealed to him that allhis associates are bad and he reflects this bitterness onto everyone,including church authorities and his parents.Example 5

“I can’t describe to you how surprised I was to find out I lovedher, old sport. I even hoped for a while that she’d throw me over, butshe didn’t, because she was in love with me too. She thought I knew alot because I knew different things from her. . . . Well, there I was,way off my ambitions, getting deeper in love every minute, and all ofa sudden I didn’t care. What was the use of doing great things if Icould have a better time telling her what I was going to do?”

(The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald)

The readers of this story feel that the simple story of Gatsby andDaisy has suddenly become the story of American ambition throughouthistory. This is a true epiphanic moment for the reader.

ParallelismParallelism is the usage of repeating words and forms to give patternand rhythm to a passage in literature. Parallelism often eitherjuxtaposes contrasting images or ideas so as to show their starkdifference, or joins similar concepts to show their connection.Authors often create parallelism through the use of other literarydevices, such as anaphora, epistrophe, antithesis, and asyndeton.Parallelism encompasses all these possibilities of repetition andcontrast.

The definition of parallelism can also refer to a grammaticalconstruct, which we use commonly in everyday speech, for example “Sheenjoys gardening and cooking” instead of “She enjoys gardening and to

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cook.” The grammatical parallelism in the former sentence is a matterof using two gerunds instead of the second sentence’s use of onegerund and one infinitive. Most English speakers thus use grammaticalparallelism all the time without realizing it.Common Examples of Parallelism

Parallelism is popular in proverbs and idioms, as the parallelstructure makes the sayings easy to remember and more rhetoricallypowerful. Here are some examples of parallelism in English:

What you see is what you get. If you can’t beat them, join them. A penny saved is a penny earned. Easy come, easy go.

There are many famous quotes that also show parallelism:

“If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you wantto be happy, practice compassion.” —Dalai Lama “Success is getting what you want. Happiness is wanting what youget.” —Dale Carnegie “We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give.”—Winston Churchill “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do foryour country.” —John F. Kennedy “Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who minddon’t matter, and those who matter don’t mind.” ― Bernard M. Baruch

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Significance of Parallelism in Literature

Parallelism has been an important literary device for cultures of oralstorytelling from around the world. Many different poetic traditionshave examples of parallelism. Some languages from around the world useparallelism as the primary aesthetic construction for poetry, such as

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Nahuatl in Mexico, Navajo in the United States, Toda in India, and inparts of Indonesia, Finland, Turkey, and Mongolia. The term“parallelism” comes from an eighteenth-century scholar of Hebrewpoetry, while the Russian literary theorist Roman Jakobson pioneeredthe study of parallelism in non-religious texts. Parallelism remains apopular technique in poetry, prose, and plays.Examples of Parallelism in LiteratureExample #1

JOHN OF GAUNT:

This royal throne of kings, this scepter’d isle, This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars, This other Eden, demi-paradise, This fortress built by Nature for herself Against infection and the hand of war, This happy breed of men, this little world, This precious stone set in the silver sea, Which serves it in the office of a wall, Or as a moat defensive to a house, Against the envy of less happier lands, This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England…

(Richard II by William Shakespeare)

In this famous monologue from William Shakespeare’s Richard II, thecharacter John of Gaunt recites a list of England’s virtues. Eachclause begins with “this” and then includes yet another image of justhow perfect John of Gaunt seems to consider England to be. It is, tohim, a “demi-paradise,” a “precious stone,” a “blessed plot,” and soforth. This parallelism is therefore also an example of anaphora. Heends the monologue, however, by contrasting all these paradisiacalimages with the fact that England has now tarnished its beauty bysetting out to conquer other nations. Thus there is parallelism in theentire passage that ends with the antithesis of England “bound in withshame, / With inky blots and rotten parchment bonds.”Example #2

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It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was theage of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch ofbelief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light,it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was thewinter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing beforeus, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct theother way…

(A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens)

The opening of A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens containsparallelism both in the anaphoric repetition of “it was” and theantithetical statements of “best of times” versus “worst of times,”“age of wisdom” versus “age of foolishness,” etcetera. The pattern setup in this paragraph is so striking that it is one of the most famousparagraphs in all of literature.Example #3

I was a child and she was a child, In this kingdom by the sea, But we loved with a love that was more than love— I and my Annabel Lee— With a love that the wingèd seraphs of Heaven Coveted her and me.

(“Annabel Lee” by Edgar Allen Poe)

Edgar Allen Poe used parallelism in many of his poems, including inthis one, “Annabel Lee.” The first line of this stanza contains theepistrophic repetition of “was a child.” As parallelism, this servesto show that both the speaker and Annabel Lee were young when theyfirst fell in love, but that their youth did not negate the depth oftheir love. Instead, as Poe writes, “we loved with a love that wasmore than love,” which is later paralleled by “with a love that thewinged seraphs of Heaven….” The parallelism in this stanza creates

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rhythm and gives deeper meaning to the love that he and Annabel Leeshared.Example #4

To generalize about war is like generalizing about peace. Almosteverything is true. Almost nothing is true.

(The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien)

Tim O’Brien’s marvelous story collection The Things They Carried hasnumerous examples of parallelism. Most notably, perhaps, is the titlestory in which O’Brien lists off the different items soldiers in theVietnam War carried. That example of parallelism creates drama in theinanimate that begin to tell their own story. This excerpt shows abrilliant usage of parallelism in just three short sentences. O’Briencontrasts war and peace, as well as the concepts of truth andillusion.

OnomatopoeiaOnomatopoeia refers to a word that phonetically mimics or resemblesthe sound of the thing it describes. For example, the words we use todescribe the noises that animals make are all onomatopoetic, such as adog’s “bark,” a cat’s “meow,” or a coo’s “moo.” Interestingly, theonomatopoetic words for animal sounds change quite a bit from onelanguage to another, as the words must fit into the larger linguisticsystem. Therefore, while a pig says “oink” in English, it says “buu”in Japanese, “grunz” in German, “knor,” in Dutch, and so on.

The definition of onomatopoeia comes from a compound Greek word for“the sound/name I make.” In this way, an onomatopoetic word is thesound that the thing being described makes.Common Examples of Onomatopoeia

As noted above, almost all animal noises are examples of onomatopoeia.There are hundreds of other onomatopoeia examples in the Englishlanguage, however. Here are some categories of words, along withexamples of each:

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Machine noises—honk, beep, vroom, clang, zap, boing Animal names—cuckoo, whip-poor-will, whooping crane, chickadee Impact sounds—boom, crash, whack, thump, bang Sounds of the voice—shush, giggle, growl, whine, murmur, blurt,whisper, hiss Nature sounds—splash, drip, spray, whoosh, buzz, rustle

There is a tradition in comic books of using onomatopoeias duringfight scenes. These words, such as “wham,” “pow,” and “biff,” oftenaccompany an image of a character knocking out another one to add asense of sound effects. The comic book writer and artist Roy Cranepopularized this tradition, inventing words such as “ker-splash” and“lickety-wop” to further diversify the range of sounds imitable incomic books.♦

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Significance of Onomatopoeia in Literature

Onomatopoeia is often used in literature to create aural effects thatmimic the visual thing being described. Authors sometimes usecombinations of words to create an onomatopoetic effect notnecessarily using words that are onomatopoetic in and of themselves.For example, in Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s “Rime of the AncientMariner,” Coleridge uses the phrase “furrow followed free” to mimicthe sound of the wake left behind a ship.Examples of Onomatopoeia in LiteratureExample #1

ARIEL: Hark, hark! Bow-wow. The watch-dogs bark! Bow-wow. Hark, hark! I hear The strain of strutting chanticleer

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Cry, ‘cock-a-diddle-dow!’

(The Tempest by William Shakespeare)

The character of Ariel in Shakespeare’s play The Tempest uses severalexamples of onomatopoeia in one short passage. The dogs “bark” and say“bow-wow” while the chanticleer cries “cock-a-diddle-dow.” Shakespeareis thus using the onomatopoeias of animal noises here.Example #2

PETER: Then will I lay the serving creature’s dagger on your pate. I willcarry no crotchets. I’ll re you, I’ll fa you. Do you note me? FIRST MUSICIAN: An you re us and fa us, you note us.

(Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare)

This exchange from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is an interestingexample of onomatopoeia. The character Peter says “I’ll re you, I’llfa you. Do you note me?” The “re” and “fa” refer to the Solfegescales, which includes the notes do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, ti, and do.Therefore his usage of two of those notes is onomatopoetic, but healways uses it as a pun by following up with “Do you note me?” In thisquestion, “note” takes on the double entendre of meaning “do youunderstand me?” as well as referring to the musical notes. Themusician to whom he is speaking picks up on the joke and uses it backat Peter.Example #3

I was just beginning to yawn with nerves thinking he was trying tomake a fool of me when I knew his tattarrattat at the door.

(Ulysses by James Joyce)

Some authors love to create new words; both William Shakespeare andJames Joyce were well-known for doing so. In this excerpt from his

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famously dense novel Ulysses, Joyce creates a nonce word“tattarrattat” for the sound of knocking at a door (a “nonce” word isa word that is created only for a special case). He combines otheronomatopoetic words for knocking at a door, like “rap” and “tap” intoone long word. After Joyce created this word, it is now listed as thelongest palindrome in the English language.Example #4

Hear the loud alarum bells, Brazen bells! What a tale of terror, now, their turbulency tells! In the startled ear of night How they scream out their affright! Too much horrified to speak, They can only shriek, shriek, Out of tune… How they clang, and clash, and roar! What a horror they outpour On the bosom of the palpitating air! Yet the ear it fully knows, By the twanging And the clanging, How the danger ebbs and flows…

(“The Bells” by Edgar Allen Poe)

Edgar Allen Poe’s famous poem “The Bells” is one of the mostonomatopoetic works of literature in history. He describes fourdifferent types of bells, including the “loud alarum bells” from theseexcerpts, as well as the “silver bells” on sledges, the “mellow goldenbells” of weddings, and “iron bells.” In each stanza, Poe uses vastlydifferent onomatopoetic words to mimic the sounds of the differentbells. The silver bells, for example, “jingle” and “tinkle” in a“world of merriment.” The “jingle” and “tinkle” are light-soundingwords, connoting joy and ease. The mellow wedding bells produce a“gush of euphony” that swells. Meanwhile the iron bells “toll” and, asPoe writes, “every sound that floats / From the rust within their

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throats / Is a groan.” These noises—the toll and groan—mimic the soundof anguish and solemnity. Finally, the loud alarum bells, as shown inthis excerpt, produced such an effect on Poe that they warranted twostanzas. We see words like “shriek,” “clang,” “clash,” “roar,”“twanging,” and “clanging,” all words that Poe uses to make theturbulent and alarming sounds.Example #5

I heard a Fly buzz – when I died – The Stillness in the Room Was like the Stillness in the Air – Between the Heaves of Storm -

(“I heard a Fly buzz – when I died –” by Emily Dickinson)

Emily Dickinson describes the sounds she hears as she’s dying in herpoem “I heard a Fly buzz – when I died –.” The sound of the “buzz” isan onomatopoetic word. She also describes a “stillness in the room.”The use of onomatopoeia to begin her poem creates an auditorylandscape, which she then fills with other imagery.

IronyAs a literary device, irony is a contrast or incongruity betweenexpectations for a situation and what is reality. This can be adifference between the surface meaning of something that is said andthe underlying meaning. It can also be a difference between what mightbe expected to happen and what actually occurs. The definition ofirony can further be divided into three main types: verbal, dramatic,and situational. We describe these types in detail below.

The word “irony” comes from the Greek character Eiron, who was anunderdog and used his wit to overcome a stronger character. The Greekword eironeía derived from this character and came to mean“dissimulation” or “purposely affected ignorance.” The word thenentered Latin as ironia, and eventually became common as a figure ofspeech in English in the 16th century.

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Irony is sometimes confused with events that are just unfortunatecoincidences. For example, Alanis Morrissette’s song “Ironic” containsmany events that are not ironic in any sense. She cites “rain on yourwedding day” and “a traffic jam when you’re already late” as ironicsituations, yet these are merely bad luck.

Types of IronyVerbal IronyVerbal irony, takes place when the speaker says something in sharpcontrast to his or her actual meaning. The speaker often makes astatement that seems very direct, yet indicates that the opposite isin fact true, or what the speaker really means. Looking at AlanisMorrissette’s “Ironic” again, the one true instance of irony comeswhen the man whose plane is going down says, “Well, isn’t this nice.”Clearly, the plane crash is anything but nice, and thus this utteranceconveys the opposite of the man’s true feelings. Unlike dramatic andsituational irony, verbal irony is always intentional on the part ofthe speaker.

Verbal irony can also consist of “ironic similes”, which arecomparisons in which the two things are not alike at all. For example,“as soft as sandpaper” or “as warm as ice.” These similes mean thatthe thing in question is actually not soft or warm at all. The authorDaniel Handler (who writes with the pen name Lemony Snicket) takesironic similes to an extreme by qualifying them so they actuallybecome real comparisons. For example: “Today was a very cold andbitter day, as cold and bitter as a cup of hot chocolate, if the cupof hot chocolate had vinegar added to it and were placed in arefrigerator for several hours.”

Dramatic IronyDramatic irony occurs when the audience has more information than oneor more characters in a work of literature. This literary deviceoriginated in Greek tragedy and often leads to tragic outcomes. For

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example, in Shakespeare’s Othello, the audience is aware thatOthello’s best friend Iago is villainous and attempting to bringOthello down. The audience is also aware that Desdemona has beenfaithful, though Othello doesn’t know this. The audience can foreseethe imminent disaster.

There are three stages of dramatic irony: installation, exploitation,and resolution. In the case of Othello, the installation is when Iagopersuades Othello to suspect that Desdemona is having an affair with aman named Cassio. Iago then exploits the situation by plantingDesdemona’s handkerchief, a gift from Othello, in Cassio’s room. Theresolution is only after Othello has murdered Desdemona when herfriend Emilia reveals Iago’s scheme.

Situational IronySituational irony consists of a situation in which the outcome is verydifferent from what was expected. There are contradictions andcontrasts present in cases of situational irony. For example, in TheWonderful Wizard of Oz, the citizens of the Emerald City assume thatOz is great and all-powerful, yet the man behind the curtain isrevealed to be an old man with no special powers.

Other types of irony: Cosmic Irony: Cosmic irony, also known as “irony of fate”, ispresent in stories that contain gods who have different agendas thanhumans. These gods, or the Fates, may play with the lives of humansfor their own amusement. The irony lies in contrast between what thehumans expect and what actually happens. Though this is most common inGreek legends, it is also present in Thomas Hardy’s Tess of thed’Urbervilles where the immortals play with Tess’s life.

Historical Irony: Historical irony relates to real events that happenedthat, when seen in retrospect, had vastly different outcomes thanpredicted at the time. For example, Chinese alchemists discoveredgunpowder when looking for a way to create immortality. The result oftheir discovery was the opposite of what they were looking for.

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Socratic Irony: The philosopher Socrates would pretend to be ignorantabout the topic under debate to draw out the nonsensical arguments ofhis opponent. This is particularly evident in the Platonic dialogues.This technique is an example of dramatic irony because Socratespretended to have less information than he really did.

Difference between Irony and Sarcasm

Though there are many similarities between verbal irony and sarcasm,they are not equivalent. However, there are many dissenting opinionsabout how, exactly, they are different. For example, the EncyclopediaBritannica simply explains that sarcasm is non-literary irony. Othershave argued that while someone employing verbal irony says theopposite of what that person means, sarcasm is direct speech that isaggressive humor. For example, when Winston Churchill told BessieBraddock that “I shall be sober in the morning, and you will still beugly,” he was being sarcastic and not employing any irony.Common Examples of Irony

Verbal irony: “What a pleasant day” (when it is raining heavily) Situational irony: Referring to WWI as “the war to end all wars” Situational irony: In 1925 when the New York Times declared thatthe crossword puzzle was a craze that was “dying out fast” Dramatic irony: The movie “The Truman Show”, where only Trumandoesn’t know that he’s being filmed at all times

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Examples of Irony in LiteratureExample #1

Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare

In this famous love story the audience can foresee the tragic endinglong before Romeo and Juliet themselves know what’s going to happen.At the end of the play, Romeo finds Juliet and believes her to be dead

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though the audience knows she’s taken a sleeping potion. Romeo killshimself with this false knowledge. Juliet then wakes up and, findingRomeo truly dead, kills herself as well. This irony example is one ofdramatic irony as the audience has more information than thecharacters.Example #2

MARK ANTONY: But Brutus says he was ambitious; / And Brutus is anhonourable man.

(Julius Caesar by Shakespeare)

In this quote from Julius Caesar, Mark Antony is seemingly praisingBrutus after the assassination of Julius Caesar. However, this exampleof irony is one of verbal irony, since Mark Antony is in fact implyingthat Brutus is neither ambitious nor honorable.Example #3

“The Gift of the Magi” by O. Henry

In this short story, a young, poor couple struggle with what to buyeach other for Christmas. The woman cuts her hair and sells it to buya watchband for her husband. Meanwhile, the husband sells his watchface to buy combs for his wife’s hair. This is an example ofsituational irony, since the outcome is the opposite of what bothparties expect.Example #4

“The Little Mermaid” by Hans Christian Andersen

In this short story, and later in the Disney adaptation, a mermaidfalls in love with a prince and saves him from drowning. Desperate tobe with him, the mermaid makes a deal with a sea witch to trade hervoice for human legs. Though the prince is charmed by the mermaid hedoesn’t realize who she really is because she no longer has a voice.This is an example of dramatic irony where the audience has moreinformation than the prince.

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AllegoryAn allegory is a work of art, such as a story or painting, in whichthe characters, images, and/or events act as symbols. The symbolism inan allegory can be interpreted to have a deeper meaning. An author mayuse allegory to illustrate a moral or spiritual truth, or political orhistorical situation.

Allegories can be understood to be a type of extended metaphor. Anextended metaphor develops a certain analogy to a greater extent thana simple comparison. An allegory, meanwhile, uses a particularmetaphor throughout an entire plot.

The word “allegory” comes from the ancient Greek for “to speak so asto imply something other.” The definition of allegory makes sensecoming from this term, as an allegory always has some hidden meaningbelow the surface.Common Examples of Allegory

There are many common stories that we tell which have allegoricalmeanings. These are especially popular in stories for children, asallegories often mean to teach some lesson or help the audienceunderstand complex ideas and concepts. Stories such as Aesop’s Fablesoften have morals, and thus are examples of allegory. We also use realevents that have happened to teach lessons. Here are some stories thathave entered into public consciousness that are also allegories:

The Tortoise and the Hare from Aesop’s Fables: From this story, welearn that the strong and steady win the race. The story of Icarus: Icarus fashions wings for himself out of wax,but when he flies too close to the sun his wings melt. This story is amessage about the dangers of reaching beyond out powers. Yertle the Turtle by Dr. Seuss: This story about a turtle whoyearns for too much power is actually an allegory about Adolf Hitlerand the evils of totalitarianism.

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The Hunger Games: This trilogy of Young Adult books (and nowblockbuster movies) is an allegory for our obsession with realitytelevision and how it numbs us to reality.

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Significance of Allegory in Literature

Allegories have been used for centuries in many different cultures.They are used to teach lessons, explain moral concepts, and show theauthor’s views on a certain situation. An allegory is a very specifictype of story, as it must stay true to the message for the entirety ofthe story. Allegories thus can be difficult to master, as they can bepedantic when done poorly. However, some works of literature that canbe read allegorically gain much strength from their deeper meanings.Examples of Allegory in LiteratureExample #1

It is the task of the enlightened not only to ascend to learningand to see the good but to be willing to descend again to thoseprisoners and to share their troubles and their honors, whether theyare worth having or not. And this they must do, even with the prospectof death.

(Allegory of the Cave by Plato)

One of the most famous examples of allegory in history is Plato’sAllegory of the Cave, in which a group of people is chained inside acave and sees only shadows of the outside world projected on the wallof the cave. One person escapes the cave and is able to see realityfor the first time. However, upon reentering the cave and trying todescribe the outside world, the people still chained to the wallreject this other interpretation and vision. Plato’s allegory is meantto symbolize the difficulty of the philosopher’s task when trying toexpand the worldview of the common man.Example #2

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No one believes more firmly than Comrade Napoleon that all animalsare equal. He would be only too happy to let you make your decisionsfor yourselves. But sometimes you might make the wrong decisions,comrades, and then where should we be?

(Animal Farm by George Orwell)

Perhaps the most famous recent allegory example is George Orwell’sAnimal Farm. Orwell’s story of a farm in which the animals kick outthe humans to become equal workers, and the rise of the pig ComradeNapoleon to quash any possibility of equality, mirrors the RussianRevolution of 1917 very closely. Comrade Napoleon is a symbol forStalin, while other prominent pigs in the story represent Lenin andTrotsky. This work was Orwell’s first conscious attempt to “to fusepolitical purpose and artistic purpose into one whole.”Example #3

As the Power grows, its proved friends will also grow, and theWise, such as you and I, may with patience come at last to direct itscourses, to control it. We can bide our time, we can keep our thoughtsin our hearts, deploring maybe evils done by the way, but approvingthe high and ultimate purpose: Knowledge, Rule, Order; all the thingsthat we have so far striven in vain to accomplish, hindered ratherthan helped by our weak or idle friends. There need not be, therewould not be, any real change in our designs, only in our means.

(The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien)

J.R.R. Tolkien insisted that he did not write his Lord of the Ringstrilogy as an allegory of good and evil, yet it is very easy to readthe series that way. There are clear symbols of good and evil, many ofwhich seem to relate closely to the characters and scope of World WarTwo. Tolkien also shows how evil can corrupt good. The most obviousexample of this is Frodo, who only intends to do good, and the OneRing, the all-compassing evil of which starts to change Frodo’snature. Power leads to evil in Tolkien’s account, and in the above

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excerpt we see the wizard Saruman explaining his vision to Gandalf.Saruman has been corrupted by power, and wants Gandalf to join hisside.Example #4

Every man suddenly became related to Kino’s pearl, and Kino’spearl went into the dreams, the speculations, the schemes, the plans,the futures, the wishes, the needs, the lusts, the hungers, ofeveryone, and only one person stood in the way and that was Kino, sothat he became curiously every man’s enemy. The news stirred upsomething infinitely black and evil in the town; the black distillatewas like the scorpion, or like hunger in the smell of food, or likeloneliness when love is withheld. The poison sacs of the town began tomanufacture venom, and the town swelled and puffed with the pressureof it.

