Literary Terms B. A. I Optional English Sem. II
B. A. I Optional English Sem. II
Literary Terms
1. Simile
A simile is a figure of speech in which two essentially dissimilar objects or concepts are expressly compared with one another through the use of “like” or “as.” Simile is used as a literary device to assert similarity with the help of like or as, which are language constructs that establish equivalency.
Example:Easy Like Sunday Morning
2. Metaphor
A metaphor is a figure of speech that makes a comparison between two non-similar things. As a literary device, metaphor creates implicit comparisons without the express use of “like” or “as.”
- Example: Time is money.
Imagery is a literary device that refers to the use of figurative language to evoke a sensory experience or create a picture with words for a reader. Through imagery, writers appeal to a reader’s senses of sight, taste, smell, touch, and sound, as well as internal emotion and feelings.
Example: The autumn leaves are a blanket on the ground.
4. Personification
Personification is a figure of speech in which an idea or thing is given human attributes and/or feelings or is spoken of as if it were human. Personification is a common form of metaphor in that human characteristics are attributed to nonhuman things.
- Example: My computer works very hard.
5. Contrast
Contrast is a rhetorical device through which writers identify differences between two subjects, places, persons, things, or ideas. Simply, it is a type of opposition between two objects, highlighted to emphasize their differences.
Example: “Unlike most babies, Sagar could walk as soon as he was born.”
6. Allegory
Allegory is a narration or description in which events, actions, characters, settings or objects represent specific abstractions or ideas.
Example: The Pilgrim’s Progress byJohn Bunyan
7. Symbolism
Symbolism is a literary device that refers to the use of symbols in a literary work. A symbol is something that stands for or suggests something else; it represents something beyond literal meaning.
Example: rainbow–symbolizes hope and promise
8. Soliloquy
A soliloquy is a literary device in the form of a speech or monologue spoken by a single character in a theatrical play or drama. The purpose of a soliloquy is for the character to express their inner thoughts and feelings that are not intended to be heard or known by other characters in the play or the audience members.
Example: Hamlet’s “To be, or not to be…”
9. Monologue
Monologue is a literary device featuring a “speech” made by a single character in a work of literature or dramatic work. Monologues allow a character to address other characters present in the scene and/or the reader/audience.
Example: Rosalind’s monologue in ‘As You Like It’
10. Setting
Setting is a literary device that allows the writer of a narrative to establish the time, location, and environment in which it takes place.
Example: ‘Forest of Arden’ is one of the settings in the play ‘As You Like It’ by Shakespeare
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