LITERARY DEVICES & ELEMENTS KNIFFEN-SHORT STORY UNIT

LITERARY DEVICES & ELEMENTS KNIFFEN-SHORT STORY UNIT

Alliteration The repetition of an initial consonant sound. This literary term is often used in poetry. Consider Carrie Underwood's use of alliteration in her song Blown Away.

Alliteration Alliteration is also often used in tongue twisters. Try a few of these out! If Freaky Fred Found Fifty Feet of Fruit And Fed Forty Feet to his Friend Frank. How many Feet of Fruit did Freaky Fred Find? Silly Sally swiftly shooed seven silly sheep. The seven silly sheep Silly Sally shooed shilly-shallied south.

Allusion An allusion is a figure of speech where the author refers to a subject matter such as a person, place, event, or literary work in a passing reference. It is up to the reader to make a connection to the subject being mentioned.

Allusion Swift's song alludes to other parts of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet as well. She mentions disapproving families and the famous balcony scene from the play. This is allusion because she mentions the names and plot aspects of Romeo and Juliet in passing. Click The Link Below To See The Video For This Song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xg3ve8ie_e

Analogy A comparison between two things for the purpose of explanation or clarification. Click the link below to see Barrack Obama's Analogy. He is comparing the economic recession to driving a car into a ditch. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkv-dxhhtms

Conflict In a story, conflict is the struggle between opposing forces. There are 4 types of conflict: Person vs Person Person vs Self Person vs Society Person vs Environment

Conflict Consider the following movies: The Dark Knight Rises uses human vs human conflict (Batman vs Bane) 127 Hours uses human vs self conflict (man must mentally and physically overcome being trapped for 127 hours). 2012 uses human vs environment conflict (human race vs environmental apocalypse) Coach Carter uses human vs society conflict (Coach using new coaching techniques which are not approved by the community)

Dystopia An imagined setting in which everything is unpleasant or bad. This could be a totalitarian, apocalyptic, or environmentally- degraded society. For example: The zombie takeover in the TV show, The Walking Dead

Dystopia The Hunger Games falls in the dystopian genre! Unpleasant setting Totalitarian government Click The Link Below to See The Trailer! http://www.youtube.com/watc h?v=fovfg3n_rsu

Foil The term foil refers to a literary device where the author creates a character whose primary purpose is to create a contrast to another character by laying emphasis, or drawing attention to, the differences. Dr. Jekyll is a seemingly prosperous man, well established in the community, and known for his decency and charitable works. Mr Hyde is a strange, repugnant man who looks faintly pre-human. Hyde is violent and cruel, and everyone who sees him describes him as ugly and deformed.

Foreshadowing The literary device foreshadowing refers to the use of words/phrases that give hints to the reader of something that is going to happen without revealing the story or spoiling the suspense. Foreshadowing is used to suggest an upcoming outcome to the story. Click on the link below to see an example of foreshadowing in The Lion King. Mufasa tells his son, Simba, that kings of the past look down on on them from the stars. Later in the movie, Mufasa comes to Simba from the stars. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrvrxvnyr7y

Idiom An expression that is peculiar to itself grammatically or cannot be understood from the individual meanings of its elements but is understood by most people. Modern Family Gloria Delgado on Modern family is known for using English idioms improperly!

Idiom A few idioms she has trouble with include: She says: We live in a doggy dog word She means: We live in a dog-eat-dog world She says: Blessings in the skies She means Blessings in disguise

Irony (verbal) Verbal irony (also called sarcasm) occurs when a writer makes a statement in which the actual meaning differs from the meaning that the words appear to express. Click the link below to see some examples! http://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=iir-bnchiyo

Irony (situational) Situational irony occurs when the reader is led to believe that one thing will occur but, in fact, the opposite occurs. This can be humorous or tragic. Click the link below to see some examples! http://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=tqg6ro8c_w0

Irony (dramatic) Dramatic irony occurs when the reader/ audience knows something, but the characters within the story do not. Monsters, Inc.

Irony (dramatic) In horror movies, the audience often knows that the killer is present, when the characters do not! Can you think of any examples in movies you have seen?

Metaphor A metaphor is an implied comparison that is made between two unlike things that actually have something important in common. One Direction in their song "One Thing" sing: You're my kryptonite You keep making me weak Why is this a metaphor?