(The Pearl by John Steinbeck)

In John Steinbeck’s novella The Pearl, the main character Kino finds agigantic pearl that he hopes to sell to pay for his child’s medicalfees. Through the course of the story, Kino encounters greed in everydirection, which forces him to flee the town with his wife and son.Trackers follow the family and tragically kill Kino’s son. Kino andhis wife end up throwing the pearl back in the ocean as it has onlybrought them misery. This story is an example of allegory in that itshows the corrupting effect of money and power of greed.

MetonymyMetonymy is a figure of speech in which something is called by a newname that is related in meaning to the original thing or concept. Forexample, it’s common practice to refer to celebrity life and culturein the United States as “Hollywood,” as in “Hollywood is obsessed withthis new diet.” The meaning of this statement is not that the placeitself has any obsession, of course, but instead refers to thecelebrities and wannabe celebrities who reside there.Common Examples of Metonymy

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As noted above, “Hollywood” can act as a metonym for celebrityculture. There are many other place names that act metonymically inthe same way, such as “Wall Street” for the financial sector and“Washington” for the United States government. However, there are manymore words in common usage that are metonyms. Here are more examplesof metonymy:

The big house—Refers to prison The pen—Can refer to prison or to the act of writing Stuffed shirts—People in positions of authority, especially in abusiness setting The crown—a royal person The Yankees/The Red Sox/The Cowboys, etc.—any team name isregularly used as a metonym for the players on the team. This is aless obvious metonym because often the team name is a group of people(the Cowboys, for instance), yet of course the football players whomake up the Dallas Cowboys are not, in fact, cowboys. The New York Times/Morgan Stanley/Wells Fargo, etc.—anyorganization or company name is often used to stand in for the peoplewho work there, such as “The New York Times stated that…” or “WellsFargo has decided….”

Difference Between Metonymy and Synecdoche

Metonymy and synecdoche are very similar figures of speech, and someconsider synecdoche to be a specific type of metonymy. Synecdocheoccurs when the name of a part is used to refer to the whole, such asin “There are hungry mouths to feed.” The mouths stand in for thehungry people. The definition of metonymy is more expansive, includingconcepts that are merely associated in meaning and not necessarilyparts of the original thing or concept.♦

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Significance of Metonymy in Literature

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Scholars have long been interested in metonymy as a literary andrhetorical device. Ancient Greek and Latin scholars discussed the wayin which metonymy changed words and meanings by providing newreferents and connections between concepts. Authors have used metonymyfor millennia for many different reasons. One primary reason is simplyto address something in a more poetic and unique way. Authors can alsoadd more complexity and meaning to ordinary words by using metonymy,thereby drawing the reader’s attention to what otherwise would not benoticed. Sometimes metonymy is also helpful to make statements moreconcise.Examples of Metonymy in LiteratureExample #1

Their ocean-keel boarding, they drove through the deep, and Daneland left. A sea-cloth was set, a sail with ropes, firm to the mast; the flood-timbers moaned; nor did wind over billows that wave-swimmer blow across from her course.

(Beowulf—Tr. John Crowther)

In the Old English epic poem Beowulf there are many examples ofmetonymy. In this particular excerpt, the author uses the terms“ocean-keel” and “wave-swimmer” to refer to the entire ship. Theauthor goes on to describe other parts of the ship very poetically,calling the sail the “sea-cloth” at first and referring to the boardsof the ship “as flood-timbers.” This was a very popular technique inOld English works, and the use of metonymy here draws the reader’sattention to the different ways to understand the form and function ofthe ship and its parts. Thus metonymy creates new connections in thisexample.Example #2

MARCELLUS: Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.

(Hamlet by William Shakespeare)

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Shakespeare used metonymy in many of his plays and poems. This linefrom Hamlet is often repeated. We are made to understand that “thestate of Denmark” stands in for the whole royal system and government.The rottenness is not widespread over the entire country, but insteadis limited to the dealings of those in power. In this case, thecharacter Claudius has come to power in a suspicious way, and thosesurrounding him feel unease at the new order.Example #3

The party preserved a dignified homogeneity, and assumed to itselfthe function of representing the staid nobility of the countryside—East Egg condescending to West Egg, and carefully on guard against itsspectroscopic gayety.

(The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald)

This metonymy example from F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby issimilar to the Shakespeare example in that it uses a place name tostand in for the people in that place. The difference in socialstanding between the narrator Nick Carraway and Jay Gatsby’s friendsis a central theme in the novel. Nick lives in West Egg, while Jay andhis friends live in the much fancier East Egg. In fact, to the outsideobserver there is not much different between the two places, but theinhabitants of East Egg find it very important to establish thedistinctions between them. In the above sentence, “East Egg” refers tothe posh citizens of the place, while “West Egg” refers to the moremiddle-class citizens there.Example #4

He tried to remember in what year he had first heard mention ofBig Brother. He thought it must have been at some time in the sixties,but it was impossible to be certain. In the Party histories, ofcourse, Big Brother figured as the leader and guardian of theRevolution since its very earliest days. His exploits had beengradually pushed backwards in time until already they extended intothe fabulous world of the forties and the thirties, when the

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capitalists in their strange cylindrical hats still rode through thestreets of London in great gleaming motor-cars or horse carriages withglass sides. There was no knowing how much of this legend was true andhow much invented. Winston could not even remember at what date theParty itself had come into existence.

(1984 by George Orwell)

The “Party” in George Orwell’s novel 1984 stands in for the highestofficials of this new government. By using the metonymy to refer tothe individuals, Orwell further separates the governing class from anysense of humanity; no one in the society seems to know the name of anyactual ruling member. Even “Big Brother,” who seems to start out as anindividual, comes to represent the ubiquitous surveillance of thegovernment and not an actual man. The term “Big Brother” has enteredthe English lexicon as a metonym for government that interferes toomuch in private life.Point of View♦

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Point of ViewPoint of view is the perspective from which a story is narrated. Everystory has a perspective, though there can be more than one type ofpoint of view in a work of literature. The most common points of viewused in novels are first person singular (“I”) and third person (“he”and “she”). However, there are many variants on these two types ofpoint of view, as well as other less common narrative points of view.Point of View vs. Narrator

Point of view is very closely linked with the concept of a narrator.The narrator of a story can be a participant in the story, meaningthis character is a part of the plot, or a non-participant. The point

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of view in a story refers to the position of the narrator in relationto the story. For example, if the narrator is a participant in thestory, it is more likely that the point of view would be first person,as the narrator is witnessing and interacting with the events andother characters firsthand. If the narrator is a non-participant, itis more likely that the point of view would be in third person, as thenarrator is at a remove from the events. These are general guidelines,of course, and there are many exceptions to these rules. Let us lookmore in depth at the multiple options for narrative point of view.

Types of Point of ViewFirst Person SingularFirst person singular point of view uses the “I” pronoun to refer tothe narrator. This narrator is usually the protagonist of the story,and this point of view allows the reader access to the character’sinner thoughts and reactions to the events occurring. All of theaction is processed through the narrator’s perspective, and thereforethis type of narrator may be unreliable. The choice to write from anunreliable first person point of view gives the reader a chance tofigure out what is reality and what is a creation on the part of thenarrator. A notoriously unreliable narrator is Humbert Humbert fromVladimir Nabakov’s Lolita:

When I try to analyze my own cravings, motives, actions and soforth, I surrender to a sort of retrospective imagination which feedsthe analytic faculty with boundless alternatives and which causes eachvisualized route to fork and re-fork without end in the maddeninglycomplex prospect of my past.

First Person PluralThis point of view is extremely uncommon in novels, as it uses “we” asthe primary pronoun. This implies a group of people narrating thestory at once. While it is unusual now, most Greek tragedies containeda chorus that narrated the events of the play together. To use thispoint of view successfully, there must be a sense of group identity,either facing a similar challenge together or placing themselves inopposition to another “outside” group. For example, the recent novel

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The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka is about a group of Japanesewomen who come to the United States as mail-order brides:

Most of us on the boat were accomplished, and were sure we wouldmake good wives. We knew how to cook and sew. We knew how to serve teaand arrange flowers and sit quietly on our flat wide feet for hours,saying absolutely nothing of substance at all.

Second PersonAnother uncommon point of view is second person, using the “you”pronoun to narrate the story. This point of view either implies thatthe narrator is actually an “I” trying to separate himself or herselffrom the events that he or she is narrating, or allows the reader toidentify with the central character. This was popularized in the 1980sseries Choose Your Own Adventure, and appears in the recent novelPretty Little Mistakes by Heather McElhatton:

While standing in his parents kitchen, you tell your boyfriendyou’re leaving. You’re not going to college. You’re not buying intothe schedules, the credits, or the points. No standardized successfor you.

Third PersonThis point of view definition uses “he” and “she” as the pronouns torefer to different characters, and provides the greatest amount offlexibility for the author. There are two main possibilities for thethird person point of view: limited and omniscient. In a third personlimited point of view, the reader is privy only to one maincharacter’s thoughts. In this way, it is similar to the first personsingular point of view, since the focus stays tightly on onecharacter. Third person omniscient point of view allows the author todelve into the thoughts of any character, making the narrator seemgodlike. This was a popular point of view in 19th century novels. Forexample, the opening of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice presents anall-knowing narrator:

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It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man inpossession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.

Alternating Person

Some novels combine two or more of the above types of point of view.For example, some novels alternate between a first person singularpoint of view in some chapters and the third person point of view inother chapters. The Harry Potter series alternates between thirdperson limited—allowing access to Harry’s thoughts—and third personomniscient when information must be shared that Harry is not witnessto.Common Examples of Point of View

All of us experience life through a first person singular point ofview. When we tell stories from our own lives, most of these storiesare thus from that perspective. However, we also sometimes tellstories in the first person plural if a pair or group of people isinvolved throughout the entire story. We also tell many stories fromthe third person point of view when talking about events at which wewere not present. Here are some examples:

First person singular: “I had the craziest night last night! I’lltell you all about it.” First person plural: “New York was great. We went to the Statue ofLiberty, we walked around Central Park, and we ate fantastic food.It’s our favorite city.” Third person: “My grandfather was a pilot in the war, and one timehe survived a terrible crash.”

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Significance of Point of View in Literature

The choice of the point of view from which to narrate a story greatlyaffects both the reader’s experience of the story and the type of

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information the author is able to impart. First person creates agreater intimacy between the reader and the story, while third personallows the author to add much more complexity to the plot anddevelopment of different characters that one character wouldn’t beable to perceive on his or her own. Therefore, point of view has agreat amount of significance in every piece of literature. Therelative popularities of different types of point of view have changedover the centuries of novel writing. For example, epistolary novelswere once quite common but have largely fallen out of favor. Firstperson point is view, meanwhile, is quite common now whereas it washardly used at all before the 20th century.Examples of Point of View in LiteratureExample #1: First Person Singular

There must have been about two minutes during which I assumed thatI was killed. And that too was interesting—I mean it is interesting toknow what your thoughts would be at such a time. My first thought,conventionally enough, was for my wife. My second was a violentresentment at having to leave this world which, when all is said anddone, suits me so well. I had time to feel this very vividly.

(Homage to Catalonia by George Orwell)

George Orwell writes about his own experiences in the Spanish CivilWar in his book Homage to Catalonia. In autobiographical works, the“I” narrator is the character of the author. Here Orwell relates theexperience of getting shot and the thoughts that passed through hismind directly thereafter.Example #2: First Person Plural

It didn’t matter in the end how old they had been, or that theywere girls, but only that we had loved them, and that they hadn’theard us calling, still do not hear us, up here in the tree house,with our thinning hair and soft bellies, calling them out of thoserooms where they went to be alone for all time, alone in suicide,which is deeper than death, and where we will never find the pieces toput them back together.

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(The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides)

Jeffrey Eugenides’s novel The Virgin Suicides is narrated by acollective “we”, who view and comment on a group of five sisters.Eugenides successfully uses this example of point of view by makingthe “we” a group of boys who love and try to understand the girls fromafar.Example #3: Second Person

You get home to your apartment on West 12th Street. It’s a wreck.Like you. No kidding. You wonder if Amanda will ever explain herdesertion. She was a model and she thought you were rich. You neverspotted she was an airhead. So what does that make you?

(Bright Lights, Big City by Jay McInerny)

Jay McInerny’s novel Bright Lights, Big City, is one of the few novelswritten for adults in the second person point of view. This point ofview example creates a sense of intimacy between the narrator and thereader, implicating the reader in the events of the plot and relatingthe powerlessness the narrator has to forestall his own self-destruction.Example #4: Third Person

The family of Dashwood had long been settled in Sussex. Theirestate was large, and their residence was at Norland Park, in thecentre of their property, where, for many generations, they had livedin so respectable a manner as to engage the general good opinion oftheir surrounding acquaintance.

(Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen)

The opening to Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility introduces theDashwood family, and goes on to describe each character in detail.This is another example of Jane Austen using the third person

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omniscient point of view and gives her access to all of thecharacter’s thoughts, desires, and motivations.Theme♦

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ThemeAs a literary device, theme is the central topic or idea explored in atext. Usually the theme of a work of literature can be stated in oneword, such as “love” or “solitude.” A work of literature can, andoften does, have more than one theme. The theme is generally notstated explicitly in the text, but instead is expressed through thecharacters’ actions, words, and thoughts.Thematic Concept vs. Thematic Statement

The definition of theme can be broken into two categories: thethematic concept of a work and the thematic statement. The thematicconcept refers to what a reader understands the work to be about,while the thematic statement refers to what the work says about thatsubject in question. The thematic concept thus is usually an abstractconcept, like “love” or “solitude” as we said before, while thethematic statement usually is a sentence highlighting the argument ofthe piece of literature. The thematic statement often comments on theway the human condition affects or is affected by the abstract conceptof the theme. For example, the theme of Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace isstated directly in the title—war and peace. The thematic statementcould be something about the irrationality of human decision-making intimes of both war and peace, and the search for the meaning of life inthe face of this irrationality.Common Examples of Theme

Many politicians craft a message about their campaign around acentral theme. In 2008, American presidential candidate Barack Obamaused the themes of “hope” and “change” to energize voters. Brands also sometimes relate their advertising campaigns around atheme. For example, in 1947, advertisers for De Beers came up with the

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slogan “A diamond is forever.” Connecting the theme of immortalitywith the theme of love, De Beers made it so that any man who wished todisplay his everlasting love for a woman had to buy a diamond. DeBeers effectively created the tradition of the diamond engagementring.

In both of these cases, the thematic concepts were so strong andconvincing that they overcame oppositional arguments. In the case ofDe Beers, men were suddenly expected to spend two months of theirsalary on a diamond ring, which until that time would have beenconsidered ludicrous.♦

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Significance of Theme in Literature

All works of literature contain some sort of theme. Themes aregenerally universal in nature, and relate to the condition of beinghuman. Thus the theme in a work of literature crosses boundaries andmakes a story meaningful to people to any culture or age. Whilereaders may not understand all the references and language in a bookfrom a different time period or culture, the theme of the novel iswhat makes it comprehensible.Examples of Theme in LiteratureExample #1

IAGO: Oh, beware, my lord, of jealousy! It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock The meat it feeds on.

(Othello by William Shakespeare)

Much of the dramatic action in Othello hinges on the jealousy thatOthello feels toward his wife, Desdemona. In this excerpt, Othello’sbest friend, Iago, warns him of being jealous (the metaphor ofjealously as a green-eyed monster is such a famous quote that it

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created the idea that a person could be “green with envy”).Ironically, Iago is the one who creates this jealousy and feeds it.Example #2

In the end the Party would announce that two and two made five,and you would have to believe it. It was inevitable that they shouldmake that claim sooner or later: the logic of their position demandedit. Not merely the validity of experience, but the very existence ofexternal reality was tacitly denied by their philosophy.

(1984 by George Orwell)

George Orwell’s novel 1984 contains multiple references to power andmanipulation. Orwell had been a firsthand witness to the propagandaput out during wartime in the 1930s and 1940s, and saw how officialsin different countries manipulated stories to keep themselves in powerand prove their legitimacy. This theme example presents the concept of“2+2=5” to show that the Party in power will try to make citizensbelieve even things that are obviously and unequivocally wrong. Orwellreiterates this theme later when the main character, Winston, ends uptracing “2+2=5” in the dust of a café table after he has been fullyindoctrinated in the Party’s propaganda.Example #3

The gypsy was inclined to stay in the town. He really had beenthrough death, but he had returned because he could not bear thesolitude.

(One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez)

There are many themes in Gabriel García Márquez’s epic work OneHundred Years of Solitude, but the titular theme of solitude reoccursmany times throughout the novel. This is a theme that García Márquezstates explicitly, and the characters in the novel have many differentattitudes toward it. In this example of theme, a man has died and comeback to life “because he could not bear the solitude.” The solitude ofdeath is worse than the pain of life for the man. However, many

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characters actually seek solitude in life and find that the state ofbeing alive is inseparable from a state of solitude. The characterstry to connect over love, family, and duty, yet find themselves alwaysand inextricably alone.Example #4

JOHN PROCTOR: Because it is my name! Because I cannot have anotherin my life! Because I lie and sign myself to lies! Because I am notworth the dust on the feet of them that hang! How may I live withoutmy name? I have given you my soul; leave me my name!

(The Crucible by Arthur Miller)

Arthur Miller wrote his play The Crucible as a response to the scaretactics of the McCarthy era. As he saw his friends and peers beinglabeled as communists and blacklisted, Miller turned to the Salemwitch-hunt as a model to artistically address the situation. One ofthe key themes both during the McCarthy era and in The Crucible isreputation and “having a good name.” At the end of the play, JohnProctor refuses to admit to witchcraft to save his life. When askedwhy, he gives an impassioned speech about the importance ofreputation, considering it even more important than life itself.Example #5

Do not pity the dead, Harry. Pity the living, and, above all thosewho live without love.

(Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling)

J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series contains the major theme of goodversus evil. Even more important than this, though, is the theme oflove. Over the course of the series, Harry Potter learns that he isalive because of his mother’s love, and the sacrifice she made forhim. This love, in J. K. Rowling’s conception, is so powerful that itresists the ultimate evil. And, indeed, Lord Voldemort is evilprecisely because he is both unable to feel love and unable to graspits significance. In this quote from the final installment of the

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series, Dumbledore tells Harry that living without love is thegreatest hardship of all.

FallacyFallacies are incorrect reasoning based on invalid inferences, orfalse arguments with inaccurate facts. We can define fallacy as anerroneous reasoning based on unsound arguments. Simply, fallacy ismaking an argument by employing invalid or poor reasoning, whichostensibly looks correct, but in it is not so. Several examples ofsuch fallacies could be found in everyday life.Types of Fallacies and Examples

As fallacy is a common term used in rhetoric, it is used in everydaydiscourse so much abundantly that sometimes it loses its worth.However, in literature it is very important in that it reveals thereal intention of the character, who uses one or the other type offallacy. It shows integrity of the character and determines his worthin the literary piece.

Appeal to Ignorance: This kind of fallacy takes place when anindividual exploits someone else’s lack of information about aspecific topic or subject and attempts to prove that their ownspecific argument is correct.

For example:• “No one can prove there is no life after death, so it is wise of meto believe there is none.”• “Physicists say that a ‘black hole’ is a phenomenon, and I don’thave enough knowledge to prove them wrong, so I better agree withthem.”

Appeal to Authority: This type of error is found when the arguerattempts to associate their argument with authority or power, so thattheir argument holds trustworthiness. In this case, the arguer doesn’tgive preference to the appeal of the argument itself; but focuses onits association with someone or something powerful.

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For instance:• “Well, the Buddha practiced and explained yoga benefits. Do youthink you know more about yoga then the Buddha?”• “Shakespeare used comic relief as an essential ingredient of histragedies. How can you say that comic relief is not important?”

Appeal to Popular Opinion: This type of fallacy is based on thegeneral appeal of the argument. This appeal takes place when someoneasserts that a conviction or thought is correct or acceptable mainlybecause generally people accept it as correct.

For example:• “Many people all around the world have watched this movie, so itmust be good.”• “Everyone in my class likes to listen to this singer, so his musicmust be great to listen to.”

Association Fallacy: This fallacy comes into use when an individualclaims that characteristics of one thing must inherently be qualitiesof something else by association alone.

For instance:• “All cats run after mice and have four legs. I have a dog that hasfour legs, so the dog is a cat.”

Attacking the Person: Also known as an argumentum ad hominem, whichmeans an argument against an individual, this type of fallacy is acommon practice in everyday debates and it alludes to a person whoattempts to substitute a personal insult for an argument.

For example:• “Don’t pay attention to what he says; he is a layman.”• “I don’t acknowledge his opinion, as he is not a good friend ofmine.”

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Begging the Question: This type of fallacy is when the finalconclusion of a controversy or contention is based on the statement ofthe inquiry itself.

For instance:• “If such actions were not illegal, then they would not beprohibited.”

Circular Argument: Circulus in Probando is the alternate term used toallude to this error. It is when an argument is based on an elementinside the argument itself, rather than an outside one.

For example:• “Paranormal activity must be a reality, as I have recentlyexperienced something that can be regarded as a paranormal activity.”

Relationship Implies Causation Fallacy: Also known as Cum Hoc EgroPropter Hoc, this fallacy takes place when an individual connects twodifferent occasions that take place consecutively and then acceptsthat one made the other.

For instance:• “A black cat had crossed her path on the morning before she met anaccident, so black cats are a bad omen.”• “I met him right before I received news about my bad grade, so he isbad luck.”

