More Literary Terms Mrs. Williams English 9

Paradox- A statement or situation containing apparently contradictory or incompatible elements but expresses a truth. Examples: “The more things change, the more they stay the same.” “The more we learn, the less we know.” “You can save money by spending it.” “The beginning of the end.” Paradox-Oxymoron differences: – 1.Paradox is a statement or a group of statements. Oxymoron is a combination of two contradictory terms. 2.Paradox consists of a whole sentence or a paragraph. Oxymoron on the other hand comes with only two words that contradicts itself. 3.Paradox is an action that is contradictory and oxymoron is a description of a phrase.

Dramatic Irony An incongruity or discrepancy between what a character says or thinks and what the reader knows to be true. That’s not true!

Situational Irony A situation in which there is an incongruity between appearance and reality, or between expectation and fulfillment, or between the actual situation and what would seem appropriate.

Verbal Irony A figure of speech in which what is said is the opposite of what is meant.

Allusion A reference, explicit or implicit, to something in previous literature or history.

Hyperbole (Overstatement) A figure of speech in which exaggeration is used in a deliberate and often outrageous manner. Example: “The shot heard around the world.” “I will love you until all the seas go dry.”

Figures of speech: Metonymy / Synecdoche A figure of speech in which some significant aspect or detail of an experience is used to represent the whole experience. “Lend me your ear.”

Metonymy The use of something closely related for the thing that is actually meant. Example -You really like the Shakespearean plays, and you say, “I love Shakespeare!”

Synecdoche The use of the part for the whole. Example - “All hands on deck.” You obviously want the entire bodies of the crew present, not just their hands. -”The hands that created the work of art were masterful.”

Understatement A figure of speech that consists of saying less than one means, or of saying what one means with less force than occasion warrants. Example: "It's just a flesh wound." (Black Knight, after having both of his arms cut off, in Monty Python and the Holy Grail)

Symbolism Something that means more than what it is; an object, person, situation, or action that in addition to its literal meaning suggests other meanings as well a figure of speech which may be read both literally and figuratively A figure of speech which may be read both literally and figuratively.

Foreshadowing Hints given to the reader of what is to come. Ex – “The stalwart hero was doomed to suffer the destined end of his days.”

The Sonnet is… A fixed form of 14 lines, normally in iambic pentameter, with a rhyme scheme conforming to or approximating one of 2 main types: The Italian Sonnet (Petrarchan Sonnet) and The English Sonnet(Shakespearean Sonne).

The Shakespearean Sonnet Rhyme Scheme: – ABAB CDCD EFEF GG It’s content or structure ideally parallels the rhyme scheme, falling into three coordinate quatrains (4 lines x 3) and a concluding couplet (2). ABABCDCDEFEFGGABABCDCDEFEFGG

The Petrarchan Sonnet It consists of an octave (8) rhyming: ABBA ABBA and a sestet (6) using any arrangement of two or three additional rhymes, such as CDCDCD or CDECDE. – Rhyme Scheme will look like” ABBA ABBA CDCDCD ABBA ABBA CDECDE ABBAABBACDCDCDABBAABBACDCDCD ABBAABBACDEDCEABBAABBACDEDCE