Literary DevicesCommon terms

needed to understand literature

and writing(PART 1)

ARCHTYPEDefinition: An original after

which other similar things are patternediPod= mp3 player Superhero=Superman Villain=Darth Vader

Ex:

ATMOSPHEREDefinition: The way that

setting affects the mood of a work

Ex: a graveyard, a birthday party, a haunted house, a battle field, etc

CHARACTERIZATION

Definition: The process used to understand a character

Ex: “He can’t walk down the street without everybody staring at him. When we were ten, he was almost 6 feet tall and people who didn’t know him treated him older.”

DYNAMIC CHARACTER

Definition: A character that experiences a change of heart or point of view

Ex: Simba (The Lion King)Marlin (Finding Nemo)

STATIC CHARACTER

Definition: A character that remains the same throughout the plot

Ex: The Evil Stepsisters (Cinderella)Zeus (Greek Mythology)Timon and Pumba (Lion King)

CONFLICTDefinition: The struggle between

two opposing forces (any problem that occurs in a story)

Ex: Internal conflict (man vs. self)War (man vs. man)

Titanic sinking (man vs. nature)The Civil Rights Movement (man vs.

society) Fulfilling destiny? (man vs. fate)

DICTIONDefinition: The use of selective

word choice

Ex: MAD= $5 wordANGRY= $10 word!FURIOUS= $50 word!!ENRAGED= $100

word!!!

FORESHADOWINGDefinition: Clues that indicate

what may happen later in the story

Ex: Intense music in scary movies, “dark clouds rolling in”“I hope nothing bad happens!”

IMAGERYDefinition: Writing that creates a

mental picture for the reader

Ex: When you read a book, you often visualize the characters and scenes. When they make a movie, we are often disappointed because the filmmakers idea is different than ours. This is due to IMAGERY!

IRONYDefinition: The contrast between

actual meaning and the suggestion of another meaning

OR when something seems to be the

opposite of what it is supposed to be

Ex: The inventor of the Segway dies in Segway accident!

METAPHORDefinition: A comparison that does NOT

use like or as

Ex: You are an angel!That test was torture!

MORALDefinition: A universal lesson taught

by a story

Ex: “ Don’t judge a book by its cover”“ Slow and steady wins the race”“ “Better safe than sorry”

OXYMORONDefinition: a phrase that combines

words that are opposites

Ex: Jumbo ShrimpQuiet Riot

Loud Silence

PERSONIFICATIONDefinition: A figure of speech

that gives human characteristics to non-living (inanimate) objects

Ex: “My car hates me.”

“ Facebook is my best friend.”

PLOTDefinition: The events that

take place in a story (a.k.a.-what happens!)

Ex: Nemo gets captured, Nemo lives in the tank, Nemo escapes, Nemo goes home!

POINT OF VIEWDefinition: The perspective

from which a story is told

Ex: In any conflict there are many different points of view

FIRST PERSONPOINT OF VIEW

Definition: A story that is told by a character using 1st person pronouns like: I, ME, MY

Ex: I couldn't believe my eyes!

THIRD PERSONPOINT OF VIEW

Definition: A story that is told by a narrator outside the story

Ex: Joseph couldn't believe his eyes!

SETTINGDefinition: The place, time and

circumstances surrounding a story

Ex: Freedom Writers- Setting,- 1990’s Los Angeles

post-LA Riots

SIMILEDefinition: A comparison that uses like or as

Ex: You sing like a bird!You are as light as a feather!

SYMBOLDefinition: a person, object or place that represents the meaning of something else

Ex:

THEMEDefinition: A message the

author wants the reader to think about and understand

Ex: Coming of Age, Identity, Love Conquers All