False Dilemma/Dichotomy: Also known as “bifurcation”, this type oferror takes place when someone presents the argument in a way thatonly two conceivable alternatives are left to be considered.

Case in point:• “If you don’t support me in the argument, you are a believer inMarxism.”• “If you do not let her go to university, you must be against highereducation for women.”

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Illogical Conclusion: This is a fallacy wherein an individual offersattestation for a conclusion which does not follow from anysuggestions.

For example:• “During World War II, many Germans supported Nazism. Hisgrandparents lived in Germany during the 1940s, so they were Nazis.”

Slippery Slope: This fallacy assumes that an extraordinary minormovement will necessarily prompt frequently ludicrous and greatconclusions. So, in simpler terms, a slippery slope means that if oneaction or step is followed, it will invariably result in the creationof more similar actions and steps, and the process will result in moreand more undesirable and negative incidents. In short, a chainreaction in terms of cause and effect is considered a slippery slope.

Case in point:• “If you let one student ask you a question and interrupt you whenyou are still clarifying a point, then you’ll have to let others, andbefore long, you won’t be left with any time to explain the originalpoint.”

Syllogism Fallacy: A syllogism fallacy is when deductive reasoningbased on two or more propositions is used to arrive at an incorrectconclusion.

For example:• “I may have hired you, but you are ex-army retired personnel, andstats show army personnel are not fit for this job.”• “The trained parrot speaks some words, so all parrots in the worldspeak the same words.”

AllusionAn allusion is a literary device used to reference another objectoutside of the work of literature. The object can be a real orfictional person, event, quote, or other work of artistic expression.

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Allusions can be shorthand for adding emotion or significance to apassage by drawing on the reader’s prior associations with the object.

The word “allusion” comes from the Latin for “to play with” or “tojest.” Though the definition of allusion does not necessarily includehumor, many jokes do indeed allude to recent events or famous people.Most allusions “play with” the original source material in the sensethat they use the reference for new purposes.Examples of Allusion in Common Speech

Big Brother: Now a reality television show in countries across theworld, the term Big Brother comes from George Orwell’s dystopian novel1984 (he, in turn, may have taken the phrase from a WWII-erabillboard). Whereas it once just described a familial relation, “BigBrother” is now shorthand for referring to mass surveillance and abuseof government power. Watergate: The 1972 scandal at the Watergate Hotel in Washington,D.C. led to the resignation of President Richard Nixon. Since theevent, the suffix –gate has been added to many dozens of names torefer to scandals. These scandals are generally in politics, but canbe in other fields as well, and can be of any proportion, from therelatively trivial “Bendgate” of 2014 when the iPhone 6 Plus was shownto bend under pressure, to “Irangate”, referring to the Iran-Contraaffair of the mid-1980s during the Reagan Administration. 15 minutes of fame: In 1968, artist Andy Warhol made the comment,“In the future, everyone will be world-famous for fifteen minutes.”The phrase “fifteen minutes of fame” is frequently used now,especially with the advent of reality television and social media.Though it has entered the realm of cliché, the saying “fifteen minutesof fame” is an allusion to Warhol’s original statement. Catch-22: Joseph Heller’s 1961 novel Catch-22 centers around agroup of soldiers during World War II who try to keep their sanity onan Italian island. Heller describes the following problematicsituation with no solution: if a soldier is deemed crazy, he can bedischarged from the army. However, if he applies to be discharged thisproves he is not crazy. The phrase “Catch-22″ has entered the English

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language as a situation that has no good solution, and is an allusionto Heller’s novel. Achilles’ Heel: Achilles was a figure in Greek mythology who was ahero of the Trojan War and was featured in Homer’s Iliad. He was saidto be invulnerable except for at his heel. Thus, when Paris shotAchilles in his heel the wound proved mortal. The term “Achilles’heel” now refers to a strong person’s one point of weakness.

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Significance of Allusion

Authors use allusions intentionally, though it is the reader’sresponsibility to understand the reference. Allusions can createmeaning in a work that is lost if the reader doesn’t grasp thereference. Therefore, allusions can be a test of a sort of culturalliteracy. It is thus also much more difficult for modern readers tounderstand all of the allusions in older works of literature, orliterature from other cultures. This is one of the primary reasonsthat works such as Dante’s Inferno and Homer’s Odyssey require so manyfootnotes.

Allusions use the original reference as a point of departure, but theycan also change the referent and add meaning retroactively. Allusionscreate intertextuality in this way. It is important to note, though,that allusions can only go in one direction. For example, WilliamFaulkner can allude to Shakespeare with his title “The Sound and theFury”, but Shakespeare cannot allude to Faulkner. However, a modernreader familiar with Faulkner is probably unable to read the originallines from Shakespeare’s Macbeth without thinking of Faulkner’s work:“it is a tale / Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, / Signifyingnothing.”Examples of Allusion in LiteratureExample #1

Then turning, I to them my speech address’d,

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And thus began: “Francesca! your sad fate Even to tears my grief and pity moves. But tell me; in the time of your sweet sighs, By what, and how Love granted, that ye knew Your yet uncertain wishes?” She replied: “No greater grief than to remember days Of joy, when misery is at hand. That kens Thy learn’d instructor. Yet so eagerly If thou art bent to know the primal root, From whence our love gat being, I will do As one, who weeps and tells his tale. One day, For our delight we read of Lancelot, How him love thrall’d. Alone we were, and no Suspicion near us. Oft-times by that reading Our eyes were drawn together, and the hue Fled from our alter’d cheek. But at one point Alone we fell. When of that smile we read, The wished smile so raptorously kiss’d By one so deep in love, then he, who ne’er From me shall separate, at once my lips All trembling kiss’d. The book and writer both Were love’s purveyors. In its leaves that day We read no more.”

(Dante’s Inferno)

This excerpt from Dante’s Inferno includes two important allusionsthat the reader must understand to know what Dante is trying to say.Both allusion examples are to love stories that would have been knownby the culturally literate of Dante’s day: the true stories ofFrancesca and of Lancelot. Francesca, daughter of the Lord of Ravenna,fell in love with her husband’s brother, Paolo, and both she and Paolowere put to death for adultery. In this passage, she tells Dante thatshe and Paolo fell in love over the story of Lancelot, a Knight of theRound Table, whose romance with Guinevere was celebrated.Example #2

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HORATIO: A mote it is to trouble the mind’s eye. In the most high and palmy state of Rome, A little ere the mightiest Julius fell, The graves stood tenantless and the sheeted dead Did squeak and gibber in the Roman streets”

(Hamlet by Shakespeare)

This allusion example comes from the beginning of Shakespeare’sHamlet, where the character Horatio refers to Julius Caesar. Thoughthis is clearly an allusion to the historical figure, it is also aninteresting case of self-reference, as Shakespeare published his playJulius Caesar a year or two before Hamlet. The plot of Hamlet alludesto the historical figure Amleth.Example #3

The morning wind forever blows, the poem of creation isuninterrupted; but few are the ears that hear it. Olympus is but theoutside of the earth everywhere.

(Walden by Thoreau)

In this excerpt from Walden, Henry David Thoreau alludes to Olympus.In Greek mythology, Mt. Olympus was where the pantheon of gods lived.By comparing the outside world to Mt. Olympus Thoreau is saying thatnature holds all the wondrousness of the home of the gods.Example #4

The Cunninghams are country folks, farmers, and the crash hit themhardest.

(To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee)This line from Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird references “thecrash”, which is an allusion to the Stock Market Crash of 1929 thatled to the Great Depression. Without understanding this allusion, theline would be confusing as the reader would be wondering what type ofcrash affected the Cunninghams so extremely.

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ColloquialismThe word “colloquialism” comes from the Latin colloquium, which meansa “conference” or “conversation.” As a literary device, colloquialismrefers to the usage of informal or everyday language in literature.Colloquialisms are generally geographic in nature, in that acolloquial expression often belongs to a regional or local dialect.They can be words, phrases, or aphorisms (see below for examples).Native speakers of a language understand and use colloquialismswithout realizing it, while non-native speakers may find colloquialexpressions hard to translate. This is because many colloquialisms arenot literal usages of words, but instead idiomatic or metaphoricalsayings. Colloquialism is similar to slang, but the definition ofcolloquialism has some key differences as described below.

Differences between Colloquialism, Slang, and Jargon

Colloquialism can be confused with slang and jargon, since these aretwo other ways of conversing in informal ways. The difference is thatslang words are used in specific social groups, like teenagers,whereas colloquialisms can generally be understood across age andsocioeconomic barriers as long as the speakers are all from the samegeographic region. Colloquialisms may use slang within them, but thisis not always the case.

Similar to slang, jargon is used only by certain groups, but it oftenrefers to words used in a particular profession. For example, the wayin which lawyers speak is so specific to their profession that it isoften known as “legalese.” Other professions that rely on exchangingcomplex information also use jargon, such as scientists, doctors, andbusinesspeople.Examples of Colloquialism from Common Speech

As stated above, there are three different types of colloquialismsthat we can distinguish: words, phrases, and aphorisms. Words can becolloquialism examples if they demonstrate the regional dialect of thespeaker, or it they are contractions or examples of profanity. Phrases

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and aphorisms are colloquialisms if they aren’t literal usages, yetare widely understand within a geographical boundary.

Words: Regional differences: One famous colloquial difference in theUnited States is the way a person refers to a carbonated beverage.There are regional borders that separate the usage of the words“soda”, “pop”, “soft drink”, and “Coke” (used as a generic term andnot just to refer to the brand). There are numerous differencesbetween American English and British English, such as “truck”/“lorry”,“soccer”/“football”, and “parakeet”/“budgie”. Contractions: Words such as “ain’t” and “gonna” are examplesof colloquialism, as they are not used widely throughout English-speaking populations. Profanity: Some words are considered profane in some dialectsof English where they are not at all bad in other dialects. A goodexample is the word “bloody” which is a simple adjective in AmericanEnglish, but is a curse word in British English. Phrases: Old as the hills Penny-pincher She’ll be right (Australian English, meaning everything willbe all right) Pass the buck Eat my dust Aphorisms: I wasn’t born yesterday. There’s more than one way to skin a cat. Put your money where your mouth is. You’re driving me up the wall.

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Significance of Colloquialism in Literature

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Authors will frequently use colloquialisms to make dialogue sound moreauthentic. For example, a writer of a contemporary American novelwould probably choose the greeting “Hey, how’s it going” rather than“How now.” They may also employ this device to situate the writingmore decisively in a specific time period and/or place. When usedinappropriately, colloquialisms will often stand out as jarring to thereader. Indeed, writers are cautioned away from over-using dialect,such as dropping the “g” at the end of a continuous verb to create aSouthern twang, such as goin’, doin’, bein’, etc. However, when usedwell readers may feel the writing is very genuine. Authors may alsouse colloquialisms unconsciously if they are writing in a time andplace they know from their own experience.Examples of Colloquialism in LiteratureExample #1

When you’re dead, they really fix you up. I hope to hell when I dodie somebody has sense enough to just dump me in the river orsomething. Anything except sticking me in a goddam cemetery. Peoplecoming and putting a bunch of flowers on your stomach on Sunday, andall that crap. Who wants flowers when you’re dead? Nobody.

(The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger)

J. D. Salinger’s most famous book is noted for the very informal wayin which the narrator, Holden Caulfield, addresses the audience. Thebook has been banned in numerous places over the years for its use ofprofanity, which is a chief example of colloquialism. There are alsocolloquial phrases in this excerpt such as “fix you up” and “hope tohell.”Example #2

Thing is, as ye git aulder, this character-deficiency gig becomesmair sapping. Thir wis a time ah used tae say tae aw the teachers,bosses, dole punters, poll-tax guys, magistrates, when they telt me ahwas deficient:’Hi, cool it, gadge, ah’m jist me, jist intae adifferent sort ay gig fae youse but, ken?’ Now though, ah’ve goat taeconcede thit mibee they cats had it sussed. Ye take a healthier

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slapping the aulder ye git. The blows hit hame mair. It’s like yonMike Tyson boy at the boxing, ken?

(Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh)In his 1993 book Trainspotting, Irvine Welsh created a consistentwriting style to mimic the lilt of the Scottish accent. For non-speakers of the Scottish dialect, it can take a bit of time before thelogic of the book’s language starts to make sense. The book even comeswith a glossary of words and colloquialisms that he uses.Example #3

BARDOLPH. Well met, Corporal Nym. NYM. Good morrow, Lieutenant Bardolph.(Henry V by Shakespeare)This is a simple example of colloquialism as used by Shakespeare.Although modern readers might think that Shakespeare’s works soundextremely outdated, he was famed at the time for having a remarkableear for the way people really talked. This example from the beginningof Act II in Shakespeare’s play Henry V shows the way in which peoplegreeted each other in ordinary language.Example #4

What’s the use you learning to do right, when it’s troublesome todo right and it ain’t no trouble to do wrong, and the wages is justthe same?(The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain)Mark Twain’s book The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is renowned forits use of colloquialisms. Twain used plenty of accents, slang, andvernacular to make his characters sound like real Americans of thetime. This excerpt contains the double-negative “ain’t no trouble” andthe colloquial usage of “just the same.”

AssonanceAssonance is the repetition of a vowel sound or diphthong in non-rhyming words. To qualify as assonance, the words must be close enoughfor the repetition of the sound to be noticeable. Assonance is a

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common literary technique used in poetry and prose, and is widelyfound in English verse.

Difference Between Assonance, Consonance, and Alliteration, and SlantRhyme

The techniques of assonance, alliteration, consonance, sibilance, andslant rhyme are all closely related and include the repetition ofcertain sounds in quick succession.

Consonance: Literary consonance is the repetition of the sameconsonant sounds. Like assonance, the repetition must be close enoughto register in the ear of the listener. The repetition can happenanywhere in the words. Since the definition of assonance only includesvowel sounds, assonance and consonance can be understood to describethe same phenomena, yet with opposite meanings (an easy way toremember which one is which is that the word “assonance” starts with avowel and the word “consonance” starts with a consonant). One suchexample of consonance is the “l” sound from Mary Oliver’s poem “WildGeese”: “You only have to let the soft animal of your body / love whatit loves.” Alliteration: Alliteration is a special case of consonance andrefers to the repetition of consonant sounds or blends at thebeginning of words or in the stressed syllables of a line. Sinceconsonance may happen anywhere in a word, the concepts are related butnot identical. Historically, alliteration may also use differentconsonant sounds with similar properties, like the sounds “z” and “s”.Lord Byron uses alliteration in his poem “She Walks in Beauty,” asshown here: “She walks in beauty, like the night / Of cloudless climesand starry skies.” Sibilance: Sibilance is another special case of consonance whereinthe consonant sound that is repeated is “s” or “sh”, which are calledsibilant sounds. This example from Seamus Heaney’s translation ofBeowulf contains sibilance: “There was Shield Sheafson, scourge ofmany tribes.” Slant rhyme or half rhyme: Slant rhyme includes the repetition ofsounds that are similar but not quite rhyming. Usually the consonant

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sounds are repeated while the vowel sounds are different, or the vowelsounds are the same while the consonants are different. Thus, slantrhyme can use either consonance or assonance, or it can be acombination of the two. There are many other names for this type ofrhyme, including lazy rhyme, near rhyme, approximate rhyme, suspendedrhyme, imperfect rhyme, inexact rhyme, off rhyme, or analyzed rhyme.It is especially common in hip-hop lyrics. The following example isfrom a song called “Little Mercy” by hip-hop group Doomtree: “We brokeour backs stacking bricks / We never broke our promises.” In thisinstance, there are several repeated sounds: the “b” in broke, backs,and bricks; the “k” in broke, backs, stacking, and bricks; the “a” inbacks and stacking; and the “i” in bricks and promises.

Common Examples of Assonance

Several proverbs in English contain examples of assonance. Theassonance in these phrases helps to make them more memorable in asubtler way than through rhyming words. A few of these proverbs arehighlighted below:

The early bird catches the worm. Honesty is the best policy. Let the cat out of the bag. A stitch in time saves nine. The squeaky wheel gets the grease.

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Significance of Assonance in English

While many may think that rhyme is one of the fundamental aspects ofpoetry, it was not at all common in Old English verse. The lexicon ofOld English did not include many rhyming words. Instead, the chiefpoetic techniques of Old English storytellers were rhythm and meter,and consonance and assonance. Rhyme only became popular in Englishpoetry later, after the Germanic language took on many new words from

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Romance languages. This is because Romance languages like French,Italian, and Spanish have many more words with similar endings.Indeed, rhyme was quite popular in the troubadour tradition, whichbegan in France in the late 11th century and spread to Spain andItaly. Rhyme remained common in English verse for several hundredyears, but has once again fallen out of favor. Meanwhile, contemporarypoets still use assonance, consonance, and alliteration to providemore subtle phonemic unity.Examples of Assonance From LiteratureExample #1

I never heard before of a ship so well furbished with battle tackle… …no wise man in hall or weathered veteran… …asleep from their feasting… …they wept to heaven…

(Beowulf translated by Seamus Heaney)

The epic poem Beowulf is one of the largest and oldest surviving textsfrom Old English. Seamus Heaney published a translation of the poem in1999, and in his introduction made special note of the cadence andsound of Old English. He writes that he tried to keep his translationloyal to the importance and frequent usage of alliteration in theoriginal. In the examples above, Heaney employs assonance to mimic theoriginal phonemic unity in Old English.Example #2

Of princes, shall outlive this powerful rhyme; But you shall shine more bright in these contents…

(Sonnet 55 by Shakespeare)

This excerpt from Shakepeare’s Sonnet 55 contains two differentassonance examples; the first is the short “i” sound in “princes” and“outlive” and the second is the long “i” sound in “shine” and“bright.”

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Example #3

These things are with us every day even on beachheads and biers. They do have meaning. They’re strong as rocks.

(“Today” by Frank O’Hara)

Frank O’Hara’s poem “Today” has several instances of assonance andconsonance. In this excerpt, the assonance between the words “strong”and “rocks” helps to connect the two concepts.Example #4

Stem end and blossom end, And every fleck of russet showing clear

(“After Apple-Picking” by Robert Frost)

Robert Frost’s poem contains assonance in the title with therepetition of the short “a” sound in “after” and “apple.” The excerpthere also contains several short “e” sounds in quick succession,giving these two lines an extra sense of unity.Example #5

But some punks want to jump up With a sharp tongue and their fronts up Like we got here by dumb luck But they just want to become us.

(“Bangarang” by Doomtree)

This is another example from the hip-hop group Doomtree. Their song“Bangarang” contains many usages of assonance, but these four linesare particularly full of the technique. Out of these thirty-two words,more than a third of them (twelve) contain the same short “u” sound,with the addition of some consonance of “m” and “n”. This techniquepropels the rhythm forward in this section of the song.

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ApostropheMore commonly known as a punctuation mark, apostrophe can also referto an exclamatory figure of speech. The definition of apostrophe as aliterary device is when a speaker breaks off from addressing one partyand instead addresses a third party. This third party may be anindividual, either present or absent in the scene. It can also be aninanimate object, like a dagger, or an abstract concept, such as deathor the sun. Because there is a clear speaker and change of addressee,apostrophe is most commonly found in plays. It does, however,sometimes occur in poetry and prose.

The word apostrophe comes from the Greek for “turning back.” It wascommon in Greek drama and works like Homer’s Odyssey. In cases such asHomer’s Odyssey, apostrophe usually occurs when the otherwiseimpersonal narrator intrudes in the storyline to provide informationor commentary. This use of apostrophe—where a narrator interrupts theaction to provide commentary—was also popular in works of literaturein the nineteenth- to mid-twentieth centuries. Examples of apostrophein these cases occur in works with an omniscient third-person point ofview.Difference Between Apostrophe as a Literary Device and Apostrophe as aPunctuation Mark

Both senses of the word “apostrophe” come from the original Greekmeaning “turning back” or “turning away.” Apostrophe as a punctuationmark took on the meaning of “elision” and therefore is used whenletters are omitted and sounds are elided. In English, for example, weuse apostrophes when contracted “I am” to “I’m,” “we have” to “we’ve,”“do not” to “don’t,” and so on.

The apostrophe definition as a literary device, on the other hand,evolved to the turning from one addressee to another. Therefore,though the terms have similar origins, their meanings are verydifferent.Common Examples of Apostrophe

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Many of us are familiar with using apostrophe without realizing it.Apostrophe occurs we address our car on a cold day, either pleadingwith it to start or yelling at it when it doesn’t. Or perhaps we getan email from someone and start responding out loud, knowing that theperson won’t hear the message. In this way, though apostrophe may seemunnatural in the context of plays and omniscient narrators addressingthe audience, it is, in fact, perfectly natural in our daily lives.Apostrophe is also found in popular songs and other media. Forexample:

“Ugh, cell phone, why won’t you load my messages?” (While speaking on the phone with someone) “Hold, on, my kid’sgoing crazy—Jim, come back here, stop running with scissors.” “Oh, Starbucks, how I love you! Your medium dark roast allowed meto survive that meeting!” “Oh what a world it seems we live in.” –Rufus Wainwright (song) “O holy night! The stars are brightly shining!” (Christmas carol)

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Significance of Apostrophe in Literature

Apostrophe has been a part of storytelling since Greek drama, andperhaps before. It provides a way for the storyteller to switch gears,add his or her own commentary, or state feelings inspired by abstractconcepts. Many examples of apostrophe in English begin with theexclamatory sound “O,” to signify a change in the addressee. Byaddressing a person who is not present or an inanimate object thatcannot feel or express emotions, a character is instead showing theirown inner state.Examples of Apostrophe in LiteratureExample #1

JULIET: Yea, noise? Then I’ll be brief. O happy dagger! This isthy sheath; there rust, and let me die.

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(Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare)

Near the very end of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, the tragicheroine Juliet awakes from her sleeping draught to find Romeo dead. Inthis apostrophe example, Juliet takes Romeo’s dagger and addresses it.It is ironically “happy”—it will take her to her death to be joinedonce again with Romeo. The drama of this scene is that Juliet can nolonger address her love, who is dead, and must instead consult aninanimate object in her final moment.Example #2

HAMLET: Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio, a fellow ofinfinite jest, of most excellent fancy. He hath bore me on his back a thousand times, and now how abhorr’d in my imagination it is! My gorge rises at it.