Metaphor Although at first glance, kryptonite and love don't seem to have much in common; they actually do! Kryptonite makes Superman feel weak like love makes the man in the song feel weak. This is a direct comparison between two unlike things that have something in common.

Mood Mood is the author's emotional perspective towards the subject of the literary work. It refers to the mental and emotional disposition of the author towards the subject, which in turn makes the audience feel this emotion. Miranda Lambert's song The House That Built Me tells the story of going back to her childhood home. The song demonstrates the author's longing to find comfort and peace. The mood of this song is nostalgic and the author is searching to be healed. Click below to listen to the song. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqynm6sjd_o

Motif A motif is a specific theme that dominates a literary work. Motifs are very noticeable and play a significant role in defining the nature of the story, the course of events, and the very fabric of the literary piece. What would be one of the dominant themes (motifs) of The Lord Of The Rings? Click below to see the trailer! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=astywd25faq

Motif One recurring theme (or motif) from The Lord Of The Rings is temptation. The temptation of the ring is the motivating force behind every action in this trilogy, whether characters are fighting the temptation, nurturing it, denying it, or preventing someone else from giving in to it. Characters of every race pursue the ring.

Personification Personification is one of the most commonly used and recognized literary devices. It refers to the practice of attaching human traits and characteristics with inanimate objects, phenomena and animals. Dear X by Disciple Dear pain, oh, it's been a long time Remember when you were holding me tied I would stay awake with you all night Dear shame, I was safe in your arms You were there when it all fell apart I would get so lost in your beautiful eyes I let you go But you're still chasing Go ahead, you're never gonna take me You can bend, but you're never gonna break me I was yours, I'm not yours anymore Oh, you don't own me

Point of View (First Person) With first person point of view, the story is told by the narrator from his/her point of view. It is easily identified by the use of "I" or "Me". The Diary of A Young Girl is written from the first person perspective. It tells the true story of Anne Frank, who lived in hiding during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands.

Point of View (Second Person) You use the second-person point of view to address the reader. The second person uses the pronouns you, your, and yours. Click the link below to listen to the introduction to an old T V series called The Twilight Zone. It uses second person narration! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzlg28b-r8y

Point of View (Third Person) With third person point of view, the narrator does not participate in the events of the story and tells the story by referring to all characters and places in the third person with third person pronouns and proper nouns (he, she, they). The movie Stranger Than Fiction is narrated in the third person omniscient (all-knowing narrator). Click below to see the trailer for the movie! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fj4mc8nqpjg

Pun A play on words, sometimes on different senses of the same word and sometimes on the similar sense or sound of different words.

Simile Similes are comparisons between two unrelated and dissimilar things using like or as (and sometimes than). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_8ydghbgsg

Symbol A symbol is an object that represents something else, usually something more meaningful.

Symbol In a literary piece, a symbol means the same thing. Consider this possible symbol: Hope Perhaps a light in the story could represent hope!

Tone The tone of a literary work is the perspective or attitude that the author adopts with regards to a specific character, place, or development. Tone can portray a variety of emotions ranging from solemn, grave, and critical to witty, wry, and humorous. Tone helps the reader ascertain the writer s feelings towards a particular topic and this, in turn, influences the reader s understanding of the story. Forest Gump tells the amazing story of a simple man with good intentions. For those who have seen the film, what kind of tone do you think the film Forest Gump uses?

Tone Forest Gump has an optimistic tone. It is clear that the author's perspective and attitude about Forrest is a positive one. The film portrays a lighthearted and hopeful perspective, and shows that the writer feels optimistic about the subject at hand.

Tragic Flaw The character flaw or error of a tragic hero that leads to a character's downfall. Dr. Gregory House from the TV show House his addiction is his tragic flaw. Although he is a genius, he manages his pain through the habitual use of Vicodin. This tragic flaw causes his downfall, especially as the seasons go on. Click the link below to see a clip demonstrating Dr. House's tragic flaw: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xudcao2spgq

Unreliable Narrator Sometimes the author chooses to tell the story through a narrator that does not see the story as it truly is this is an unreliable narrator Sometimes, the first person narrator is even mentally insane, depressed, or mentally retarded (the unnamed narrator of Fight Club, both narrators, Nick and Amy in Gone Girl)