Literary and Language Elements Set #2: Figurative Language English I

I. Irony There are three types of irony: Verbal Irony: Saying something when you mean the opposite(ex: General Zaroff in “TMDG” says, “We try to be civilized here.”) Situational Irony: Occurs when a situation turns out to be just the opposite of what we expect (ex: Meeting the Wizard of Oz) Dramatic Irony: When we know something that the characters in the story do not (ex: In many scary movies, the audience can see the killer, but the victim cannot)  The difference between what we expect and what actually happens

II. Symbolism Symbol: a specific object, person, or event that functions as itself but also functions as something more than itself. Symbols help to reinforce theme! Dove= Peace Sun=Power that produces life Fork in the road = ? A torrential rainstorm = ?

III. Comparisons Personification: A figure of speech in which human qualities are given to an object, animal, or idea. Examples: “The wind whistled through the trees.” “The earth trembled beneath my feet.”

III. Comparisons Simile: A figure of speech that makes a DIRECT COMPARISON between two unlike words, often (but not always) using comparisons such as “like” or “as.” Examples: “The wind sounded like a freight train as it tore apart the house.” Comparison is between the sound of the wind and a freight train “’What I like best about this tree,’ he said in that voice of his, the equivalent in sound of a hypnotist’s eye…” Comparison between his voice and the effect of a hypnotist’s eye

III. Comparisons Metaphor: A figure of speech that makes an INDIRECT COMPARISON between two unlike things that have something in common. They DO NOT contain the words “like” or “as.” Examples: “His face was a stone mask. It did not move or show any emotion.” “The tree was a steely black temple beside the river.”

IV. Theme A theme is the central idea of a work of literature. It is not the same thing as the subject. It is what the work means. It is the “BIG PICTURE” message that the author wants us to discover as we read.

IV. Theme How do we talk about theme? A theme is NOT a one-word concept. That is the subject. We state theme as a full sentence. EXAMPLE:  If a story is about revenge, the theme of that story is not revenge. Revenge is the subject.  The theme is the idea or insight about revenge, such as “Revenge is not always as sweet as it seems.”

V. Motif A motif is a recurring subject, theme, or idea. A motif is important because through repetition, it allows the reader to see what the main points and themes of a story are. For example: The Bible and other similar religious texts have the recurring theme of the triumph of good over evil. This is a motif.