(Hamlet by William Shakespeare)

In this famous line from Hamlet by Shakespeare, the main characterHamlet happens to be strolling through a graveyard with his friendHoratio when two clowns dig up the skull of Hamlet’s formeracquaintance Yorick, a court jester. Hamlet picks up the skull andaddresses it—“Alas, poor Yorick!”—then turns back to address hisfriend Horatio. Addressing the skull makes Hamlet contemplate, onceagain, the concept of death and decay.Example #3

ANTONY: O, pardon me, thou bleeding piece of earth, That I am meek and gentle with these butchers! Thou art the ruins of the noblest man That ever livèd in the tide of times.

(Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare)

Antony is addressing the bloody corpse of Julius Caesar andapologizing to it than he is not being more forceful with the men

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(“these butchers” who led to Caesar’s murder. Antony calls Caesar“thou bleeding piece of earth,” acknowledging that Caesar no longerhas any power to respond. Yet Antony, overcome with remorse and grief,feels the need to both apologize to Caesar and praise Caesar’s virtueseven after death.Example #4

Death, be not proud, though some have called thee Mighty and dreadful, for thou are not so; For those whom thou think’st thou dost overthrow Die not, poor Death, nor yet canst thou kill me.

(“Holy Sonnet 10” by John Dunne)

John Donne’s “Holy Sonnet 10” addresses Death as a concept andinspired a famous novel of the same name by John Gunther. Donne’spoint is that, while some are awed and in fear of death, thepersonified Death has nothing to be proud of. Inspiring awe and fearin others is not something that anyone should strive for, in Donne’sopinion.Example #5

Thou wast not born for death, immortal Bird! No hungry generations tread thee down; The voice I hear this passing night was heard In ancient days by emperor and clown…

(“Ode to a Nightingale” by John Keats)The ode form of poetry was a favorite of John Keats, who wrote sixmajor odes in the year 1819. Odes are usually directed to an inanimateobject or person who is not present, reciting their positivecharacteristics. Thus, odes usually have some form of apostrophe. Inthis case, Keats declares to the nightingale, “Thou wast not born fordeath.” He notes that the song of the nightingale has been heard forgenerations and should never cease.

Tone114

In literature, tone is the attitude or approach that the author takestoward the work’s central theme or subject. Works of literature canhave many different types of tone, such as humorous, solemn, distant,intimate, ironic, arrogant, condescending, sentimental, and so on. Anyemotion that humans can feel can be an example of tone in literature.

All works of literature have a tone. Authors use elements such assyntax, diction, imagery, details, and figurative language to createtone. Authors must use words to convey emotions and feelings, and thechoice of these words constitutes the tone the author has toward thework’s main subject.

Works of literature are not limited to having only one tone. Tone mayshift throughout a work as the narrator’s perspective changes, or asthe plot becomes more complex, dramatic, bizarre, etc. There also maybe more than one tone that an author takes toward a work at the sametime. For example, a novel can be both humorous and dark, or bothsentimental and formal.Difference Between Tone and Mood

Tone and mood are very often confused. While definition of tone is theattitude the author has toward the work, the mood consists of thefeelings the work produces in an audience or reader. Authors use toneas well as setting, theme, and voice to produce a certain mood. Incinema directors can add the use of music, editing, and images to helpcreate mood. For example, horror movies almost always includesuspenseful and anxiety-producing music. If, instead, bright jazzmusic were playing while a character is in danger, the audience wouldnot feel the mood of suspense.Common Examples of Tone

When we tell stories from everyday life to others, we always do sowith some sort of attitude toward the story. For example, if someonehad gotten flowers from a potential suitor and was retelling this to afriend, that person would tell very different stories depending on hisor her feelings toward the suitor. If he/she were interested in thesuitor, the story would be told with excitement and optimism. If

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he/she were not interested, the story would be told with eye rolls andperhaps irritation or embarrassment. Consider these opposite toneswhen dealing with the same type of situation:

“I’m so glad that jerk was fired; now I won’t have to deal withhim anymore.” Vs. “It’s terrible that Tony was let go; he was such agreat colleague!” “The movie was amazing! I was laughing so hard I cried!” Vs. “Youcan only watch infantile humor for so long before you want to punchyourself in the face.” “The principal just called to say that our son was in a fight. Ican’t believe he would do that.” Vs. “I’m proud of Billy for stickingup for himself. That bully had it coming.” “I’m so excited that he called! I’ve been hoping to hear fromhim.” Vs. “Why is that weirdo calling me again after all this time?”

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Significance of Tone in Literature

The tone that an author uses greatly influences what kind of story heor she tells and how the audience perceives it. For example, therehave been multitudes of books and movies produced about World War II.The tones used in the different pieces range quite a bit, however.Here are four works of literature set during WWII, and how theirdiffering examples of tone lead to vastly different works:

Maus by Art Spiegelman: Melancholy, Anguished—Maus is a son’sstory as he reflects on the horrors that his father lived through. Theson struggles with the knowledge of these horrors, and thus the workis quite somber. The Diary of Anne Frank by Anne Frank: Youthful, Optimistic—Inretrospect, the reader knows that things ended tragically for AnneFrank. Her diary, however, is full of hope, even as she deals with anincredibly difficult situation.

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Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut: Deadpan, Spare—Kurt Vonnegutwas present for the firebombing of Dresden, and relates the events ofthat night, as well as the rest of the book, in extremely unemotionalterms. He is very matter-of-fact about the horrors of war, whichallows the reader to inhabit the anger and sorrow of the destruction. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller: Satirical—Similar to Slaughterhouse-Five, Catch-22 lays bare the absurdities of war. Though the tone canbe humorous at times, the subject matter is very serious and thiscontrast creates the effect of parody.

Examples of Tone in LiteratureExample #1

Having thus lost his understanding, he unluckily stumbled upon theoddest fancy that ever entered into a madman’s brain; for now hethought it convenient and necessary, as well for the increase of hisown honor, as the service of the public, to turn knight-errant.

Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes: Ironic

In this example of tone, Cervantes calls Don Quixote “a madman” andsays he has “lost his understanding.” The narrative voice clearlythinks that Don Quixote’s decision to become a knight-errant isfoolish, and much of the novel pokes fun at Don Quixote’s attempts toprove his valiance. Cervantes creates an ironic distance betweenhimself as the author and Don Quixote’s heroic quest.Example #2

The founders of a new colony, whatever Utopia of human virtue andhappiness they might originally project, have invariably recognized itamong their earliest practical necessities to allot a portion of thevirgin soil as a cemetery, and another portion as the site of aprison.

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne: Skeptical

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In this early excerpt from The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne describes anew colony that hopes to be a Utopia, yet first constructs a cemeteryand a prison. These are two things that one might assume a Utopiawould not need, and thus the author sets up expectations that thingswill not go as the citizens of the town hope.Example #3

I couldn’t forgive [Tom] or like him, but I saw that what he haddone was, to him, entirely justified. It was all very careless andconfused. They were careless people, Tom and Daisy – they smashed upthings and creatures and then retreated back into their money or theirvast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and letother people clean up the mess they had made.

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald: Disillusioned

The narrator of The Great Gatsby, Nick Carraway, changes tonethroughout the novel. At times he is in great admiration of JayGatsby, while at others times he scorns the wastefulness andfoolishness of the upper class. Here he calls Tom and Daisy “carelesspeople” and clearly feels no love lost for either of them. After hepasses the summer in their company his tone has changed so that he isnot in admiration of their lifestyle at all anymore.Example #4

Neighbors bring food with death and flowers with sickness andlittle things in between. Boo was our neighbor. He gave us two soapdolls, a broken watch and chain, a pair of good-luck pennies, and ourlives. But neighbors give in return. We never put back into the treewhat we took out of it: we had given him nothing, and it made me sad.

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee: Nostalgic

The narrator of To Kill a Mockingbird is a young girl, Scout, thoughthe story is told in retrospect. The novel is a coming-of-age storywhere Scout begins to understand the injustices in the world. In thistone example, Scout acknowledges the things that she took from

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neighbor Boo Radley without having given anything back. Though she istalking about literal things here, her nostalgia about not having doneenough for Boo extends to intangible things as well.Juxtaposition♦

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JuxtapositionAs a literary technique, the juxtaposition definition is to place twoconcepts, characters, ideas, or places near or next to each other sothat the reader will compare and contrast them. This technique alsomay imply a link that is not necessarily real or to be trusted.

The word juxtaposition comes from the Latin for “side by side” with“position,” originally a French word that became standardized intoEnglish. In grammar, the use of juxtaposition is the absence ofconjunctions when grouping words in a list, such as omitting the “but”or “and.”Common Examples of Juxtaposition

Many proverbs in English include examples of juxtaposition, as thecontrasts between concepts can provide a lesson.

What’s good for the goose is good for the gander. In this case,the female goose is a contrast to the male gander, yet what is goodfor one is good for the other. This means that whatever is good for anindividual is for the good of all. When it rains, it pours. In this case, there is a contrast ofmagnitude. The literal meaning is that when it rains, one can expect adownpour. The proverbial meaning is that when one thing goes rightmany things will go right, or, conversely, when one thing goes wrongeveryone goes wrong. All’s fair in love and war. Love and war are opposites, and yetthis proverb shows that they have one thing in common which is thatanything goes. This juxtaposition demonstrates that there is more

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alike between the concepts of love and war than one might originallythink. Better late than never. While being late is a negative thing, thepossibility of something never happening or someone never arriving ismuch worse. Therefore, this juxtaposition puts things intoperspective. Beggars can’t be choosers. To beg and to choose are oppositefunctions, and this proverb implies that in fact one cannot be bothdesperate and have any choice in the decision or result. Making a mountain out of a molehill. Once again, this is ajuxtaposition of magnitude. A molehill is almost invisible compared toa mountain. This proverb warns not to magnify a problem that is, infact, not such a big deal. When the cat’s away the mice will play. In this contrast, the catis an authority figure while the mice are the subservient creatures,being the natural prey of cats. This proverb means that without anauthority figure watching over people will do what they want. This canbe either a positive negative thing, depending on the usage (forexample, it can be a positive thing to remove a repressive authorialforce, yet it can be negative if chaos breaks out without orderenforced). You can’t teach an old dog new tricks. In this contrast betweenold and new, the proverb indicates that once someone has gotten eitherliterally too old or metaphorically too stuck in a way of thinkingthere is no way to change that person’s mind or manners.

Difference Between Juxtaposition and Foil

The concept of the foil in literature refers to a character with whomanother character (most often the protagonist) can be contrasted. Afoil either has completely opposite characteristics from the maincharacter, or is very similar and yet has one striking difference ormakes one strikingly different decision. The foil character can thenbe a way to show what would have happened if the protagonist had madea different choice or had started off in a slightly or completelydifferent condition. A good example of a foil character is DracoMalfoy in J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series. He and Harry start at

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school together, but, due to their different personalities andupbringings, make drastically different decisions and end up onopposite sides of the final battle.

A foil character can be seen as a special case of juxtaposition, asthe definition of juxtaposition covers contrasting concepts of anytype, including contrasts between characters.♦

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Examples of Juxtaposition from LiteratureExample #1

IAGO: Zounds, sir, you’re robbed! For shame, put on your gown. Your heart is burst, you have lost half your soul. Even now, now, very now, an old black ram Is tupping your white ewe. Arise, arise, Awake the snorting citizens with the bell Or else the devil will make a grandsire of you. Arise, I say!

(Othello by Shakespeare)

Much of the drama in Shakespeare’s play Othello hinges on the bigotedattitudes that characters have about the interracial relationshipbetween Othello the Moor and Desdemona, a Venetian beauty. There areseveral instances throughout the play that juxtapose Othello’s darkskin with Desdemona’s light skin, implying a moral judgment about thedivergent natures of the two lovers. In this excerpt, the villain Iagorefers to Othello as “an old black ram” and Desdemona as a “white ewe”to inflame the anger of Desdemona’s father. Though Othello was wellrespected in Venice before his relationship with Desdemona, thejuxtaposition of his darkness with Desdemona’s lightness casts ashadow over Othello’s character and there is an assumption that he hasruined her innocence.Example #2

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It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was theage of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch ofbelief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light,it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was thewinter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing beforeus, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct theother way – in short, the period was so far like the present period,that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received,for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.

(A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens)

This famous opening to Charles Dickens’s novel A Tale of Two Citiescontains many juxtaposition examples. There are many functions thatthese juxtapositions play. The title already sets up the idea ofcomparison, in that there are two cities, and indeed the entire novelis full of doubles. This passage sets up the expectation of that themecontinuing, while also showing the intense struggle between love andhatred, freedom and oppression, and good and evil that lead up to theFrench Revolution.Example #3

Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy inits own way.

(Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy)

This is another famous opening line to a novel. Tolstoy posits adifference between happy families and unhappy families, and the waysin which they function. Whether the juxtaposition leads to a truestatement is highly debatable, yet the quote is often repeated. Thisline creates the desire in the reader to know the exact way in whichthe unhappy family in the novel is unhappy.Example #4

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by,

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And that has made all the difference.

(“The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost)

Robert Frost’s poem “The Road Not Taken” contains the literaljuxtaposition of two paths, which translates into the metaphoricaljuxtaposition of two potential decisions. Frost regrets not being ableto try both options, but ends up choosing the road that looks lesstraveled. Though many understand the poem to encourage readers tochoose the less popular option, the poem is titled “The Road NotTaken,” meaning that the speaker still wonders what would havehappened if he had made the other choice. The juxtaposition in thepoem shows that one cannot have it both ways.Symbolism♦

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SymbolismWhen used as a literary device, symbolism means to imbue objects witha certain meaning that is different from their original meaning orfunction. Other literary devices, such as metaphor, allegory, andallusion, aid in the development of symbolism. Authors use symbolismto tie certain things that may initially seem unimportant to moreuniversal themes. The symbols then represent these grander ideas orqualities. For instance, an author may use a particular color that onits own is nothing more than a color, but hints at a deeper meaning.One notable example is in Joseph Conrad’s aptly titled Heart ofDarkness, where the “darkness” of the African continent in his work issupposed to symbolize its backwardness and the possibility of evilthere.Common Examples of Symbolism

We use symbols all the time in everyday life. Many people own thingsthat have special meaning for them, such as a gift from a loved onethat represents that bond. Companies use symbols as shorthand torepresent their brand, and sports teams name themselves after fearsome

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animals and people to invoke power (for example, the Detroit Lions andMinnesota Vikings, respectively). There are also cultural symbols,such as a dove representing peace. Here are more examples of symbolismfrom common life:

Wedding rings and engagement rings: Wedding and engagement ringsare worn to symbolize a lasting union that a couple has entered into. The American flag: The thirteen red and white stripes on theAmerican flag symbolize the original thirteen colonies, while thefifty stars are a symbol for the fifty states. The five Olympic rings: The primary symbol of the Olympics is theimage of five interlocking rings. This symbol was created in 1912, andthe six colors—the blue, green, black, yellow, and red rings on awhite background—were meant to be a combination of all of the colorson the flags of the participating countries at the time. The rings noware sometimes thought to represent the five participating regions ofthe world—Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia and Oceania, and theAmericas—though no color represents any specific region. McDonald’s Golden Arches: McDonald’s is one of the largestcompanies in the world, with over 35,000 fast-food restaurants in 119countries. The “golden arches”, which look like the letter “M”, are asymbol for the company. This symbol is recognizable across the world.

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Significance of Symbolism in Literature

Symbolism has played a large role in the history of literature.Symbols have been used in cultures all around the world, evident inancient legends, fables, and religious texts. One famous example ofsymbolism is the story of the Garden of Eden, in which the serpentpersuades Eve to eat an apple from the tree of knowledge. The serpentin this story represents wickedness and the apple is a symbol forknowledge. Symbolism is equally important in poetry, prose, and plays,as well as in all genres of literature, from science fiction tofantasy to fiction for young adults (just think of Harry Potter’s scar

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—a symbol of his being the “chosen one”, as well as his ability toovercome evil). When analyzing a piece of literature, examining theprimary symbols often leads to a greater understanding of the workitself.

Though the definition of symbolism most often relates to a literarydevice, there was also a nineteenth-century literary movement called“Symbolism.” The movement was chiefly based in France, Russia, andBelgium, and was greatly influenced by the works of Edgar Allen Poe.Symbolists rejected realism, and instead thought that truth could onlybe represented in an indirect manner, i.e., through symbols. Famoussymbolists were Charles Baudelaire, Stéphane Mallarmé, Paul Verlaine,Arthur Rimbaud, and Ezra Pound.Examples of Symbolism in LiteratureExample #1

LADY MACBETH: Out, damn’d spot! out, I say!

(Macbeth by William Shakespeare)

In Shakespeare’s famous drama, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth conspire tokill King Duncan. After they do so, both are stricken by their guiltyconsciences. At first, Lady Macbeth chastises her husband for feelingguilty, but later she is shown sleepwalking through the castle whilemuttering about the murder. The literal “spot” she is trying to ridherself of is King Duncan’s blood, though the spot is a symbol for themark on her conscience. Several times over in Macbeth there arereferences to the difficulty of getting out bloodstains, and in thisfamous line Lady Macbeth has found that the bloodstain has seeped eveninto her brain.Example #2

Thus the young and pure would be taught to look at her, with thescarlet letter flaming on her breast,—at her, the child of honorableparents,—at her, the mother of a babe, that would hereafter be awoman, —at her, who had once been innocent, —as the figure, the body,the reality of sin.

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(The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne)

Nathaniel Hawthorne named his novel The Scarlet Letter after thecentral symbol of the book. The scarlet letter is a very real thing—ared letter “A” that stands for adulteress, which main character HesterPrynne is forced to wear around her small town. In this excerpt, themeaning of the symbol is explicitly stated. The scarlet letter is asymbol of sin. But, in fact, Hester Prynne’s entire body becomes asymbol for sin by wearing the letter, as her body represents thedestruction of innocence.Example #3

One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them.

(The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien)

J.R.R. Tolkien’s famous fantasy series, The Lord of the Rings, is ahero’s quest in which the hobbit Frodo Baggins must destroy an all-powerful ring. This object is imbued with magic through its creation,and is a symbol for ultimate power. The ultimate power also becomesequated with evil. The ring simply being in Frodo’s presence begins toturn Frodo toward desire of power, and thus evil. However, Frodo’sability to combat the power of the ring shows that he possesses agreat inner source of goodness.Example #4

LAURA: Little articles of [glass], they’re ornaments mostly! Mostof them are little animals made out of glass, the tiniest littleanimals in the world. Mother calls them a glass menagerie! Here’s anexample of one, if you’d like to see it! . . . Oh, be careful—if youbreathe, it breaks! . . . You see how the light shines through him? JIM: It sure does shine! LAURA: I shouldn’t be partial, but he is my favorite one. JIM: What kind of a thing is this one supposed to be? LAURA: Haven’t you noticed the single horn on his forehead?

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JIM: A unicorn, huh? —aren’t they extinct in the modern world?

(The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams)

As in the previous two examples of symbolism, The Glass Menagerie byTennessee Williams takes its name from the most prevalent symbol inthe play. The character of Laura is a very fragile and unique girl.Her older brother Tom fears for her safety, just as she fears for thesafety of her beloved glass animals. As she explains in this dialoguewith a gentleman caller named Jim, her favorite of the animals is theunicorn. The unicorn is a symbol for Laura—unique, a bit strange, andout of place. Jim later breaks the unicorn so that the horn falls off.As Laura notes while Jim is apologizing, this makes the unicorn into anormal horse—“less freakish.” However, the breaking of the unicorn’shorn also symbolizes the breaking of Laura’s heart when she finds outthat Jim is actually engaged to another woman.

HyperboleHyperbole is the use of obvious and deliberate exaggeration.Hyperbolic statements are often extravagant and not meant to be takenliterally. These statements are used to create a strong impression andadd emphasis. We use hyperbole frequently in everyday language, sayingthings like “I’m so hungry I could eat a cow,” or “We had to waitforever for the bus.” Hyperbole sometimes makes use simile or metaphorto create the effect of exaggeration, such as “He’s as strong as anox.”

The definition of hyperbole comes from the Greek for “to throw beyond”or “exaggeration.”Common Examples of Hyperbole

As noted above, there are many examples of hyperbole in common speech.One of the most frequently used hyperboles in English is the word“literally”—many people in contemporary speech use this word when theyactually mean the opposite, i.e., figuratively. An example would be “Iwas literally starving.” In this case, the speaker is probably notsuffering from malnutrition, but instead was merely quite hungry, and

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thus was only figuratively starving. There was some controversyrecently when definition of the word “literally” was updated toinclude the definition “to acknowledge that something is not literallytrue but is used for emphasis or to express strong feeling.” Thus,“literally” has become one of the primary ways to exaggerate andhyperbolize a certain statement.

Here are some more common examples of hyperbole:

The suitcase weighed a ton. I’m so angry, I could kill him! I’ve asked you not to do that a thousand times. If he doesn’t call by tonight, I will absolutely die. She’s as skinny as a toothpick.

Some jokes also take advantage of hyperbole, like the “Your Mama”jokes. For example:

Your mama is so lazy she got a remote controller to operate herremote. Your mama is so old her social security number is 1. Your mama is so ugly they didn’t give her a costume when sheauditioned for Star Wars.

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Significance of Hyperbole in Literature

Authors use hyperbole to evoke strong feelings or emphasize a point.Hyperbole can be used to overstate any type of situation or emotion,and can be used humorously or seriously. Hyperbole is most often foundin poetry, as poets use it to make comparisons and describe things inmore embellished terms. However, it is commonly used in prose andplays as well.Examples of Hyperbole in LiteratureExample #1

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The forward violet thus did I chide: Sweet thief, whence didst thou steal thy sweet that smells, If not from my love’s breath?

