Literary Devices

a) Simple parallel sentence
b) Complex parallel sentence
= repetition of the same pattern of words or phrases within a sentence or passage to show that two or more ideas have the same level of importance.

• a) She looked tired, frustrated, anddisgusted.“All the mechanical operations for allthe farms were performed here. Theshoemaking and mending, theblacksmiting, cartwrighting, coopering,weaving, and grain-grinding were all performed...” (7)
• “She had served my old master faithfully... She had been the source of all his wealth; she had peopled hisplantation with slaves; she had become a great grandmother in his service...” (28)
• The effect is a kind of suspense in which the reader’s attention ispropelled forward to the end.

Tags

CCSS.RL.2.4

CCSS.RL.7.4

anaphora

• 2 parallel elements are set off against each other
• A type of parallelism in which thesame word or phrase is repeatedin (and usually at the beginning of) successive lines, clauses or sentences. Found often in both verse and prose.
• A long sentence comprised ofseveral short balanced, dependent clauses ending with an independent clause that completes the idea.

Tags

CCSS.RI.3.10

CCSS.RI.7.4

CCSS.RI.8.4

CCSS.RI.9-10.4

CCSS.RI.9-10.4

litote

• Just as when an author chooses words for their connotative associations (see the above discussion of 'diction'), she chooses sensory details for the associations or tones they evoke.
• derived from a Greek word meaning “simple”, is a figure of speech which employs an understatement by using double negatives or, in other words, positive statement is expressed by negating its opposite expressions
• A statement that, despite apparently sound reasoning from true premises, leads to an apparently self-contradictory or logically unacceptable conclusion

Tags

CCSS.RL.11-12.6

Balanced sentence -  Two parallel elements are set off against each other.

• “We observe today not a victory of party but a celebration of freedom,symbolizing an end as well as a beginning, signifying renewal as well as change.” (J.F. Kennedy’s 1961 speech)
• “Whilst I was saddened by the thought of losing the aid of my kind mistress, Iwas gladdened by the invaluable instruction which, by the merestaccident, I had gained from my master” (20).

Tags

CCSS.L.4.5

CCSS.L.5.5

Periodic Sentence - A long sentence comprised of several short balanced, dependent clauses ending with an independent clause that completes the idea.

• “My natural elasticity was crushed, my intellect languished, the disposition to read departed, the cheerful spark thatlingered about my eye died; the dark night of slavery closed in upon me; andbehold a man transformed into abrute!” (38).
• Two ideas seem equal but theysuggest a closer look;may emphasize a contrast in ideas(antithesis)
• “A mere look, word, or motion, – amistake, accident, or want of power, –are all matters for which a slave maybe whipped at any time” (47). (also parallel)

Tags

CCSS.L.4.5

CCSS.L.5.5

Loose sentence

• Can emphasize list of “too many”challenges or tasks that a subject must undertake/ overcome.
• A sentence structure in which amain clause is followed by one or more coordinate or subordinate phrases and clauses
• The thought of a sentence isinterrupted by evidence or details,usually set off by a dash (2hyphens).

Tags

CCSS.L.4.5

CCSS.L.5.5

Interrupted Sentence - The thought of a sentence is interrupted by evidence or details,usually set off by a dash (2 hyphens).

• “My natural elasticity was crushed, my intellect languished, the disposition toread departed, the cheerful spark thatlingered about my eye died; the dark night of slavery closed in upon me; andbehold a man transformed into abrute!” (38).
• Stops the reader – to show importance of added detail – before writer finishes his idea.Can emphasize length of list – it seems never ending – or the inevitability or in es capability of a situation.
• Robert E. Lee was a foe without hate, a friend without treachery, a soldier without cruelty.

Tags

CCSS.L.4.5

CCSS.L.5.5

metonymy

• Polysyndeton is a literary technique in which conjunctions (e.g. and, but, or) are used repeatedly in quick succession, often with no commas, even when the conjunctions could be removed.
• a word or phrase that is used to stand in for another word. Sometimes a metonymy is chosen because it is a well-known characteristic of the word.
• seemingly absurd or self-contradictory statement or proposition that when investigated or explained may prove to be well founded or true.

Tags

CCSS.RL.11-12.4

polysyndeton

• is a literary technique in which conjunctions (e.g. and, but, or) are used repeatedly in quick succession, often with no commas, even when the conjunctions could be removed.
• a statement or proposition that, despite sound (or apparently sound) reasoning from acceptable premises, leads to a conclusion that seems senseless, logically unacceptable, or self-contradictory.
• the substitution of the name of an attribute or adjunct for that of the thing meant, for example suit for business executive, or the track for horse racing.

Tags

CCSS.L.11-12.6

CCSS.L.4.6

CCSS.W.11-12.2D

CCSS.W.5.2D

CCSS.W.8.2D

Euphemism

• Often in literature, whether for humor or just for taste, a writer wishes to describe some graphic or offensive event using milder imagery or phrasing. 
• Reading literature, you may have come across a work where the author under the title has included a quotation from some other work; often the quotation is in italics. 
• Just as when an author chooses words for their connotative associations (see the above discussion of 'diction'), she chooses sensory details for the associations or tones they evoke.

Tags

CCSS.L.9-10.5A