1. Literary Terms examples from Othello

2. Schemes
~Schemes are figures of speech that deal with word order, syntax, letters and sounds, rather than the meaning of words.~

3. Look under Scheme of Construction

4. Scheme of Balance

5. Antitheses \an-TI-thə-səs\ —the juxtaposition of contrasting ideas, often in parallel form
(NOTE: JUXTAPOSED—placed side by side for contrast or comparison)
EXAMPLE: “I think my wife be honest, and think she is not; / I think that thou art just, and think thou art not.” (III.iii ).

6. Scheme of Unusual or Inverted Word Order

7. Anastrophe \ə-NAS-trə-fē\ —inversion of the natural or usual word order
EXAMPLE: “So let the Turk of Cyprus us beguile” (I.iii.207).

8. Parenthesis \pə-REN(t)-thə-səs\ —insertion of some verbal unit in a position that interrupts the normal syntactic flow of the sentence (HINT: Watch for commas, parentheses and dashes.)
EXAMPLE: “ Now sir, this granted – as it is a most pregnant and unforced position – who stands so eminent in the degree of this fortune as Cassio does? (II.i ).

9. Scheme of Omission

10. Ellipsis \i-LIP-səs, e-\
—deliberate omission of a word or words which are readily supplied by the context.
EXAMPLE:
Brabantio. “I would not have it so.”
Othello “Nor I.”
(I.iii.238)

11. Schemes of
Repetition
~When redundancy
is not redundant.~

12. Alliteration—repetition of initial consonant sounds in two or more words in a line
Example: “She never yet was foolish that was fair/ For even her folly helped her to an heir” (II.i ).

13. Anaphora—repetition of the same word or groups of words at the beginnings of successive clauses.
EXAMPLE: “ Farewell the tranquil mind! Farewell content! / Farewell the plumed troops, and the big wars…” (III.iii ).

14. Epistrophe \i-PIS-trə-fē\
—repetition of the same word or group of words at the ends of successive clauses.
EXAMPLE: “He bears the sentence well that nothing bears/ But the free comfort which from whence he hears.” (I.iii ).

15. Analepsis \anna 'LEPsis\ —repetition at the end of a clause of the word that began the clause.
EXAMPLE: “Our general’s wife is now the general.” (II.iii )

16. The Tropes
~Tropes are figures of speech with an unexpected twist in the meaning of words.~

17. Metaphor—a comparison of two dissimilar things (typically stating one thing is another)
EXAMPLE: “Good name in man or woman, dear my lord/ Is the immediate jewel of their souls.” (III.iii ).

18. Simile—an explicit comparison between two things of unlike nature (the connector is usually like, as, than or resembles)
EXAMPLE: “The moor is of a free and open nature…and will as tenderly be led by th’ nose / as asses are”(I.iii ).

19. ~Brabantio’s years or weapons alone cannot command Othello.~
Synecdoche \sə-NEK-də-kē\
—a figure of speech in which a part stands for the whole
EXAMPLE: “Good sir, you shall command more with years/ Than with your weapons” (I.ii.59-60).
~Brabantio’s years or weapons alone cannot command Othello.~

20. Personification—giving human characteristics to inanimate objects
EXAMPLE: “Now, by heaven, / My blood begins my safer guides to rule, / And passion, having my best judgment collied, / Assays to lead the way.” (II.iii )

21. Hyperbole—the use of exaggerated terms for emphasis or heightened effect
EXAMPLE: “Hell and night/ Must bring this monstrous birth to the world’s light.” (II.ii.59-60)

22. Rhetorical question—to ask a question not for an answer, but to assert/deny something obliquely
EXAMPLE: “Do ye triumph, Roman? Do you triumph? ”
(IV.i.120).

23. Puns—a generic name for those figures which make a play on words
EXAMPLE: “and for me to devise a lodging, and say he lies here or lies there, / were to lie in mine own throat” (III.iv.11-13)
- Clown

24. Periphrasis \pə-RI-frə-səs\\
—substitution of a descriptive word or phrase for a proper name or quality; used frequently in sports writing.
EXAMPLE: “Damn her, lewd minx!” (III.iv.474)

25. ~Othello is speaking to Lodovico & Desdemona.~
Apostrophe \ə-PäS-trə-fē\ —a sudden turn from the general audience to address a specific group or person or personified abstraction absent or present
EXAMPLE: “Proceed you in your tears./ Concerning this sir – O, well painted passion! / I am commanded home. --Get you away;” (IV.i ).
~Othello is speaking to Lodovico & Desdemona.~

26. VI. Other Literary Terms

27. Allusion \a-LOO-zhuhn\ --a reference in a literary work to a person, place, or thing in history or another work of literature. Allusions are often indirect or brief references to well-known characters or events.
EXAMPLE: “My name/ that was as fresh as Dian’s visage, is not begrimed and black/ As mine own face.” (III.iii )

28. Couplet \KUP-let\ --a style of poetry defined as a complete thought written in two lines with rhyming ends. The most popular of the couplets is the heroic couplet.
EXAMPLE:
“Look to thee, Moor, if thou hast eyes to see/ She has deceived her father and may thee” (I. iii ).

29. “And, for I know thou’rt full of love and honesty” (III.iii.118-19).
Dramatic irony—when the audience knows something that a character on stage does not
EXAMPLE:
“And, for I know thou’rt full of love and honesty” (III.iii ).
~Othello speaking to Iago regarding Iago’s “observations”~

30. Motif— \moh-TEEF\ : a recurring object, concept, or structure in a work of literature
EXAMPLE:
Iago: “I say, put money in thy purse…--fill thy purse with money”(I.ii ).
Money/riches extend not only throughout this paragraph, but throughout the entire piece.

31. Foreshadowing—significant hints given by an author which help the reader predict the outcome of the action.
EXAMPLE:
Excellent wretch! Perdition catch my soul/ But I do love thee. And when I love thee not/ Chaos is come again”(III.iii.90-93).

32. Paradox—a statement that appears contradictory but actually contains some truth
EXAMPLE: “O thou weed,/ Who art so lovely fair, and smell’st so sweet,/ That the sense aches at thee, would thou hadst never/ been born!” (IV.ii.66-68)

33. Symbol—something that stands for or suggests something else by reason of relationship
EXAMPLE: Iago: “Do it not with poison. Strangle her in her bed, / even the bed she hath contaminated” (IV.i ).

34. “the pathetic fallacy”—The attribution of human feelings and responses to inanimate things (e.g., nature, weather). In Shakespeare's play Macbeth nature is often personified and responsive to the situations in the play.
EXAMPLE:
Ross: [the same night Duncan was murdered]
And Duncan’s horses. . . / Turned wild in nature, broke their stalls, flung out, / Contending ‘gainst obedience, as they would make / War with mankind.
Old Man: ‘Tis said they eat each other.
(II.iv.14-18)
Othello example? Methinks not.