(“Sonnet 99” by William Shakespeare)

In this sonnet, Shakespeare imagines that the sweet smell of a violethas come from his lover’s breath. This is a clear overstatement, as itis impossible for nature to have taken its smell from the lover. Infact, his lover’s breath is almost surely not as sweet-smelling as aviolet, yet Shakespeare’s love overcomes reason. This hyperboleexample gives us greater insight into Shakespeare’s all-encompassinglove for the subject of the poem.Example #2

TRUE! — nervous — very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am;but why will you say that I am mad? The disease had sharpened mysenses — not destroyed — not dulled them. Above all was the sense ofhearing acute. I heard all things in the heaven and in the earth. Iheard many things in hell. How, then, am I mad? Hearken! and observehow healthily — how calmly I can tell you the whole story.

(“The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allen Poe)

In his short story “The Tell-Tale Heart,” Edgar Allen Poe writes fromthe perspective of an unreliable narrator. This narrator displayshyperbolic tendencies throughout the story, as he is subject toparanoia and delusions. This excerpt is the first paragraph of thestory; the narrator images himself able to hear “all things in heavenand in the earth,” as well as “many things in hell.” Clearly, as anaudience we know that the narrator is not able to hear all things. Yetthis belief plays a key role in the story, as ultimately the narratorconflates his hyperbolic imagination with reality.Example #3

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It wasn’t safe to come out of the shelter until noon the next day.When the Americans and their guards did come out, the sky was blackwith smoke. The sun was an angry little pinhead. Dresden was like themoon now, nothing but minerals. The stones were hot. Everybody else inthe neighborhood was dead.

(Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut)

Kurt Vonnegut survived the fire bombing of Dresden during World WarII, and used those experiences for his novel Slaughterhouse-Five. Inthis excerpt, the protagonist emerges from his shelter to find totaldestruction, and makes the hyperbolic statement that “Dresden was likethe moon now, nothing but minerals.” Vonnegut uses hyperbole here totry to convey how completely the city was ruined. Of course there wasmore than just mineral matter in Dresden after the bombing, yetVonnegut wants the reader to imagine how drastic the change was. Notethat while this sentence is hyperbolic, it is very plausible that thesky was indeed black with smoke and that the stones were still hottwenty-four hours later, and thus the rest of the description is nothyperbolic.

Example #4

My mother never forgave my father for killing himself, especially at such an awkward time and in a public park, that spring when I was waiting to be born. She locked his name in her deepest cabinet and would not let him out, though I could hear him thumping. When I came down from the attic with the pastel portrait in my hand of a long-lipped stranger with a brave moustache

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and deep brown level eyes, she ripped it into shreds without a single word and slapped me hard. In my sixty-fourth year I can feel my cheek still burning.

(“The Portrait” by Stanley Kunitz)

Stanley Kunitz uses many examples of hyperbole in his striking poem,“The Portrait.” The two most notable hyperboles are Kunitz’s assertionthat he “could hear him thumping” and “In my sixty-fourth year / I canfeel my cheek / still burning.” (Note how similar the former hyperboleis to Edgar Allen Poe’s madman who can hear everything, including abeating heart long after it has stopped beating). The latter hyperboledemonstrates just how strong of an impression his mother’s slap lefton him. Though his cheek is no longer literally burning, the memory ofit is as strong as ever.Example #5

Whatever it is you are struggling to remember, it is not poised on the tip of your tongue, not even lurking in some obscure corner of your spleen.

It has floated away down a dark mythological river whose name begins with an L as far as you can recall…

(“Forgetfulness” by Billy Collins)

Billy Collins uses hyperbole in his poem “Forgetfulness” in imaginingthat a forgotten name is so far from the speaker’s memory “it hasfloated away down a dark mythological river.” Collins then extendsthis hyperbolic effect by saying that the total loss of memoryincludes even the name of the river.

Dialect131

Dialect is an offshoot of any language that is used by a specificgroup of people living in some specific area or region. Not only doesit involve difference in phonetics and the phonology of the language,but the pronunciation, grammar, and style of the language are highlydifferent for any given variety or dialect. For example, English hasseveral dialects that differ from each other and are used in certainregions. In literature, dialect highlights that a character is from aspecific geographical location and can also sometimes highlight theirclass.

Significance of Dialect in Literature

In literature, dialect is usually used in narrative forms such asnovels. However, it is not just limited to the novel form. Ancientepics were generally meant to be recited orally and were written inthe regional dialects or languages of the ancient times. Poets andplaywrights from specific areas also write and compose poems andpoetry in their specific dialect. Sean O’Casey is a very popularplaywright of the Irish dialect of English while W. B. Yeats composedpoems in the same dialect. Similarly, Toni Cade Bambara has wonpopularity on the basis of how she uses regional dialect. Her story“The Lesson” uses her dialect as a productive language tool. The storyis her effort to revive the dialect spoken by the African Americancommunity, which was considered an obsolete variety of English.Dialects in American and British English

In English, the two major dialect categories are American English andBritish English, and both have several distinctive dialects. In fact,a dialect changes across a country every 10 to 15 kilometers. Kentish,Mercian, and West Saxon were some dialects of old English while Welsh,Irish, Scottish, Cumbrian and Yorkshire are the latest examples ofmodern British English dialect. The same is true for American English,and there are almost a hundred dialects of American English. Thefamous linguist A. C. Baugh has stated that there could be three ormore local sub-dialects within the same shire in the United Kingdom.Observing Dialect in Literature

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The following signs can help you identify if the language used in aliterary piece is a dialect or standard language.Identifying Signs

1. Difference in writing such as short or abbreviated forms, words,spellings, word formations, and compound formations.2. Differences in grammar, syntax, and phonetics.3. Different in style and sentence structure and morphology.4. Language used is mostly conversational and regional.♦

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Examples of Dialects in LiteratureExample 1

Lancashire Dialect

Yo’ gentlemen o with yo’r heaunds an’ yo’r parks, – Yo’ may gamble an’ sport till yo’ dee; Bo a quiet heause nook, a good wife, an’ a book, Is mooar to the likins o’ me–e. Wi’ mi pickers an’ pins, An’ my wellers to th’ shins; Mi linderins, shuttle, and yealdhook; – Mi treddles an’ sticks; Mi weight-ropes an’ bricks; – What a life!–said the wayver o’ Wellbrook.

“The Wayver of Wellbrook” by Ben BrierleyAs you read this poem, you can see the identifying markers. You canobserve several short formats, abbreviations, and word formations thatare different from Standard English. This dialect is used inLancashire.Example 2

Cumbrian Dialect

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A poem entitled “Larnin’” by Lancelot Salkeld Porter begins with thisverse:

T’scheul-maister coas a’s reyder leet i’ t’ head Because mi writin’s bad; Mi sums, he sez, er nivver reet, T’scheul nivver hed a duller lad. An’ yit he duzzant knaa hissel A curlew cuz up here on t’ fell.

This is a sample poem in the Cumbrian dialect. You can observe severalspellings such as Mi, hissel, knna and cus, which point out how it isdifferent from Standard English.Example 3

Yorkshire Dialect

Ye loit’ring minutes faster flee, Y’ are all ower slow by hauf for me, That wait impatient for the mornin’; To-morn’s the lang, lang-wish’d-for fair, I’ll try to shine the fooremost there, Misen in finest claes adornin’, To grace the day.

“A Song” by Thomas Browne (1771-1798)Observe the differences in this stanza of a poem, which is arepresentative poem of the dialect used in Yorkshire.Example 4

Cockney Dialect

“That’s acause they damped the straw afore they lit it in thechimbley to make ‘em come down agin,” said Gamfield ; “ that’s allsmoke, and no blaze ; vereas smoke a’n’t o’ no use at all in makin’ aboy come down, for it only sinds him to sleep, and that’s wot helikes. Boys is wery obstinit, and wery lazy, gen’l’men, and there’s

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nothink like a good hot blaze to make ‘em come down vith a run. It’shumane too, gen’l’men, acause, even if they’ve stuck in the chimbley,roasting their feet makes ‘em struggle to hextricate theirselves.”

Oliver Twist by Charles DickensThis is a piece of cockney, a dialect commonly used in Londonneighborhoods.Example 5

Scottish Dialect

“Good woman, – what the d–l is her name? – Mrs. Macleuchar!” Mrs. Macleuchar, aware that she had a defensive part to sustain inthe encounter which was to follow, was in no hurry to hasten thediscussion by returning a ready answer. “Mrs. Macleuchar – Good woman (with an elevated voice) – thenapart, “Old doited hag, she’s as deaf as a post – I say, Mrs.Macleuchar!” “I am just serving a customer. – Indeed, hinny, it will no be aboodle cheaper than I tell ye”. “Woman,” reiterated the traveller, “do you think we can stand hereall day till you have cheated that poor servant wench out of her half-year’s fee and bountith?” “Cheated!” retorted Mrs. Macleuchar, eager to take up the quarrelupon a defensible ground; “I scorn your words, sir; you are an uncivilperson, and I desire you will not stand there to slander me at my ainstairhead.”

The Antiquary by Sir Walter ScottThis passage shows a Scottish variety of English used by Sir WalterScott in his famous novel The Antiquary.

ForeshadowingForeshadowing is a literary device in which the author gives cluesabout events that will happen later in the story. Often these cluesare fairly subtle so that they can only be noticed or fully understoodupon a second reading. Foreshadowing can come in the form of

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descriptive detail, such as storm clouds on the horizon, bits ofdialogue, and even in the names an author gives characters. Forexample, John Steinbeck based his novel East of Eden on the story ofCain and Abel, and named his characters Caleb and Aron to foreshadowtheir respective fates.Common Examples of Foreshadowing

We use foreshadowing when we tell stories to friends all the time. Forexample, when trying to top another person’s story, have you ever usedthe phrase, “Well, if you thought was bad, wait until you hear this!”Or, if the story is a happier one, you might say, “Don’t worry, thisgets better,” to signal to the listener that the outcome will bepositive. Parents sometimes tell their children, “You’ll thank me forthis later,” in the hopes of foreshadowing gratitude down the line.

Though the definition of foreshadowing as a literary device refersonly to literature, in real life humans love to predict the future.There are many different ways that humans try to guess what’s instore. Some people like to look at astrological charts and Tarotcards, while others study weather models and try to play the stockmarket. As the future is unknowable, none of these methods isinfallible (though everyone has their own biases about which of theseis most trustworthy). Foreshadowing relates to our desire to knowsomething about what the future holds.♦

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Significance of Foreshadowing in Literature

Foreshadowing has been used as a literary device for many centuries,and can be found everywhere from ancient Greek tragedies and oldEnglish epics to contemporary novels and plays. Authors might useforeshadowing so as to prepare the reader for some sort of shock ortwist in the story. Foreshadowing can also subtly shift the mood of apiece of literature by introducing either some optimism in a darkpiece or hinting at a tragic outcome in what otherwise seems to be ahappy story. This usage of foreshadowing adds tension and leads to

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certain expectations on the part of the reader that the author caneither satisfy or thwart.

Sometimes mystery writers like to use foreshadowing to give hintsabout what the answer to the mystery will be. On the other hand,mystery writers also know the reader will be looking for clues andwill thus give a red herring instead to throw the reader off thechase.Examples of Foreshadowing in LiteratureExample #1

BENVOLIO: Tut man, one fire burns out another’s burning. One pain is lessened by another’s anguish. Turn giddy, and be helped by backward turning. One desperate grief cures with another’s languish. Take thou some new infection to thy eye, And the rank poison of the old will die.

(Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare)

At this point in the play, Romeo is still completely in love with acharacter named Rosaline. His friend Benvolio advises him to fall inlove with someone else—only then will Romeo be able to get over thisall-consuming love. The last two lines foreshadow Romeo’s upcominginfatuation with Juliet and also his death. Though Benvolio uses theterm “rank poison” to refer to Romeo’s love for Rosaline, drinkingpoison is also the manner in which Romeo will die at the end of theplay, making this a very notable foreshadowing example.Example #2

And this I believe: that the free, exploring mind of theindividual human is the most valuable thing in the world. And this Iwould fight for: the freedom of the mind to take any direction itwishes, undirected.

(East of Eden by John Steinbeck)

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This excerpt from John Steinbeck’s East of Eden foreshadows theimportance of free will that will be an important theme throughout thenovel. The narrator is an important voice in the novel, representing amoral compass that observes the story from the outside. Here thenarrator sets up the idea that humans can choose between good andevil; the narrator’s faith in free will gives the reader some optimismthat ultimately things will turn out well.Example #3

I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting theidea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It’s when you knowyou’re licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see itthrough no matter what.

(To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee)

This excerpt from Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird is one of thefamous quotes from lawyer Atticus Finch. Atticus tells his childrenthat courage does not come from bearing arms, but instead trying to dosomething noble even when the odds are against you. This quoteforeshadows the main struggle of the novel as Atticus tries to defendBoo Radley in the courtroom while knowing all along that his case hasalmost no hope. Atticus takes on Radley’s case not because he thinkshe will win, but because he thinks it’s the right thing to do.Example #4

FRODO: It’s a pity Bilbo didn’t kill [Gollum] when he had thechance. GANDALF: Pity? It was pity that stayed Bilbo’s hand. Many that diedeserve life, and some that live deserve death. Can you give it tothem, Frodo? Do not be too eager to deal out death in judgment. Eventhe very wise cannot see all ends. My heart tells me that Gollum hassome part to play, for good or ill, before this is over. The pity ofBilbo may rule the fate of many.

(The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien)

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Gandalf is a wise figure in the trilogy of The Lord of the Rings, andhas some prophetic powers. Frodo laments that the monstrous creatureof Gollum is still alive to torment and obstruct him. However, Gandalfforeshadows an important role that Gollum will play. When Frodofinally brings the One Ring to Mount Doom, but finds himself unable todestroy it, as it has gained power over him. Only the struggle withGollum leads to the destruction of the ring, an event that Frodocannot foresee.Example #5

That was a long time ago, but it’s wrong what they say about thepast, I’ve learned, about how you can bury it. Because the past clawsits way out. Looking back now, I realize I have been peeking into thatdeserted alley for the last twenty-six years.

(The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini)

This example of foreshadowing comes from the beginning of KhaledHosseini’s popular contemporary novel The Kite Runner. In thisexcerpt, the main character looks back to what happened many decadesago. Though the reader doesn’t yet know what happened in “thatdeserted alley,” Hosseini foreshadows that the event will stay withthe protagonist and the consequences will haunt him.

SarcasmSarcasm could be derived from the French “sarcasmor,” or the Greek“sarkazein.” Both of these words mean to “gnash the teeth” or “tearthe flesh.” Sarcasm can be defined as speaking harshly or bitterlyagainst a person, thing, or an event. Sarcasm is a rhetorical andliterary device used to ridicule someone or something, and generallyattempting to wound and amuse simultaneously. Sarcasm also occurs whena speaker intends to wound a third party through subversive andderogatory language used to ridicule or show displeasure. In Hamlet,Hamlet ridicules his mother’s affair with his uncle, which beganalmost immediately after his father’s death, by saying, “The funeralbaked meats / Did coldly furnish forth the marriage tables.” (Hamlet

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by William Shakespeare)

The unique quality of sarcasm exists in its nuance or tone. Thecontent of a sarcastic statement often depends on the situation inwhich it is created and used.Significance of Sarcasm in Literature and Writing

Speakers and writers use sarcasm for several purposes. It can often beused as a defensive mechanism to mask bitterness when a situation isdifficult to articulate in an amusing way. However, the fundamentalpurpose of using sarcasm is to express a point without harmingsomebody directly. Sarcasm adds humor and cynicism to a piece ofwriting. Several authors, especially fiction writers, use it todevelop characters. Sarcasm can be used to describe people,situations, and ideas that cannot be directly described.

Types of Sarcasm

Sarcasm has seven types, which largely depend upon tone and situation.

1. Self-Deprecating SarcasmIn this type of sarcasm, the speaker uses an overstated sense ofinsignificance and inferiority.“Tomorrow is my marriage, but you need me to work overtime. It’s not abig deal; I’ll just skip my marriage.”

2. Brooding SarcasmThe speaker says something that seems courteous on the surface, butactually is sarcastic.“The boss says, ‘Hey David, Can you work overtime?’ David replies, ‘Ilive to serve.’”

3. Deadpan SarcasmIn this type of sarcasm, the speaker utters something without laughteror emotion. Therefore, the listeners are unable to understand whetherthe speaker is mocking them or joking.

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4. Polite SarcasmThis type of sarcasm seems to be real in initial stages, but thenslowly becomes a little harsher to the listener such as,” ‘Hey David,I need your services this Monday.’ David says: ‘Oh, wow! I’ll offeryou ice cream for this request!'”

5. Obnoxious SarcasmThis type of sarcasm is designed to irritate. For example, “The bosssays, ‘Hey David, I need your services overnight.’ David replies, “Oh,that’s a wonderful idea. That is exactly what I aspired to do tonight.Amazing!’”

6. Manic SarcasmThis sarcasm is used to give a crazy, unreal element to the situation.For example, “The boss says, ‘Hey David, I need your servicestonight.’ David replies, ‘Boss, you are great! I have never told youbefore that I love working with you, I love to spend time here! I wishI could get a tent, and never leave this office!’”

7. Raging SarcasmRaging sarcasm depends mainly on aggressive threats andoverstatements. For example, “The boss says, ‘David, please workovertime.’ David replies, ‘Oh, don’t worry, I will definitely come toyour place and clean your goddamn Ferrari. Ok, forget it. I shall gomy home and blow my brains out.'”♦

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Examples of Sarcasm in LiteratureExample 1

The noble Brutus Hath told you Caesar was ambitious: If it were so, it was a grievous fault, And grievously hath Caesar answer’d it. Here, under leave of Brutus and the rest– For Brutus is an honourable man;

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So are they all, all honourable men– Come I to speak in Caesar’s funeral. He was my friend, faithful and just to me: But Brutus says he was ambitious; And Brutus is an honourable man. He hath brought many captives home to Rome Whose ransoms did the general coffers fill: Did this in Caesar seem ambitious? When that the poor have cried, Caesar hath wept: Ambition should be made of sterner stuff: Yet Brutus says he was ambitious; And Brutus is an honourable man.

(Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare)

In this speech, Mark Antony has repeatedly used the word “honourable”for Brutus, which is a fine example of sarcasm. Antony is using thisword ironically to tell the mob that their act of killing Caesar wasnot honorable.Example 2

CLAUDIUS: Where is Polonius? HAMLET: In heaven. Send thither to see. If your messenger find himnot there, seek him i’ th’ other place yourself. However, if, indeed,you find him not within this month, you shall nose him as you go upthe stairs into the lobby.

(Hamlet by William Shakespeare)

When he is handling Claudius, throughout the play Hamlet makes use ofsarcasm. He sarcastically foretells the fortune of the king, who willsoon join Polonius in death. Hamlet hid the dead body after killingPolonius.Example 3

The advantages of natural folly in a beautiful girl have beenalready set forth by the capital pen of a sister author; and to her

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treatment of the subject I will only add, in justice to men, thatthough to the larger and more trifling part of the sex, imbecility infemales is a great enhancement of their personal charms, there is aportion of them too reasonable and too well informed themselves todesire anything more in woman than ignorance…

(Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen)In the following lines, Austen is sarcastically saying that even themen who don’t want women to be complete imbeciles enjoy when they areignorant, as it allows the men to feel superior. The author pointstowards her character Henry, who enjoys Catherine’s ignorance.Example 4

MESSENGER He hath done good service, lady, in these wars.

BEATRICE You had musty victual, and he hath hold to eat it. He is a very valiant trencherman. He hath an excellent stomach.

MESSENGER A lord to a lord, a man to a man, stuffed with all honorable virtues.

BEATRICE It is so indeed. He is no less than a stuffed man. But for the stuffing— Well, we are all mortal… Who is his companion now? He hath every month a new sworn brother. He wears his faith but as the fashion of his hat; it ever changes with the next block.

(Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare)In the following lines, Beatrice asks the messenger about his master,Benedick. She makes sarcastic remarks about Benedick and puns on themessenger’s praise by calling his master a “stuffed man.” Further, she

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says that Benedick changes his tastes the way he does his hats,implying that he is faithless.

PersonificationAs a literary device, personification is the attribution ofcharacteristics that normally belong only to humans to inanimateobjects, animals, deities, or forces of nature. These characteristicscan include verbs of actions that only humans do or adjectives thatdescribe a human condition. The characteristics can also be emotions,feelings, or motives given to objects incapable of thought. Forexample, if someone said, “the trees whispered their discontent,” thiswould personify the trees both as able to whisper and of feelingunhappy. Personification is also sometimes referred to asanthropomorphism when it is used to give human feelings and actions toanimals.

Personification can also mean the embodiment of an abstract idea orquality. This definition of personification can extend even to humans.For example, a person can be said to personify the patriotism of hiscountry or the ambition of her company. We could say, “She is thepersonification of the grit and determination needed to make thisstart-up work.”Examples of Personification from Common Speech

We use many examples of personification in every day speech. Somecharacteristics have become quite common to attribute to certainthings, such as the following:

Justice is blind Her heart skipped a beat The sun smiled down on them The stars winked The party died down The city never sleeps The wind howled The iron gates looked down at them cruelly The house sighed

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The car sputtered and coughed before starting

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Significance of Personification in Literature

Personification and anthropomorphism has been a part of storytellingfor thousands of years, evident in Aesop’s Fables and fairy tales frommany different cultures. Gods in myths and legends are often givenhuman qualities even though they are distinctly not human. This makesthem examples of personification.

Personification has remained popular throughout the centuries, giventhat it can add aesthetic qualities to a work and provide a way forauthors to describe inanimate objects. It also inserts more meaninginto the inexplicable things like forces of nature. Often the use ofpersonification also helps to show a character’s own attitudes towarda certain thing if they project or ascribe their own feelings onto aninanimate object.

