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Mood

Definition of Mood As a literary device, mood is the emotional feeling or atmosphere that a work of literature produces in a reader. All works of literature produce some sort of emotional and psychological effect in the audience; though every reader may respond differently to the same work of literature there is often a similar type of mood produced. For

Zoomorphism

Definition of Zoomorphism Zoomorphism is the device of giving animal-like qualities to anything that is not that animal such as humans, gods, and inanimate objects. Zoomorphism can also include giving the features of one animal to another, such as if a dog were to say “meow” in a cartoon or work of literature. A special class of zoomorphism in which

Tragicomedy

Definition of Tragicomedy Tragicomedy is a genre that blends elements of both comedy and tragedy. A tragicomedy can either be a serious play with a happy ending—which is not the case with a straightforward tragedy—or a tragic play interspersed with moments of humor in order to lighten the mood. The definition of tragicomedy was first used by the Roman playwright

Pastiche

Definition of Pastiche A pastiche is any work of art that imitates the style of another artist or artists. Pastiches are not meant to ridicule the original style in the way that a parody does; instead, a pastiche respects the original style and often pays some homage to it. In literature, a pastiche usually is a light-hearted imitation that is

Subplot

Definition of Subplot A subplot is a supporting story for the main plot in a work of literature. It can involve characters other than the main protagonist and antagonist, and may not intersect much with the main narrative. However, there is usually some important connection between a subplot and the main plot, either thematically, in setting, through characters, or because

Atmosphere

Definition of Atmosphere Atmosphere in literature is the feeling, emotion, or mood that an author creates in a narrative through descriptive language. Thus this literary device is, in a sense, the emotional atmosphere in which the action takes place, as well as the emotional atmosphere that the audience is encouraged to internalize while reading. Though the atmosphere is usually established

Accumulation

Definition of Accumulation Accumulation is a figure of speech in rhetoric that creates a list or gathers scattered ideas in a way that builds up, emphasizes, or summarizes the main point. Accumulation is an example of addition in rhetoric, using a “more the merrier” approach to illustrating the theme of a passage. Addition in rhetoric is also known as adiectio,

Hook

Definition of Hook A narrative hook occurs at the start of a story and is meant to “hook” the reader so that he or she keeps turning pages. The best hooks are just the first sentence of the book—something so gripping that the reader must keep going. Some hooks, however, last for the first paragraph or even the first page

Line Break

Definition of Line Break A line break refers to where an author has chosen to end one line in a poem and begin another. A line break can either be an example of enjambment, which means the author has chosen to end a line without completing a sentence or clause, or can be an end stopped line, which is a

Antistrophe

Definition of Antistrophe An antistrophe is the second part of an ode, and is meant to mirror the opening section, called the strophe. Originally, when the ode form was sung by choruses in ancient Greece, the strophe would be performed by moving from east to west. The antistrophe, which mirrored and reversed the strophe, was then performed by moving from

Slang

Definition of Slang Slang consists of words that are non-standard in a given language and is generally spoken to show inclusion in a certain social group. Social groups can be very small—from just a few friends—to very large, e.g., millions of people who frequent a website. Slang is usually considered informal, and thus is common in speech but not in

Setting

Definition of Setting The setting of a piece of literature is the time and place in which the story takes place. The definition of setting can also include social statuses, weather, historical period, and details about immediate surroundings. Settings can be real or fictional, or a combination of both real and fictional elements. Some settings are very specific (Wulfhall in

Tragic Flaw

Definition of Tragic Flaw A tragic flaw is an attribute of a character that ultimately leads to their demise. Not surprisingly, this literary device is commonly found in tragedies. Some definitions of tragic flaw maintain that this characteristic must be a weakness or a failing. However, some tragic flaws can instead be elements of someone’s personality that force them to

Tragedy

Definition of Tragedy In literary terms, tragedy is a form of drama in which there is a display of human suffering and often catharsis for the audience. Tragedy, as we know it in Western culture, has its foundation in ancient Greece about 2,500 years ago. It has evolved over the millennia and had an important role in many different cultures

Transition

Definition of Transition In literature, a transition is used to signal a change in the story by way of a word, phrase, sentence, or paragraph. Punctuation can also, at times, signal a transition. These transitions may be anything from a change in setting or time in the narrative, to a change in perspective or point-of-view character, to changes in the

Polysyndeton

Definition of Polysyndeton Polysyndeton is a figure of speech in which several conjunctions are used to join connected clauses in places where they are not contextually necessary. For example, consider the following sentence: “The dinner was so good; I ate the chicken, and the salad, and the turkey, and the wild rice, and the bread, and the mashed potatoes, and

Motif

Definition of Motif A motif is a narrative element with symbolic meaning that repeats throughout a work of literature. Motifs may come in the form of reoccurring imagery, language, structure, or contrasts. In drama, motifs may also take the form of repeated music, visual components, or physical movements. The development of motifs in a work of literature often contributes to

Anaphora

Definition of Anaphora Anaphora is a literary and rhetorical device in which a word or group of words is repeated at the beginning of two or more successive clauses or sentences. This technique adds emphasis and unity to the clauses. For example, look at the function of the words “if only” in the following sentence: “If only I hadn’t gone

Tone

Definition of Tone In literature, tone is the attitude or approach that the author takes toward the work’s central theme or subject. Works of literature can have many different types of tone, such as humorous, solemn, distant, intimate, ironic, arrogant, condescending, sentimental, and so on. Any emotion that humans can feel can be an example of tone in literature. All

Imagery

Definition of Imagery As a literary device, imagery consists of descriptive language that can function as a way for the reader to better imagine the world of the piece of literature and also add symbolism to the work. Imagery draws on the five senses, namely the details of taste, touch, sight, smell, and sound. Imagery can also pertain to details

Literary Devices

What are Literary Devices? From the very first time humans began sharing stories, literary devices have played a key role in our history. Along with the creation of storytelling came the development of narrative elements like plot, character, and tone. As storytelling evolved over the millennia, so too did the range and complexity of techniques available to authors. Many of

Sonnet

Definition of Sonnet A sonnet is a poetic form that has fourteen lines. It originated in Italy in the thirteenth century, and though it has generally kept some of the original rules, such as the number of lines and having a specific rhyme scheme and meter, the conventions of sonnets have changed over the centuries to some degree. There are

Foreshadowing

Definition of Foreshadowing Foreshadowing is a literary device in which the author gives clues about events that will happen later in the story. Often these clues are fairly subtle so that they can only be noticed or fully understood upon a second reading. Foreshadowing can come in the form of descriptive detail, such as storm clouds on the horizon, bits

Doppelgänger

Definition of Doppelgänger A doppelgänger is a person who is a look-alike to another person, and is often a foil in literature. Doppelgängers are often harbingers of bad things to come, and can often be evil twins to the protagonist. Doppelgängers are usually identified because they look so much like the main character, yet they could also resemble someone else

Anachronism

Definition of Anachronism An anachronism is something or someone that is not in the correct chronological time period. Anachronism examples can be intentional or unintentional, and involves the incorrect temporal placement of any person, event, object, custom, slang word, animal, or belief system which was not present at that time. The most common type of anachronism is to find something

Epigraph

Definition of Epigraph In literature, an epigraph is a short quotation that is set at the beginning of a text or section of a text to suggest the theme of what’s to come. The epigraph can be a quote from a famous person, an excerpt or full text of a poem, phrase, lyric, or definition. Epigraphs can be a sort