Literary Elements - Ms. MacKenzie's Class

Rhetorical Devices Begin notes on a new piece of paper in your Literature Notes section Overview A rhetorical device is a technique a writer

or speaker uses to encourage his or her audience to understand, act, or believe. Being able to understand a writers rhetorical techniques gives the reader a fuller understanding of the writers purpose.

Foreshadowing the use of clues that suggest events that have yet to occur Symbols anything that stands

for or represents something else Surprise Ending twists at the end of the story that you did not expect

Imagery descriptive or figurative language that appeals to one or more of the five senses.

Mood the feeling created in the reader by the literary work or passage

Tone the writers attitude toward his/her audience and subject Irony

a literary technique that portrays the difference between appearance and reality, expectation and result, or meaning and intention Irony

is an implied discrepancy between what is said and what is meant. Three kinds of irony: 1. verbal irony is when an author says one thing and means something else.

2. dramatic irony is when an audience perceives something that a character in the literature does not know. 3. irony of situation is a discrepancy between the expected result and actual results.

Alliteration repetition of initial consonant sounds Ex. Brilliant, beautiful, and bold, the blinding light beamed.

Alliteration Suspense a feeling of curiosity or uncertainty about the outcome of events in a literary work

Allusion the reference to a well-known person, place, event, literary work, or work of art Rhetorical Question

thought-provoking questions asked merely for effect with no answer expected Metaphor comparison between two different things

that resemble each other in at least one way Example: And money is like muck, not good except it be spread. Frances Bacon Genre

category or type of literature Poetry Prose Fiction(novels & short stories) and Nonfiction (bios, autobios, letters, essays and

reports. Drama Characterization the act of creating and developing a character -direct characterization

-indirect characterization Conflict a struggle between two opposing forces Internal Conflict the character struggles with himself or herself

External Conflict the character struggles with an outside force * A story can contain more than one conflict.