Anthropomorphism is also still very popular, especially in stories forchildren. It is also sometimes used in satirical works, such as GeorgeOrwell’s Animal Farm, and graphic novels, such as Art Spiegelman’sMaus.Examples of Personification from LiteratureExample #1

TITANIA: No night is now with hymn or carol blessed. Therefore the moon, the governess of floods, Pale in her anger, washes all the air, That rheumatic diseases do abound.

(A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare)

In this example of personification, Shakespeare uses the concept ofthe moon as a character. The moon is feminized (as often it is in

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literature, if given a gender) and said to be a governess of floods.The color of the moon lends to the depiction of “her anger” and she issaid to cause more disease to spread due to her displeasure.Shakespeare thus gives the moon new descriptive qualities, emotions,and motivation.Example #2

Her heart was divided between concern for her sister, andresentment against all the others.

(Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen)

In this excerpt from Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen writes about aheart that feels concern and resentment. The heart in question is ofthe character Elizabeth. It’s clear that Elizabeth is the one dividedbetween concern for her sister Jane and resentment for the others, yetAusten personifies Elizabeth’s heart to have these feelings to addsome poetic sensibility to the sentence.Example #3

Something there is that doesn’t love a wall, That sends the frozen-ground-swell under it, And spills the upper boulders in the sun, And makes gaps even two can pass abreast.

(“Mending Wall” by Robert Frost)

Robert Frost’s poem “Mending Wall” contains the famous line “Goodfences make good neighbors.” This excerpt is from the beginning of thepoem, and sets up a contrast between the neighbors who keep fixing thewall between them and the “something” that doesn’t love this wall.Though Frost never specifies what it is that “doesn’t love a wall,” wecan take it to mean that nature revolts against artificial separationsand borders. Winter cold causes the wall to break in different places,and Frost gives winter the motivation for doing this.Example #4

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The Western States nervous under the beginning change. Texas and Oklahoma, Kansas and Arkansas, New Mexico, Arizona, California. A single family moved from the land. Pa borrowed money from the bank, and now the bank wants the land. The land company–that’s the bank when it has land –wants tractors, not families on the land. Is a tractor bad? Is the power that turns the long furrows wrong? If this tractor were ours it would be good–not mine, but ours. If our tractor turned the long furrows of our land, it would be good. Not my land, but ours. We could love that tractor then as we have loved this land when it was ours. But the tractor does two things–it turns the land and turns us off the land. There is little difference between this tractor and a tank. The people are driven, intimidated, hurt by both. We must think about this.

(The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck)

John Steinbeck’s classic The Grapes of Wrath is set during the DustBowl era of the 1930s. This personification example begins with the“Western States” being nervous. Of course the states themselves didnot feel anxiety, but the people in those states started to feelnervous about the diminishing returns from the land. Bankers startedrepossessing land, and thus Steinbeck personifies the banks to wantthe land.Example #5

When death comes like the hungry bear in autumn; when death comes and takes all the bright coins from his purse

to buy me, and snaps the purse shut…

I want to step through the door full of curiosity, wondering: what is it going to be like, that cottage of darkness?

(“When Death Comes” by Mary Oliver)

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Mary Oliver’s poem “When Death Comes” uses several different ways todescribe death. She begins here with the image of death as a hungrybear. Then Oliver gives death the human characteristics of havingmoney and wanting to make a purchase, thereby personifying it. Thusdeath is full of desire in this poem. Oliver uses this concept tocontrast her own desire to live her life as fully as possible beforedeath comes for her.Example #6

But, on one side of the portal, and rooted almost at thethreshold, was a wild rose-bush, covered, in this month of June, withits delicate gems, which might be imagined to offer their fragranceand fragile beauty to the prisoner as he went in, and to the condemnedcriminal as he came forth to his doom, in token that the deep heart ofNature could pity and be kind to him.

(The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne)

In this excerpt from Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, thereis a juxtaposition between the wild rose-bush and its location, namelythe prison. The rose-bush is “delicate” and has “fragile beauty,”whereas the “condemned criminal” is going “forth to his doom.”Hawthorne uses personification to say that the rose-bush offers itsfragrance, and thus a measure of its innocence, to the prisoner. Hegoes on tAlliterationAlliteration is the repetition of the same consonant sounds at thebeginning of words that are in close proximity to each other. Thisrepetition of sounds brings attention to the lines in which it isused, and creates more aural rhythm. In poems, alliteration can alsorefer to repeated consonant sound in the stressed syllables of a line.For example, in Shakespeare’s Sonnet 30, we find the line “Then can Igrieve at grievances foregone.” In this case, the “g” sound isalliterative in “grieve”, “grievances”, and “foregone”, since thestressed syllable in “foregone” starts with “g”.

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Alliteration has been used as a literary device in the Englishlanguage for many hundreds of years, prevalent in works of literatureall the way back to Beowulf, the eighth-century Old English poem.Alliteration is most common in poems, though it can be found in proseand drama as well. It is often used in the real world in things likenursery rhymes, famous speeches, and advertising slogans.

Note that alliteration is dependent on the beginning sound and not thebeginning letter. For example, “cat” is not alliterative with“choice”, but is alliterative with “kick”. Historically, alliterationhas also included consonants with similar properties like thesibilants “s” and “z”.Difference Between Alliteration, Assonance, and Consonance

Alliteration, assonance, and consonance are all similar in that theycontain repetitions of certain sounds.

Assonance refers to the repetition of vowel sounds in closeproximity. Consonance refers to the repetition of consonant sounds in closeproximity. While this sounds nearly identical to the definition ofalliteration, consonance can occur at any place in the word—beginning,middle, or end. It also does not matter whether the syllables arestressed for the repetition of a consonant sound to count asconsonance. Alliteration is thus a special case of consonance, sinceit is restricted only to the beginning of words or in the beginning ofa stressed syllable.

Common Examples of Alliteration

Many common tongue twisters contain examples of alliteration. Forinstance:

Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. She sells seashells by the seashore. A big black bug bit a big black dog and the big black dog bledblood.

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Betty Botter bought some butter, but she said, this butter’sbitter; if I put it in my batter, it will make my batter bitter, but abit of better butter will make my bitter batter better.

Many famous speeches have contained examples of alliteration. Forexample:

“We, the people, declare today that the most evident of truths —that all of us are created equal — is the star that guides us still;just as it guided our forebears through Seneca Falls, and Selma, andStonewall” — Barack Obama, Inaugural Address “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live ina nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin butby the content of their character.” — Martin Luther King, Jr., I Havea Dream speech “Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on thiscontinent a new nation…” — Abraham Lincoln, Gettysburg Address

Advertisers often make use of alliteration so as to help customersremember certain companies and their products. For example:

A little dab’ll do ya (Brylcreem) My goodness, my Guinness (Guinness beer) Every kiss begins with Kay (Kay Jewelers) Maybe she’s born with it. Maybe it’s Maybelline. (Maybellinemakeup) Put a tiger in your tank (Esso/Exxon)

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Examples of Alliteration in LiteratureExample #1

He was four times a father, this fighter prince: one by one they entered the world, Heorogar, Hrothgar, the good Halga

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and a daughter, I have heard, who was Onela´s queen, a balm in bed to the battle-scarred Swede.

(Beowulf as translated by Seamus Heaney)

The epic poem Beowulf contains examples of alliteration in almostevery line. In Old English, alliteration was particularly important,especially as a way of passing down the tradition of oralstorytelling. Alliteration was one of the key tools for making theworks memorable enough to be told over and over again. The Irish poetSeamus Heaney translated Beowulf with special attention paid to boththe rhythm of the original poem and to the use of alliteration. Injust this short excerpt, we can see many repeated sounds, allhighlighted in red. In the first line, the “f” sound is repeated in“four”, “father”, and “fighter”. The three sons’ names all start the“h” sound—Heorogar, Hrothgar, and Halga. Naming children in analliterative manner was a popular tradition at the time. In the finalline we see repetition of the “b” sound in “balm”, “bed”, and“battle”. These words provide a contrast between “balm” to “battle”,and the use of alliteration highlights their juxtaposition.Example #2

From forth the fatal loins of these two foes; A pair of star-cross’d lovers take their life.

(Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare)

Shakespeare used alliteration very frequently in his plays and poetry.In this prologue to Act I of Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare usesalliteration in the “f” sound of “from”, “forth”, “fatal”, and “foes”;he also alliterates the “l” sound in “loins”, “lovers”, and “life”. Inthis alliteration example, the words beginning with the “f” sound areunited as words of death and destruction—“fatal” and “foes”—while thewords beginning with “l” are all connected to the continuity of life,including “loins” and “lovers”. The alliteration thereby weaves theseopposing images together.Example #3

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I heard a Fly buzz – when I died – The Stillness in the Room Was like the Stillness in the Air – Between the Heaves of Storm -

(“I heard a Fly buzz – when I died -” by Emily Dickinson)

In this famous poem by Emily Dickinson, the alliteration of “st”connects the words “stillness” and “storm”. Conceptually, these twowords are at odds, and yet in context Dickinson is referring to thecalm that occurs in the middle of storms, such as the eye of thehurricane. The stillness at those times is more profound than at othertimes, and this connection between stillness and storm is highlightedby her use of alliteration.Example #4

They click upon themselves As the breeze rises, and turn many-colored As the stir cracks and crazes their enamel. Soon the sun’s warmth makes them shed crystal shells Shattering and avalanching on the snow-crust—

(“Birches” by Robert Frost)

In this excerpt from Robert Frost’s poem “Birches” we can find severalinstances of the “cr” sound: “cracks”, “crazes”, “crystal”, and“crust”. This use of alliteration is onomatopoetic in that the “cr”sound mimics the sound of ice breaking and trees knocking against eachother. Frost creates the feel of a forest of birch trees not onlythrough images, but also in the words he uses to create an auralrepresentation of the sound of the trees.Example #5

Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering,fearing, Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before;

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(“The Raven” by Edgar Allen Poe)

Edgar Allen Poe’s long and dark poem “The Raven” contains manyexamples of alliteration. He creates rhythm and musicality in the poemin many different ways, notably through rhyme and repetition.Alliteration plays a very large role in creating this rhythm as well,as the vast majority of the one hundred and eight lines in this poemcontain some sort of repeated consonant sound. In this excerpt, Poerepeats the “d” sound in “deep”, “darkness”, “doubting”, “dreaming”,“dreams”, “dared”, and “dream”.o personify Nature as full of bothkindness and pity.

SimileSimile is an explicit comparison between two unlike things through theuse of connecting words, usually “like” or “as.” The technique ofsimile is known as a rhetorical analogy, as it is a device used forcomparison. The other most popular rhetorical analogy is metaphor,which shares some traits and is often confused with simile. We explainthe difference in greater detail below.

Difference Between Simile and Metaphor

As stated above, simile and metaphor are often confused. Though thedifference is simple between the definition of simile and that ofmetaphor, it can be profound. While simile compares two things withthe connecting words “like” or “as,” metaphor simply states that onething is the other. For example, a simile would be, “He was asaggressive as a tiger in that argument,” whereas a metaphor would be,“He was a tiger in that argument.” Metaphors are thus subtler and canbe stronger in a rhetorical sense, because they equate the two thingsin comparison rather than just present them as similar. Similes,however, allow for truly bizarre comparisons that make the readerstretch to understand the connection between them.Common Examples of Simile

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There are many clichéd similes in the English language that we useregularly. Here are some examples:

Strong as an ox Fit as a fiddle Bright as the sun Sweating like a pig White as a sheet His heart was as cold as ice Sleeping like a log Fast as lightning Dance like no one is watching

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Significance of Simile in Literature

Simile can be an excellent way for an author either to make an unusualthing seem more familiar (i.e., “The planet Zenoth was as cold asice”) or a familiar thing seem more unique (i.e., “Her smile wasjagged like a broken zipper”). In this way, similes can help thereader imagine the fictive world of a piece of literature. Goodsimiles can also make readers think about things in a new way, and cansometimes create a lasting effect. Scottish poet Robert Burns’sdeclaration that his “luve’s like a red, red rose” forever linked theconcepts of love and red roses in our minds.

Simile can also sometimes be used to show a comparison, though withthe conclusion that these two things really are unalike or even atodds with each other. This can either be a negative simile, whichmight come in the form of “A is not like B” (see Example #1 below) oran ironic simile, which communicates the opposite of what is expectedat the beginning of the statement. For example, the famous feministquote popularized by Gloria Steinem, “A woman needs a man like a fishneeds a bicycle,” ultimately concludes that a woman has no need for aman.

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Simile can help to make new connections for the reader. One ofliterature’s purposes is to help better explain the world around us,and the technique of simile is one of those ways in which we are ableto see things in a new way. All types of analogies are cognitiveprocesses of transferring meaning from one thing to another, and thusthe use of simile in literature has real synaptic effects. For thisreason, and for aesthetic purposes, simile has been a popular literarytechnique for many hundreds of years.Examples of Simile in LiteratureExample #1

My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun; Coral is far more red than her lips’ red; If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun; If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.

(“Sonnet 130” by William Shakespeare)

This excerpt from Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 130” is an example of anegative simile. Shakespeare goes against the expectation praising hismistress’s beauty and instead says what she is not like. Her lips arenot as red as coral, her skin is not pure as snow, and so on. Thisstriking simile example plays with both the tradition of sonnets aswell as the usual function of similes.Example #2

Old Marley was as dead as a door-nail.

Mind! I don’t mean to say that I know, of my own knowledge, whatthere is particularly dead about a door-nail. I might have beeninclined, myself, to regard a coffin-nail as the deadest piece ofironmongery in the trade. But the wisdom of our ancestors is in thesimile; and my unhallowed hands shall not disturb it, or the Country’sdone for. You will therefore permit me to repeat, emphatically, thatMarley was as dead as a door-nail.

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(A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens)

This excerpt from Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol also plays withthe tradition of similes. Dickens knowingly uses the clichéd simile“dead as a doornail” (perhaps more clichéd now than even in his day).He then investigates the simile, humorously pointing out that there isnothing “particularly dead about a doornail” and that a coffin nailwould have provided a better simile. But, as he concludes, somesimiles display “the wisdom of our ancestors,” which is to say, notmuch wisdom at all.Example #3

What happens to a dream deferred?

Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun? Or fester like a sore— And then run? Does it stink like rotten meat? Or crust and sugar over— like a syrupy sweet? Maybe it just sags like a heavy load.

Or does it explode?

(“Harlem” by Langston Hughes)

Langston Hughes uses five examples of simile in this short poem,“Harlem.” Each simile is one possibility that Hughes imagines for “adream deferred.” The imagery was so striking in this poem thatplaywright Lorraine Hansberry named her famous play A Raisin in theSun after the first simile in the poem. All of the similes in thispoem share a sense of decay and burden, just like a dream that doesnot come to fruition.Example #4

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The Radley Place fascinated Dill. In spite of our warnings andexplanations it drew him as the moon draws water, but drew him nonearer than the light-pole on the corner, a safe distance from theRadley gate.

(To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee)

The classic novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee centers aroundthe tragedy of Boo Radley, a man falsely accused for a crime. Thisevocative simile at the beginning of the novel somewhat foreshadowsthe main characters’ relation to Boo: the children Scout and Jem arefascinated by him as well as terrified of him. This fascination andterror draws their friend Dill “as the moon draws water,” an allusionto the way the presence of the moon changes the tides.Example #5

I wait, washed, brushed, fed, like a prize pig.

(The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood)

This simple example of simile in Margaret Atwood’s dystopic novel TheHandmaid’s Tale is not so simple when looked at more closely. Theprotagonist of the novel is Offred, a woman whose sole purpose is toreproduce with the higher social classes. Women in this new societyhave had their rights entirely taken away, even to the point of theirhumanity. Therefore, Offred’s comparison between herself and a prizepig shows that she is treated no differently than—and no better than—an animal.

StyleIn literature, style comprises many literary devices that an authoremploys to create a distinct feel for a work. These devices include,but are not limited to, point of view, symbolism, tone, imagery,diction, voice, syntax, and the method of narration. Style is afundamental aspect of fiction, as it is naturally part of every workof prose written. Some types of writing are required to have a certain

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style, such as academic or journalistic writing. However, every workof creative writing takes on its own style.Common Examples of Style

Orators are often noted for the unique style in which they speak. Oneof the most famous speeches of all time, Martin Luther King Junior’s“I Have a Dream” speech, was written beforehand. Yet the most famouspart of the speech—the repetition of “I have a dream”—was actually notpart of the planned script and was instead Martin Luther King Jr.speaking extemporaneously in a style similar to that of a preacher.Here are some excerpts of famous speeches that have distinct styles oftheir own:

“We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shallfight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidenceand growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whateverthe cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on thelanding grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, weshall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender…”—Winston Churchill “I decline to accept the end of man. It is easy enough to say thatman is immortal because he will endure: that when the last ding-dongof doom has clanged and faded from the last worthless rock hangingtideless in the last red and dying evening, that even then there willstill be one more sound: that of his puny inexhaustible voice, stilltalking. I refuse to accept this. I believe that man will not merelyendure: he will prevail.”—Wiliam Faulkner “I have a dream today. I have a dream that one day every valleyshall be exalted and every hill and mountain shall be made low, therough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be madestraight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all fleshshall see it together.”—Martin Luther King Jr. “We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in thisdecade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but becausethey are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measurethe best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is onethat we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, andone which we intend to win, and the others, too.”—John F. Kennedy

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Significance of Style in Literature

As stated above, the definition of style is such that it occurs inevery work of prose ever written. It is sometimes used to talk aboutpoetry and drama as well, though it’s more commonly discussed whenanalyzing works of fiction. Authors make thousands of choices whenwriting a work of fiction, and even the very smallest choices, such aschoosing to include or exclude conjunctions affect the style of awork. Style choices also include the prevalence or absence ofmetaphor, repetition, foreshadowing, irony, and so on. Choosingbetween a character driven novel and a plot driven novel is also partof an author’s style.

Authors are often known for their distinct styles, such as the directand simple style of Ernest Hemingway or the stream of consciousnessthat Virginia Woolf used. There are also authors such as James Joycewhose style varies widely from work to the next. For example, Joyce’scollection of short stories Dubliners is written in a fairlystraightforward manner, especially when compared with the nearlyimpenetrable Finnegan’s Wake. An author’s style can also vary widelybased on genre. For example, the style of a thriller will be verydifferent from a fantasy novel written for young adults. Styledramatically alters the reading experience for the audience.Examples of Style in LiteratureExample #1

A few light taps upon the pane made him turn to the window. It hadbegun to snow again. He watched sleepily the flakes, silver and dark,falling obliquely against the lamplight. The time had come for him toset out on his journey westward. Yes, the newspapers were right: snowwas general all over Ireland.

(“The Dead” from Dubliners by James Joyce)

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riverrun, past Eve and Adam’s, from swerve of shore to bend ofbay, brings us by a commodius vicus of recirculation back to HowthCastle and Environs.

(Finnegan’s Wake by James Joyce)

In these two contrasting examples of style, we can see a great leapfrom James Joyce’s earlier works to his later works. His writing stylein Dubliners is descriptive yet quite direct. However, in Finnegan’sWake, Joyce’s writing is almost unintelligible. This line is the firstin the novel—note that it doesn’t even start with a capital letter—andalready Joyce has used several barely understandable words.Example #2

In Moulmein, in lower Burma, I was hated by large numbers ofpeople – the only time in my life that I have been important enoughfor this to happen to me.

(“Shooting an Elephant” from Facing Unpleasant Facts by George Orwell)

Power is not a means; it is an end. One does not establish adictatorship in order to safeguard a revolution; one makes therevolution in order to establish the dictatorship. The object ofpersecution is persecution. The object of torture is torture. Theobject of power is power.

(1984 by George Orwell)

Here is another set of styles from the same author. George Orwellwrote many essays about his experiences, and uses a very drily wittystyle. However, when writing perhaps his most famous work of fictionOrwell is decidedly not witty and instead writes in a very cold andblunt style.Example #3

Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever, and rich, with a comfortablehome and happy disposition, seemed to unite some of the best blessings

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of existence; and had lived nearly twenty-one years in the world withvery little to distress or vex her.

(Emma by Jane Austen)

Jane Austen was noted for her novels dealing with manner and class.This style example comes from the opening description of the eponymousEmma, and shows Austen’s interest in social standing.Example #4

He was completely integrated now and he took a good long look ateverything. Then he looked up at the sky. There were big white cloudsin it. He touched the palm of his hand against the pine needles wherehe lay and he touched the bark of the pine trunk that he lay behind.

(For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway)

Ernest Hemingway was particularly famous for his straightforwardstyle. In this passage from the end of For Whom the Bell Tolls, we seehardly any adjectives even though it is a descriptive excerpt.Hemingway’s style was to describe scenery only in the briefest way andwithout any unnecessary adornment.Example #5

Her sandals revealed an ankle bracelet and toenails paintedvermilion. The sight of these nails gave Briony a constrictingsensation around her sternum, and she knew at once that she could notask Lola to play the Prince.

(Atonement by Ian McEwan)

AnaphoraAnaphora is a literary and rhetorical device in which a word or groupof words is repeated at the beginning of two or more successiveclauses or sentences. This technique adds emphasis and unity to theclauses. For example, look at the function of the words “if only” in

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the following sentence: “If only I hadn’t gone to the market that day,if only I hadn’t dropped my bag, if only we hadn’t met.”

Also sometimes called epanaphora, the word anaphora comes from theGreek for “carrying back”.

Difference Between Anaphora and EpiphoraAnaphora and epiphora (also known as epistrophe) are related conceptsin that they both are techniques involving repetition. While thedefinition of anaphora is that the repetition comes at the beginningof adjacent clauses, repetition in epiphora comes at the end ofclauses. If these two devices are used together, the effect is calledsymploce.Common Examples of Anaphora

Many orators and politicians use anaphora in their speeches toreinforce certain ideas and to make them stand out to the audience.One of the most famous examples of anaphora in a speech is from MartinLuther King Jr.’s address at the 1963 March on Washington. In fact,the anaphora is so famous that it has retroactively become the name ofthe speech: I have a dream. After a gospel singer called out “Tellthem about the dream, Martin!”, Martin Luther King Jr. departed fromhis typed-up speech and began to extemporize, repeating the phrase “Ihave a dream” many times over.

Other famous anaphora examples in speeches include:

We shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end. We shallfight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fightwith growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shalldefend our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on thebeaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in thefields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills. We shall neversurrender. — Winston Churchill With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness inthe right,…— Abraham Lincoln, Second Inaugural Address

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To raise a happy, healthy, and hopeful child, it takes a family;it takes teachers; it takes clergy; it takes business people; it takescommunity leaders; it takes those who protect our health and safety.It takes all of us. —Hillary Clinton, 1996 DNC

Anaphora also is prevalent in other forms of media, like songs,television shows and movies:

WALTER WHITE: I am not in danger, Skyler. I am the danger. A guyopens his door and gets shot and you think that of me? No. I am theone who knocks!(Breaking Bad) HOMER SIMPSON: I want to shake off the dust of this one-horsetown. I want to explore the world. I want to watch TV in a differenttime zone. I want to visit strange, exotic malls. I’m sick of eatinghoagies! I want a grinder, a sub, a foot-long hero! I want to live,Marge! Won’t you let me live? Won’t you, please? (The Simpsons) SEAN: So if I asked you about art, you’d probably give me theskinny on every art book ever written…. If I ask you about women,you’d probably give me a syllabus about your personal favorites…. AndI’d ask you about war, you’d probably throw Shakespeare at me, right,“once more unto the breach dear friends.”…. I’d ask you about love,you’d probably quote me a sonnet. (Good Will Hunting)

Significance of Anaphora in Literature

Anaphora is one of the oldest literary devices, and dates back toreligious texts such as the Psalms of the Bible. Anaphora is mostcommonly found in poetry, though it can be found in prose as well.Since anaphora uses redundancy to dramatic effect, editors of academicwriting and journalism would not approve of it. Thus, anaphora worksagainst these more formal styles of writing and is used to createrhythm and emphasis in a poetic fashion.Examples of Anaphora in LiteratureExample #1

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It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was theage of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch ofbelief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light,it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was thewinter of despair…

(A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens)

This opening sentence from Charles Dickens’s A Tale of Two Cities isone of the most famous examples of anaphora in literature. In thiscase, the repetition of the phrase “it was” provides several examplesof contrast. The sentence creates wonder in the reader to find out howthese are both and best and worst of times, the age of wisdom andfoolishness, and so on. The anaphora propels the reader forward intothe narrative and the world that Dickens is setting up.Example #2

Have you reckon’d a thousand acres much? have you reckon’d theearth much? Have you practis’d so long to learn to read? Have you felt so proud to get at the meaning of poems?

Stop this day and night with me and you shall possess the originof all poems, You shall possess the good of the earth and sun, (there aremillions of suns left,) You shall no longer take things at second or third hand, nor lookthrough the eyes of the dead, nor feed on the spectres in books, You shall not look through my eyes either, nor take things fromme, You shall listen to all sides and filter them from your self.

(“Song of Myself” by Walt Whitman)

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Walt Whitman’s “Song of Myself” contains many examples of anaphora allthe way through poem. These two adjacent stanzas contain differentrepeating phrase: first “have you” and then “you shall.” With thesetwo examples of anaphora, Whitman seems to be ascertaining thereader’s readiness for personal growth, and then making a promise tothe reader that good things will come to pass.Example #3

I have been one acquainted with the night. I have walked out in rain—and back in rain. I have outwalked the furthest city light. I have looked down the saddest city lane. I have passed by the watchman on his beat And dropped my eyes, unwilling to explain.

(“Acquainted with the Night” by Robert Frost)

Robert Frost’s use of anaphora in his poem “Acquainted with the Night”adds a sense of weariness and age. The repetition of the phrase “Ihave” to begin these different lines creates the image of someone witha vast amount of life experience. The poem is dark and despairing, andthis example of anaphora reinforces the desolate mood.Example #4

And the places on her body have no names. And she is what’s immense about the night. And their clothes on the floor are arranged for forgetfulness.

(“Dwelling” by Li-Young Lee)

This relatively recent poem from Li-Young Lee shows that anaphora canbe as simple as the repetition of the word “and”. Grammaticians teachus never to begin sentences with the word “and”, which makes therepetition here stand out even more. There is a sense of mystery inthe way the poet has grouped these three lines, with their three

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similar yet competing images. The anaphora encourages readers to makeconnections between these different images.

OxymoronAn oxymoron is a figure of speech in which two seemingly opposing andcontradictory elements are juxtaposed. In literature, oxymora, alsoknown as oxymorons, often reveal a paradox.

The word oxymoron is in itself an oxymoron. It comes from the AncientGreek word oxumoron, a compound of the words oxus, meaning “sharp” or“keen” and moros, meaning “dull” or “stupid.” Therefore it meanssomething akin to wise foolishness.

Oxymora are often pairs of words, such as the adjective-nouncombinations of a “new classic” or a “big sip,” or a noun-verbcombination such as “the silence whistles.” Oxymora can also be foundin phrases or sentences that have a juxtaposition of contradictoryconcepts.Difference Between Oxymoron and Paradox

Oxymoron and paradox are very similar concepts, and the definition ofoxymoron states that sometimes they may present a paradox. Thedifference is that a paradox often is used in literature to giveunexpected insights, whereas an oxymoron does not necessarily lead toany insights. Paradoxes usually defy intuition in that they combineseemingly contradictory concepts to hint at a deeper truth. Oxymora,on the other hand, are often easy to grasp the meaning of even whilethe terms involved are usually used to mean opposite things.Common Examples of Oxymoron

There are many examples of oxymoron that have become common phrases,such as:

controlled chaos kill with kindness old news small giant

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original copy even odds elevated subway

There are also many famous quotes that contain oxymora, such as:

“I always avoid prophesying beforehand because it is much betterto prophesy after the event has already taken place. ” – WinstonChurchill “It’s a step forward although there was no progress.” – PresidentHosni Mubarak of Egypt “Nothing was stolen. I had an honest thief.” – Donald Trump “We must believe in free will. We have no choice.” – Isaac B.Singer “I am a deeply superficial person.” – Andy Warhol

Other languages have contributed oxymora to English, such as theChinese concept of yin-yang. The famous black and white circularsymbol that expresses yin-yang shows a drop of white in the black andside and, conversely, a small bit of black in the white side. This ismeant to represent that even opposites contain a bit of each other.The yin-yang symbol is thus also a visual representation of oxymoron.

The Italian word pianoforte is also an oxymoron, in that piano meansquite and forte means loud. This was the original name for theinstrument that later became the piano (an abbreviation of theoriginal word).

Significance of Oxymoron in Literature

Authors have used oxymora throughout the history of literature formany reasons. At times an oxymoron may call attention to the dualnature of an object or concept—something, for example, can be bothsweet and sorrowful at the same time (Shakespeare famously wrote that“parting is such sweet sorrow”). This makes the reader think moredeeply about the multiple meanings of experience. Oxymora also mayjust present a concept in a new light to emphasize the author’s

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creativity. The author Oscar Wilde used many oxymora for comediceffect, and many of these statements have entered popularconsciousness, like his statement “I can resist anything, excepttemptation.”Examples of Oxymoron in LiteratureExample #1

Alas, that love, whose view is muffled still, Should, without eyes, see pathways to his will! Where shall we dine?—O me! What fray was here? Yet tell me not, for I have heard it all. Here’s much to do with hate but more with love. Why then, O brawling love, O loving hate, O anything of nothing first created! O heavy lightness, serious vanity, Misshapen chaos of well-seeming forms! Feather of lead, bright smoke, cold fire, sick health, Still-waking sleep, that is not what it is! This love feel I, that feel no love in this.

(Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare)

Shakespeare used many oxymoron examples in his works, and his famoustragic play Romeo and Juliet contains several oxymora. In just thisone short excerpt there are many oxymora back to back. For instance,“loving hate,” “heavy lightness,” “feather of lead,” “bright smoke,”“cold fire,” and “sick health” are all oxymoron examples. So too arethe slightly longer lines, “O anything of nothing,” “Misshapen chaosof well-seeming forms,” and “This love feel I, that feel no love inthis.” The interesting function of these many oxymora is to illustratethe difficult dualities of love and the extremes that a person mayfeel when in love. The theme of Romeo and Juliet is, of course, thatof tragic love and the very relationship of the two lovers is anoxymoron, as Juliet states, “My only love sprung from my only hate!”Example #2

Down the close darkening lanes they sang their way

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To the siding-shed, And lined the train with faces grimly gay. Their breasts were stuck all white with wreath and spray As men’s are, dead.

(“The Send-Off” by Wilfred Owen)

In this poem by Wilfred Owen, soldiers are getting ready to go to war.They are trying to put on a good face as the public is sending themoff, but they know they are heading into uncertainty and terror.Therefore, their faces are “grimly gay”—an oxymoron, but certainlyunderstandable given the circumstances.Example #3

As for believing things, I can believe anything, provided that itis quite incredible.

(The Picture of Dorian Grey by Oscar Wilde)

Oscar Wilde, as stated above, loved using oxymora in his works forcomedic effect. In this case, the oxymoron is created by thejuxtaposition of “believe” and “incredible.” The word “incredible”stems etymologically from the negative form of “credible,” which means“believable.” Therefore, Wilde, in effect, has written that hischaracter will believe anything that cannot be believed. This adds toa sense of the character having something of a wild imagination andbeing uninterested in anything that is too straightforward.Example #4

All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal thanothers.

(Animal Farm by George Orwell)

In George Orwell’s famous satire Animal Farm, the animals kick out thehuman owners and attempt to govern the farm themselves. At first, theleader Napoleon creates seven commandments for them to follow, the

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most important of which is “All animals are equal.” However, as timegoes on the commandments begin to change, just as Napoleon’s demeanortoward the rest of the animals starts to change. Eventually he changesthis key commandment to the quote above: “All animals are equal, butsome animals are more equal than others.” Of course, this newcommandment is one of many examples of oxymoron in the new leadershipsystem. Some animals being “more” equal than others is not actuallypossible if one is to believe the first half of the statement. Orwellused this quote precisely to highlight the hypocrisies of the RussianRevolution. He wrote Animal Farm to critique the form of communismadopted in Russian after the revolution, showing that there was,indeed, no real equality in the new system.

ParadoxWhen used as a literary device, a paradox is the juxtaposition of aset of seemingly contradictory concepts that reveal a hidden and/orunexpected truth. The paradox may be hard or even impossible tobelieve, yet usually the contradiction can be reconciled if the readerthinks about the juxtaposition more deeply. In literature, paradoxescan usually be classified either as situational or rhetorical. Forexample, if characters find themselves in difficult to reconcilecircumstances, this would be a situational paradox (see Example #4below), whereas if a character makes a seemingly anomalous statement,this would be rhetorical paradox (see Example #3).

There are many different paradox definitions, depending on the fieldin which it is used. Some paradoxes of logic actually do not have aresolution, such as the liar’s paradox, which is explored below.Common Examples of Paradox

There are many famous examples of paradox from logicians andphilosophers. One of the most famous paradoxes is called the liar’sparadox, and is evident in the following sentence: “This statement isfalse.” Another variation of the liar’s paradox would be, “EverythingI say is a lie.” In both sentences, there is an inherent impossibilitypresented in just a few words. Here are more examples of paradox:

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Zeno’s Paradox: You can never get from point A to point B, asfirst you must travel half the distance, and then half the distanceleft, ad infinitum. Barber Paradox: A male barber shaves all and only those men whodon’t shave themselves. Does he shave himself? Schrödinger’s Cat Paradox: A cat is in a box with a small amountof radioactive substance that could kill it. The cat could be eitheralive or dead while the box is closed; until someone opens the box tocheck, the cat exists in both states. (Note: Schrödinger created thisthought experiment to display what he considered the absurdity ofquantum mechanics).

Many famous quotes also contain paradoxes:

“Whatever you do will be insignificant, but it is very importantthat you do it.” -Gandhi “It’s weird not to be weird.” -John Lennon “Life is a preparation for the future; and the best preparationfor the future is to live as if there were none.” -Albert Einstein “I know one thing: that I know nothing.” -Socrates (via Plato)

Significance of Paradox in LiteratureParadoxes can be a good way to test the limits of understanding andcan lead to unexpected insights. The Irish writer Oscar Wilde wasparticularly noted for his use of paradoxes. In The Picture of DorianGrey, Wilde writes, “Well, the way of paradoxes is the way of truth.To test reality we must see it on the tight rope. When the veritiesbecome acrobats, we can judge them.” Authors have used paradoxes intheir works for many centuries to explore certain situationalcomplications and the extent of human judgment.Examples of Paradox in LiteratureExample #1

Before anyone crosses this bridge, he must first state on oathwhere he is going and for what purpose. If he swears truly, he may beallowed to pass; but if he tells a lie, he shall suffer death byhanging on the gallows there displayed, without any hope of mercy…Now

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it happened that they once put a man on his oath, and he swore that hewas going to die on the gallows there—and that was all. After duedeliberation the judges pronounced as follows: “If we let this manpass freely he will have sworn a false oath and, according to the law,he must die; but he swore that he was going to die on the gallows, andif we hang him that will be the truth, so by the same law he should gofree.”

(Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra)

This excerpt from Cervantes’s masterpiece Don Quixote is a complexexample of the liar’s paradox. The prisoner who crosses the bridgetells the truth, and thus the judges feel required to let him go freeon account of that. If he had lied he would have been hung on thegallows, but as that was already his fate the judges reverse hisfortunes by honoring his truth telling.Example #2

JULIET: My only love sprung from my only hate! Too early seen unknown, and known too late! Prodigious birth of love it is to me, That I must love a loathèd enemy.

(Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare)

Shakespeare used many examples of paradox in his plays and poems, andthis is just one such example. The tragedy of Romeo and Juliet isbased on a paradox. Juliet expresses it in this quote, that her “onlylove sprung from [her] only hate.” It is unexpected that love shouldspring from hate to the extent that it seems impossible. However, thestory of Romeo and Juliet shows the deeper truth of love and hate—theyare not so irreconcilable after all.Example #3

CECILY: To be natural is such a very difficult pose to keep up.

(The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde)

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Oscar Wilde incorporated many paradox examples in his works especiallyfor comedic effect. In this example from his play The Importance ofBeing Earnest, the character Cecily complains about the difficulty ofkeeping up the “pose” of naturalness. Of course, posing isantithetical to being natural. However, the inner truth of thisstatement is that being natural is sometimes a state that we have topretend at in that it doesn’t always come easily.Example #4

There was only one catch and that was Catch-22, which specifiedthat a concern for one’s own safety in the face of dangers that werereal and immediate was the process of a rational mind. Orr was crazyand could be grounded. All he had to do was ask; and as soon as hedid, he would no longer be crazy and would have to fly more missions.Orr would be crazy to fly more missions and sane if he didn’t, but ifhe was sane he had to fly them. If he flew them he was crazy anddidn’t have to; but if he didn’t want to he was sane and had to.Yossarian was moved very deeply by the absolute simplicity of thisclause of Catch-22 and let out a respectful whistle.

(Catch-22 by Joseph Heller)

The concept of a catch-22 is a paradox that is now commonlyunderstood. Heller named this paradox in his eponymous World War IInovel. It is a situation in which someone is in need of something thatcan only be had by not being in need of it. The two opposing needs inthis situation are at odds with each other, and, as in most cases ofcatch-22 paradoxes, they are both completely logical. However, the twosituations cancel out the possibility of either one occurring.Example #5

In the end the Party would announce that two and two made five,and you would have to believe it. It was inevitable that they shouldmake that claim sooner or later: the logic of their position demandedit. Not merely the validity of experience, but the very existence ofexternal reality was tacitly denied by their philosophy.

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(1984 by George Orwell)

George Orwell’s futuristic dystopian novel contains many examples ofparadox. The ruling party in 1984 stands by three paradoxicalstatements: “War is peace, freedom is slavery, and ignorance isstrength.” All of these paradoxes show the inner contradictions ofthis new society. Orwell shows, though, how the government and thecitizens are able to internalize these paradoxes and make them intoreality. The excerpt above describes in further detail how the Partyrequires everyone to believe in clearly illogical concepts.

SynecdocheSynecdoche is a figure of speech in which a word or phrase that refersto a part of something is substituted to stand in for the whole, orvice versa. For example, the phrase “all hands on deck” is a demandfor all of the crew to help, yet the word “hands”—just a part of thecrew—stands in for the whole crew.

Synecdoche is a subset of metonymy. We explore the similarities anddifferences between the two in more detail below. Synecdoche andmetonymy are also considered forms of metaphor in that all threeliterary devices involve a substitution of one term for another thatrequires a conceptual link. Synecdoche can sometimes be described as aform of personification in the cases when it substitutes a humanelement for a non-human organization, such as referring to a weaponfalling into “the wrong hands.” In this case, the human element of“hands” stands in for an opposing group.

The word synecdoche comes from the Ancient Greek word synekdoche,which means “simultaneous understanding.”

Difference Between Synecdoche and MetonymyThe definition of synecdoche requires the substituted term to beeither a part of the whole or a whole standing in for a part.Metonymy, on the other hand, can refer to the substitution of a termthat is connected in any way to the original concept. For example,

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using “the crown” to refer to a member of royalty is metonymy becausethe concept of the crown is related to royalty. However, a crown isneither part of the royal person, nor is the royal person part of thecrown.Common Examples of Synecdoche

There are many common expressions that are examples of synecdoche.Here is a list of some of these examples:

Boots on the ground—refers to soldiers New wheels—refers to a new car Ask for her hand—refers to asking a woman to marry Suits—can refer to businesspeople Plastic—can refer to credit cards The White House—can refer to statements made by individuals withinthe United States government

Significance of Synecdoche in Literature

Some literary theorists have posited that synecdoche is not merelyornamental, but instead one of the chief ways to describe and discovertruths via literature. Along with metonymy, metaphor, and irony,synecdoche displays and creates new connections in the way that humansunderstand concepts. Whether or not authors use synecdocheintentionally, any connection between previously unassociated conceptscreates new cognitive links. By exploring the usage of synecdoche inliterature, we are able to better understand the human mind.Examples of Synecdoche in LiteratureExample #1

GHOST: Now, Hamlet, hear. ‘Tis given out that, sleeping in my orchard, A serpent stung me. So the whole ear of Denmark Is by a forgèd process of my death Rankly abused. But know, thou noble youth, The serpent that did sting thy father’s life Now wears his crown.

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(Hamlet by William Shakespeare)

In this excerpt from Shakespeare’s tragedy Hamlet, the ghost ofHamlet’s father implies that he was killed by Claudius instead ofbeing stung by a snake. The synecdoche example in this excerpt is theusage of the word “ear.” The ghost refers to “the whole ear ofDenmark.” This means that the whole population of Denmark has heard aparticular story about his death. This is not the only time thatShakespeare used “ear” to refer to a greater group of people. MarkAntony’s famous quote from Julius Caesar also uses this synecdoche:“Friends, countrymen, lend me your ears.”Example #2

I had not intended to love him; the reader knows I had wroughthard to extirpate from my soul the germs of love there detected; andnow, at the first renewed view of him, they spontaneously arrived,green and strong! He made me love him without looking at me.

(Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë)

In this excerpt from Charlotte Brontë’s novel Jane Eyre, Jane talksabout “the germs of love.” The germs here refer to the early stages oflove, and Brontë continues this metaphorical usage saying that thegerms return “green and strong.”Example #3

“About Gatsby! No, I haven’t. I said I’d been making a smallinvestigation of his past.” “And you found he was an Oxford man,” said Jordan helpfully. “An Oxford man!” He was incredulous. “Like hell he is! He wears apink suit.” “Nevertheless he’s an Oxford man.” “Oxford, New Mexico,” snorted Tom contemptuously, “or somethinglike that.”

(The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald)

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In this excerpt from The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald uses the synecdocheof being an “Oxford man.” An Oxford man is a man who has attended thelegendary English university. Oxford stands in for much meaning,including a certain level of class, wealth, and learning that isnecessary to be an elite member of society. The character Tom Buchananis suspicious that Jay Gatsby could possibly be an “Oxford man,”thinking him to not contain these qualities.Example #4

The Eyes around – had wrung them dry – And Breaths were gathering firm For that last Onset – when the King Be witnessed – in the Room -

(“I heard a Fly buzz – when I died –” by Emily Dickinson)

In this famous short poem by Emily Dickinson, the second stanzacontains an example of synecdoche. The speaker in the poem is at thepoint of death, and in the second stanza makes note of “The Eyesaround.” The eyes in this case refer to the audience that has gatheredby the speaker’s deathbed. The speaker doesn’t refer to the peoplethemselves, but instead to their eyes—which are now dry from havingexhausted their tears—and breaths.Example #5

This is flesh I’m talking about here. Flesh that needs to beloved. Feet that need to rest and to dance; backs that need support;shoulders that need arms, strong arms I’m telling you.

(Beloved by Toni Morrison)

These lines from Toni Morrison’s Beloved come from a sermon by thecharacter Baby Suggs. In it, Baby Suggs is preaching to her peopleabout the value of their lives. She does so by referring to the partsof the their bodies as having needs of their own. This affirms theimportance of the community to which she is preaching and the

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individuals that make it up. Baby Suggs refers to the needs of the“flesh,” “feet,” “backs,” and “shoulders.” Though it may seem thatbreaking the people down into their parts would dehumanize them,instead the sermon shows just how human they are. Their bodies are notjust for work, but instead for love, rest, dance, and support.

SatireSatire is a genre of literature that uses wit for the purpose ofsocial criticism. Satire ridicules problems in society, government,businesses, and individuals in order to bring attention to certainfollies, vices, and abuses, as well as to lead to improvements. Ironyand sarcasm are often an important aspect of satire. Satirists alsooften use juxtaposition, analogy, parody, and double entendre tohighlight their points.Different Classifications of Satire

Within the general definition of satire, there are three mainclassifications of different types of satire. The first two of theseare named after ancient Roman satirists—Horace (first century BCE) andJuvenal (late first century BCE to early second century AD)—while thethird is named after the ancient Greek parodist Menippus (thirdcentury BCE).

Horatian: Horace playfully mocked the societal norms of his day,and the satire named after him is clever, yet gentle. Rather thanattacking evils, Horatian satire ridicules universal human folly sothat the reader might identify with what is being critiqued and laughat him/herself as well as at society. Juvenalian: Unlike Horace, Juvenal attacked public officials andgovernmental organizations through his satires. He regarded theiropinions not just as wrong, but instead as evil. Juvenalian satirethus is more contemptuous and abrasive, and uses strong irony and

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sarcasm. Polarized political satire is often of this nature, and aimsto provoke change. Juvenalian satire is not often as humorous. Menippean: Menippean satire criticizes mental attitudes ratherthan societal norms or specific individuals. This type of satire oftenridicules single-minded people, such as bigots, misers, braggarts, andso on.

Common Examples of Satire

There are many different ways that people satirize popular culture.Here are some non-literary examples of satire:

Steven Colbert: Steven Colbert is a popular media figure who hasbuilt his career on pretending to be a self-righteous and highlyopinionated commentator. His satire is based on parroting popularopinions or government officials’ ideas and taking them to thefurthest extent, thereby revealing their hypocrisy. The Onion: The Onion is a fake news source that uses contemporaryissues and highlights their absurdity. Some of the most popularheadlines they’ve published include: “Bush: ‘Our Long NationalNightmare Of Peace and Prosperity Is Finally Over,'” “Supreme CourtRules Supreme Court Rules,” and “Clinton Deploys Vowels to Bosnia;Cities of Sjlbvdnzv, Grzny to Be First Recipients.” Ig Nobel Prize: The Ig Nobel Prizes are a satirical take on theNobel Awards. They are a gentle mockery of the kind of scientificstudies being done around the world that sound ridiculous to thecommon observer. Recent recipients of the award have included studieson “Patient Preference for Waxed or Unwaxed Dental Floss,” “trainingpigeons to discriminate between the paintings of Picasso and those ofMonet,” and a discovery that “black holes fulfill all the technicalrequirements for the location of Hell.”

Significance of Satire in Literature

Satire has been used as social criticism for a very long time, and hasbeen discovered in many different ancient cultures, from Ancient Egyptto Ancient Greece to the Medieval Islamic world. As now, satire was

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used to ridicule government officials and reigning popular opinions.Satire has a unique ability to confront public discourse and ridiculeleaders into changing their policies. Some consider satire to be thebest way to understand a culture, as it provides insights into thecollective psyche of a people and show who had power.Examples of Satire in LiteratureExample #1

Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift

Jonathan Swift, one of the leading satirists of his day, wroteGulliver’s Travels as a satire of human nature and especially an anti-Whig satire. Lemuel Gulliver travels to several different lands,including the famous encounter with the Lilliputians, a society ofpeople only a few inches tall. One example of satire in the book isthat some Lilliputian men wear high heels and others wear low heels.The men who wear low heels are in power and will only appoint othermen to government who wear low heels. Clearly, government appointmentshave nothing to do with ability—this is a direct attack on theseparation of Whigs and Tories in English culture.Example #2

Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

As is often the case, the satire in Huckleberry Finn is oftenmisunderstood and misconstrued as Mark Twain’s actual opinions. Twainhated slavery and used Huckleberry Finn to point out the inhumane waythat slave-owners treated slaves. While some contend that the book isracist, Twain was strongly against racism. He used the characters ofJim and Miss Watson, Jim’s owner, to highlight the hypocrisy ofslavery. Miss Watson is called a “good Christian woman” so thatreaders may realize that what she purports to stand for is in directopposition to her actions.Example #3

Animal Farm by George Orwell

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George Orwell’s satire Animal Farm directly echoes the events of theRussian Revolution. He replaces the Russian people with animals on afarm, with the leading figures of communism represented by pigs. Atfirst these pigs are supportive of equal rights for all animals, butgradually they give themselves all the benefits and exclude the otheranimals from the rewards of the farm. The men who were expelled at thebeginning of the story represent the Tsars; by the end of the story,however, men are back on the farm and the animals outside cannot tellthe difference between the pigs and the men. Orwell used this satireexample to show that the men who came to power after the RussianRevolution were no more “equal” to the common people than the Tsarsbefore them.Example #4

Catch-22 by Joseph HellerJoseph Heller’s World War II novel Catch-22 is a great example ofsatire. Joseph Heller had flown bomber missions in WWII, just like hismain character Captain John Yossarian, and was tortured by theexperience. He found the wartime bureaucracy and logic to beincredibly hypocritical. The most famous example of satire in the bookcomes from the title, the concept of the Catch 22. This is one ofthose bureaucratic nightmares in which something can only be done whenthe thing that precludes it from happening happens. Yossarianeventually discovers that the catch doesn’t even exist, but becauseeverything thinks it does it still has the same effect. And,unfortunately, because it doesn’t exist it can’t be repealed. This isa good metaphor for the entire lack of logic in bureaucracy.

AntithesisAntithesis is the use of contrasting concepts, words, or sentenceswithin parallel grammatical structures. This combination of a balancedstructure with opposite ideas serves to highlight the contrast betweenthem. For example, the following famous Muhammad Ali quote is anexample of antithesis: “Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.”This is an antithesis example because there is the contrast betweenthe animals and their actions (the peaceful floating butterfly versusthe aggressive stinging bee) combined with the parallel grammatical

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structure of similes indicated by “like a.” Ali is indicating thecontrasting skills necessary to be a good boxer.

Difference between Antithesis and JuxtapositionAntithesis is very similar to juxtaposition, as juxtaposition alsosets two different things close to each other to emphasize thedifference between them. However, juxtaposition does not necessarilydeal with completely opposite ideas—sometimes the juxtaposition may bebetween two similar things so that the reader will notice the subtledifferences. Juxtaposition also does not necessitate a parallelgrammatical structure. The definition of antithesis requires thisbalanced grammatical structure.Common Examples of Antithesis

The use of antithesis is very popular in speeches and common idioms,as the inherent contrasts often make antithesis quite memorable. Hereare some examples of antithesis from famous speeches:

“We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together asfools.” – Martin Luther King, Jr. “And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do foryou — ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of theworld: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we cando for the freedom of man.” –John F. Kennedy Jr. “We will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.”–Barack Obama “Decided only to be undecided, resolved to be irresolute, adamantfor drift, solid for fluidity, all-powerful to be impotent.” –WinstonChurchill “The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here,but it can never forget what they did here.” –Abraham Lincoln

Significance of Antithesis in LiteratureAntithesis can be a helpful tool for the author both to show acharacter’s mindset and to set up an argument. If the antithesis issomething that the character is thinking, the audience can betterunderstand the full scope of that character’s thoughts. While

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antithesis is not the most ubiquitous of literary devices, someauthors use antithesis quite extensively, such as William Shakespeare.Many of his sonnets and plays include examples of antithesis.Examples of Antithesis in LiteratureExample #1

HAMLET: To be, or not to be, that is the question— Whether ’tis Nobler in the mind to suffer The Slings and Arrows of outrageous Fortune, Or to take Arms against a Sea of troubles, And by opposing, end them?

(Hamlet by William Shakespeare)

Arguably the most famous six words in all of Shakespeare’s work are anexample of antithesis. Hamlet considers the important question of “tobe, or not to be.” In this line, he is considering the very nature ofexistence itself. Though the line is quite simple in form it contraststhese very important opposite states. Hamlet sets up his soliloquywith this antithesis and continues with others, including the contrastbetween suffering whatever fortune has to offer or opposing histroubles. This is a good example of Shakespeare using antithesis topresent to the audience or readers Hamlet’s inner life and the rangeof his thinking.Example #2

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was theage of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch ofbelief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light,it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was thewinter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing beforeus, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct theother way…

(A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens)

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The opening paragraph of Charles Dickens’s A Tale of Two Citiesemploys many different literary devices all at once. There are manyexamples of antithesis back-to-back, starting with the first contrastbetween “the best of times” and “the worst of times.” Each pair ofcontrasting opposites uses a parallel structure to emphasize theirdifferences. Dickens uses these antithetical pairs to show what atumultuous time it was during the setting of his book. In this case,the use of antithesis is a rhetorical device that foreshadows theconflicts that will be central to the novel.Example #3

There was only one catch and that was Catch-22, which specifiedthat a concern for one’s own safety in the face of dangers that werereal and immediate was the process of a rational mind. Orr was crazyand could be grounded. All he had to do was ask; and as soon as hedid, he would no longer be crazy and would have to fly more missions.Orr would be crazy to fly more missions and sane if he didn’t, but ifhe was sane he had to fly them. If he flew them he was crazy anddidn’t have to; but if he didn’t want to he was sane and had to.Yossarian was moved very deeply by the absolute simplicity of thisclause of Catch-22 and let out a respectful whistle.

(Catch-22 by Joseph Heller)

In Joseph Heller’s classic anti-war novel Catch-22, Heller uses aspecific type of humor in which antithetical statements show the trueabsurdity of war. This very famous quote explains the concept of the“Catch-22,” which became a popular idiomatic expression because of thebook. In fact, this example is not so much an antithetical statementbut instead an antithetical situation. That is to say, the twopossible outcomes for Orr are opposite: either he’s deemed crazy andwould thus not be forced to fly any more combat missions, or he’s saneand then would indeed have to fly them. However, the one situationnegates the possibility of the other, as only a sane man would beclear-headed enough to ask not to fly more missions.Example #4

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This case is not a difficult one, it requires no minute sifting ofcomplicated facts, but it does require you to be sure beyond allreasonable doubt as to the guilt of the defendant.

(To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee)

In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus Finch is a lawyerrepresenting his neighbor Boo Radley. Atticus presents the abovestatement to the jury, setting up an antithesis. He asserts that thecase is not difficult and yet requires the jury to be absolutely sureof their decision. Atticus believes the case to have a very obviousconclusion, and hopes that the jury will agree with him, but he isalso aware of the societal tensions at work that will complicate thecase.

CharacterizationCharacterization is the act of creating and describing characters inliterature. Characterization includes both descriptions of acharacter’s physical attributes as well as the character’spersonality. The way that characters act, think, and speak also addsto their characterization. There are two subsets of the definition ofcharacterization: direct and indirect characterization. We explorethis distinction in more depth below.Direct Versus Indirect Characterization

Direct characterization, also known as explicit characterization,consists of the author telling the audience what a character is like.A narrator may give this information, or a character in the story maydo it. Examples of direct characterization would be:

“Bill was short and fat, and his bald spot was widening with everypassing year.” “‘Jane is a cruel person,’ she said.’” “I looked in the mirror and saw how dark the circles under mygreen eyes had become.”

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Indirect characterization, on the other hand, consists of the authorshowing the audience what kind of person a character is through thecharacter’s thoughts, words, and deeds. This requires the audience tomake inferences about why a character would say or do those things.This type of characterization is also known as implicitcharacterization. While it takes more time to develop a characterthrough indirect characterization, it often leaves a deeper impressionon the reader than direct statements about what a character is like.Here are examples of indirect characterization:

“Bill sighed as he looked at the offer of a gym membership. Hereally should join. But just thinking about it made beads of sweatcollect at the top of his bald spot.” “As Jane walked past the box labeled ‘Free Puppies,’ she furtivelyglanced around her, then gave the box a swift kick.” “I yawned, trying to keep my eyes open in the meeting. I reachedfor my coffee cup and was disappointed to realize it was empty.”

Common Examples of Characterization

While the concept of characterization is primarily a literary device,we use characterization in many everyday situations as well. Considerthe following situations:

Online dating websites: This is a primary place for directcharacterizations of ourselves. We put up pictures and data todescribe our looks, and we answer questions and write essays todescribe our personalities. Police line-ups: Witnesses to crimes use characterization to givepolice a better idea of who the culprits might be. This type ofcharacterization is generally based on physical attributes, thoughdetectives also may try to understand the psychology of a criminal tocatch him or her. Obituaries and eulogies: When a person has died, their loved onesuse characterization to give a sense of what kind of person he or shewas. This is primarily to show personality.

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Significance of Characterization in Literature

As a literary tool, characterization has been around for about thepast five hundred years. That may sound like a long time, butconsidering that Ancient Greek tragedies date back a few thousandyears, characterization is a relatively recent development. This isbecause older forms of literature, including Ancient Greek tragedies,were much more focused on plot.

Characterization increased in popularity as scholars began to considerpsychology as a scientific field, especially from the 19th centuryonwards. People became much more interested in why people do thingsand the way in which they react instead of just what happens.Literature has reflected this shift. However, that is not to say thatworks written before the 19th century had a lack of characterization.William Shakespeare writing in the late 16th and early 17th centuriescreated some of the most psychologically complex characters ever. Itis simply a much more integral part of the storytelling process now.

Works of literature with poor characterization are often criticizedfor having “stock characters,” “flat characters,” “characters with nodimensions,” “poorly drawn characters,” and so on. Saying that abook’s characters are unbelievable is one of the worst criticisms thatit made in this day in age. Authors therefore use characterization to“flesh out” their characters, show the characters’ motivations, andmake the reader have empathy with the characters.Examples of Characterization in LiteratureExample #1

Cathy was chewing a piece of meat, chewing with her front teeth.Samuel had never seen anyone chew that way before. And when she hadswallowed, her little tongue flicked around her lips. Samuel’s mindrepeated, “Something—something—can’t find what it is. Somethingwrong,” and the silence hung on the table.

(East of Eden by John Steinbeck)

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In John Steinbeck’s East of Eden, Cathy is a truly evil character.Steinbeck says this directly many times over and in many differentways. However, in this example of characterization, Steinbeck insteadopts for a more chilling image. Cathy seems to eat meat much as asnake would. The indirect characterization forces the reader tounderstand this passage as an allusion to the serpent in the Garden ofEden, thereby inferring Cathy’s deep-rooted sinfulness.Example #2

“First of all,” he said, “if you can learn a simple trick, Scout,you’ll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. You neverreally understand a person until you consider things from his point ofview […] until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.”

(To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee)

This quote from Atticus Finch in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird isanother example of indirect characterization. Atticus is a verycompassionate character who is able to extend his empathy to everymember of the community. We learn about the true nobility of hischaracter through his actions, in defending a man no one else willbelieve is innocent, and through the strength of his words. This quotequite famously captures his facility for empathy.Example #3

My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun; Coral is far more red than her lips’ red; If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun; If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.

(“Sonnet 130” by William Shakespeare)

Shakespeare has fun with characterization in his famous “Sonnet 130,”going against all expectations. Since this poem is about his mistress,one might expect that it would be full of praise. Instead, hedescribes her only in the most unappealing ways and compares her to

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lovely things only to show that she is the opposite. This is anexample of direct characterization.Example #4

Perhaps it had something to do with living in a dark cupboard, butHarry had always been small and skinny for his age. He looked evensmaller and skinnier than he really was because all he had to wearwere old clothes of Dudley’s, and Dudley was about four times biggerthan he was. Harry had a thin face, knobbly knees, black hair, andbright green eyes. He wore round glasses held together with a lot ofScotch tape because of all the times Dudley had punched him on thenose. The only thing Harry liked about his own appearance was a verythin scar on his forehead that was shaped like a bolt of lightning.

(Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J. K. Rowling)

This characterization example from the first book of J. K. Rowling’sHarry Potter series gives a very complete physical description ofHarry. It is very common in children’s books and books for youngadults to give such a detailed direct characterization of many of themain characters. This is because children have a harder time inferringall the information necessary about a character through words andactions alone.

AnagramAnagrams are a type of game with words in which the letters of a word,name, or phrase are rearranged to form different words. All of theletters from the original word(s) must be used exactly once in the newconfiguration to qualify as an anagram.

While any such rearrangement of a word of phrase that results in newwords can be considered an anagram, serious anagrammatists try tocreate new words that somehow comment on the original word(s). Forexample, one anagram of the name William Shakespeare is “I’ll make awise phrase,” while an anagram for Emperor Octavian is “Captain overRome.” These anagrams both relate back to the original subject in aclever way.

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Word Games Similar to Anagram

Pangram: A pangram is a sentence that uses every letter of an alphabetat least once. The most famous example in English is “The quick brownfox jumps over the lazy dog.” This sentence is often used to displayfonts, as it has an example of the way the font looks in everypossible letter. A “perfect” pangram would be a sentence that containsevery letter from an alphabet just once. This is difficult to achievein English, but an example would be: “Jocks find quartz glyph, vexBMW.”

Heterogram: A heterogram only allows one usage of any one particularletter. One of the longest words in English that follows this rule isthe fifteen-letter word “uncopyrightable.” A perfect pangram such asthe one listed above would qualify as a heterogram as well.

Lipogram: A lipogram is a piece of work that excludes a certain letteror letters. While this is easy to achieve on a small scale, it’s muchmore difficult the longer the work of literature. The most famousexample is the 1969 novel La Disparition by Georges Perec, which doesnot contain the letter e. Gilbert Adair translated the entire 300-pageFrench novel into English, still without using the letter e.

Vocabularyclept poem: In this type of poem, a person takes a poem andrearranges the words to create a new and original poem. This concepthas become popular and mainstream through the use of magnetic poetry,in which a discrete group of words is available and can be arrange innumerous ways to create new phrases.

OuLiPo: The Ouvoir de littérature potentielle was a group of mostlyFrench-speaking writers and other intellectuals that formed in 1960.Their goal was to use restrictions such as the ones listed above towrite literature. Georges Perec, author of La Disparition, was amember.Famous Examples of Anagram

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Some authors created pseudonyms for themselves by anagramming theirgiven names. For example, Francois Rabelais took on the pseudonymAlcofribas Nasier. Similarly, Jim Morrison of The Doors called himselfMr. Mojo Risin’, an anagram of his name.

Other anagrammatists have created notable rearrangements, such as:

Clint Eastwood = Old West action Alec Guinness = Genuine class George Bush = He bugs Gore The theorem of Pythagoras = He has that geometry proof

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Significance of Anagram in Literature

Anagrams have been popular for many centuries, possibly even back tothe third century BCE. The Greek poet Lycophron, who lived inAlexandria at the time of King Ptolemy II Philadelphus (283 BCE-246BCE), was supposed to have been a skilled anagrammatist. Those whowere not poets have used anagrams to ascertain the “hidden” meaningsof names since the time of Moses.

The medieval French poet and composer Guillaume de Machaut was quitefond of anagrams, and there are several examples of anagrams in hisworks. Anagrams were especially popular in Latin and were a favoritegame for the literate. An anagram example is rearrangement of theLatin phrase Ave Maria, gratia plena, Dominus tecum (Hail Mary, fullof grace, the Lord is with you) to Virgo serena, pia, munda etinmaculata (Serene virgin, pious, clean, and spotless).

Anagrams have continued in popularity throughout the centuries, beinga favorite parlor game in Victorian society. The surrealists of the20th century loved anagrams, especially as they got more absurd,turning the idea of a name’s “hidden” meaning on its head. The Germanauthor Unica Zürn, who was friends with several famous surrealists,

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composed numerous anagram poems. When the leader of the surrealists,André Breton, thought that his fellow surrealist Salvador Dalí hadbecome too influenced by commercialism, he took to calling Dalí by ananagram of his name, Avida Dollars.

Nowadays computers can assist the hobbyist anagrammer, though theylack the ability to create the nuanced rearrangements that have madeanagrams so popular for the last couple millennia.Examples of Anagram in LiteratureExample #1

I am Lord Voldemort.

(Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J. K. Rowling)

J. K. Rowling uses an anagram as a key plot point in her best-sellingHarry Potter series. The reader first meets Lord Voldemort in thefirst book of the series. In the second book, Ginny Weasley becomespossessed by a diary belonging to Tom Marvolo Riddle. Later in thebook, Tom rearranges the letters in his name to be “I am LordVoldemort,” revealing himself to be Harry Potter’s arch-nemesis. Oneinteresting aspect of this anagram is that translators of Harry Potterhad to make modifications to Tom Riddle’s name for the anagram towork. For example, the Spanish translator of Harry Potter changedTom’s original name to be “Tom Sorvolo Ryddle” so that the anagramcould be “Soy Lord Voldemort” (“soy” meaning “I am”).Example #2

A hard, howling, tossing water scene. Strong tide was washing hero clean. “How cold!” Weather stings as in anger. O Silent night shows war ace danger!

The cold waters swashing on in rage. Redcoats warn slow his hint engage. When star general’s action wish’d “Go!” He saw his ragged continentals row.

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Ah, he stands – sailor crew went going. And so this general watches rowing. He hastens – winter again grows cold. A wet crew gain Hessian stronghold.

George can’t lose war with’s hands in; He’s astern – so go alight, crew, and win!

(Washington Crossing the Delaware by David Shulman)

This incredible sonnet, which David Shulman composed in 1936, containsfourteen lines, each of which is an anagram of the title. The poemcontains an amazing amount of content considering the restrictions—allof the lines are relatively different while all relating back to theoriginal theme of Washington’s famous crossing of the Delaware.Example #3

“Hamlet” is an anagram that Shakespeare chose to refer obliquely tothe Danish prince Amleth, on whose legend Shakespeare based his play.A modern anagrammatist named Cory Calhoun has brilliantly taken themost famous lines from Hamlet’s monologue and rearranged them into acommentary on the monologue.

Original text from Shakespeare’s Hamlet:

To be or not to be, that is the question; Whether tis nobler in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune…

Calhoun’s anagram:

In one of the Bard’s best-thought-of tragedies, our insistenthero, Hamlet, queries on two fronts about how life turns rotten.

Example #4

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O, Draconian devil! = Leonardo da Vinci Oh, lame saint! = The Mona Lisa So dark the con of Man = Madonna of the Rocks

(The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown)

Dan Brown’s bestselling novel The Da Vinci Code opens with the murderof a curator at the Louvre Museum in Paris. This curator, JacquesSaunière, writes the above anagrams in his own blood as clues beforedying. All three of the anagrams relate to Leonardo da Vinci.

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