Introduction
Commonly, the term Literary Devices refers to the typical structures used by writers in their works to convey his or her message(s) in a simple manner to his or her readers. When employed properly, the different literary devices help readers to appreciate, interpret and analyze a literary work.
Two Kinds of Literary Devices
Literary Devices have two aspects. They can be treated as either Literary Elements or Literary Techniques. It will be convenient to define them separately.
Literary Elements have an inherent existence in literary piece and are extensively employed by writers to develop a literary piece e.g. plot, setting, narrative structure, characters, mood, theme, moral etc. Writers simply cannot create his desired work without including Literary Elements in a thoroughly professional manner.
Literary Techniques, on the contrary, are structures usually a word s or phrases in literary texts that writers employ to achieve not merely artistic ends but also readers a greater understanding and appreciation of their literary works. Examples are: metaphor, simile, alliteration, hyperbole, allegory etc. In contrast to Literary Elements, Literary Techniques are not unavoidable aspect of literary works.
Commonly, the term Literary Devices refers to the typical structures used by writers in their works to convey his or her message(s) in a simple manner to his or her readers. When employed properly, the different literary devices help readers to appreciate, interpret and analyze a literary work.
Two Kinds of Literary Devices
Literary Devices have two aspects. They can be treated as either Literary Elements or Literary Techniques. It will be convenient to define them separately.
Literary Elements have an inherent existence in literary piece and are extensively employed by writers to develop a literary piece e.g. plot, setting, narrative structure, characters, mood, theme, moral etc. Writers simply cannot create his desired work without including Literary Elements in a thoroughly professional manner.
Literary Techniques, on the contrary, are structures usually a word s or phrases in literary texts that writers employ to achieve not merely artistic ends but also readers a greater understanding and appreciation of their literary works. Examples are: metaphor, simile, alliteration, hyperbole, allegory etc. In contrast to Literary Elements, Literary Techniques are not unavoidable aspect of literary works.
Literary Elements
- Plot: the sequence of events or actions in a short story, novel, play or narrative poem. It is usually a series of related incidents that build upon one another as the story develops.
- Setting: the time and place in which events in a short story, novel, play or narrative poem take place.
- Protagonist: It is the main character of story, novel or a play.( e.g. Hamlet in the play Hamlet)
- Antagonist: It is the main character of story, novel or a play.( e.g. Hamlet in the play Hamlet)
- Narrator: the person telling the story.
- Narrative method: The manner in which a narrative is presented comprising plot and setting.
- Dialogue: the conversation carried on between and among the characters of a literary work.
- Conflict: the problem or struggle in a story that triggers the action
- Mood: the atmosphere or predominant emotions aroused in the reader of the literary work.
- Theme: the central message of a literary work. A literary work can have more than one theme.
- Structure: the framework or organization of a literary selection. For example, the structure of fiction is usually determined by plot and by character division; the structure of an essay depends on the organization of ideas; the structure of poetry is determined by its rhyme scheme and stanzaic form.
- Climax: a moment of great or culminating intensity in a narrative or a drama.
- Falling action: the action of a play or a story that works out the decision arrived at during the climax.
- Rising action: a series of conflicts or struggles that build up a story or play towards the climax.
- Characterization: the method an author uses to reveal or describe characters and their various personalities.
- Tone: the writer’s, or speaker’s attitude toward a subject, character, or audience and it is conveyed through the author’s choice of words and detail.
- Diction: the author’s choice of words that are intended to convey a certain effect.
Literary Techniques
- Point of view : the perspective form which a narrative is told
- First person- told by one of the characters. Ex: “When I was little I would think of ways to kill my daddy.”
- Third person- told by someone outside the story. Ex: “He regretted his actions, but it was too late to change the result.”
- Omniscient- the narrator knows thoughts and feelings of all the characters in the story.
- First person- told by one of the characters. Ex: “When I was little I would think of ways to kill my daddy.”
- Imagery: consists of words or phrases a writer uses to represent persons, objects, actions, feelings, and ideals descriptively by appealing to the senses. Consists of five sections as;
- Visual imagery
- Auditory imagery
- Olfactory imagery
- Gustatory imagery
- Tactile imagery
- Visual imagery
- Metaphor: a comparison between two unlike things NOT using “ like” or “as.” Ex : “Time is money”
- Simile: a comparison of two different things or ideas through the use of words like “or”, ”as”. It is a definitely stated comparison in which the speaker says one thing is like another.
- Hyperbole: a deliberate, extravagant and often outrageous exaggeration.
- Alliteration: the practice of beginning several consecutive or neighboring words with the same sound.
- Assonance: the repetition of accented vowel sound in a series of words.
- Consonance: the repetition of consonant sounds within a series of words to produce a harmonious effect.
- Allegory: a work in which elements symbolize or represent something else.
- Irony: It is use of the words in such a way in which the intended meaning is completely opposite to their literal meaning.
- For example :- The bread is soft as a stone.
- Repetition: the deliberate use of any element of language more than once- sound, word, phrase sentence, grammatical pattern or rhythmical pattern.
- Allusion: a reference to a mythological, literary, or historical person, place or thing.
- Sarcasm: the use of verbal irony in which a person appears to be phrasing something but is actually insulting it.
- Flashback: a scene that interrupts the action of a work to show a previous event.
- Foreshadowing: the use of hints or clues in a narrative to suggest future action.
- Paradox: occurs when the elements of a statement contradict each other.
- Pun: a play on words that are identical or similar in sound but have sharply diverse meanings.
- Symbol: a person, place, thing or an event that has both a meaning in itself and that stands for something larger than itself, such as quality, attitude, belief, or value
- Personification: a kind of metaphor that give inanimate objects or abstract ideas ; human characteristics.
- Juxtaposition: wherein the author places a person, concept, place, idea or theme parallel to another, to highlight the contrast between the two and compare them for etching out a character in detail, creating suspense or lending a rhetorical effect.
- Rhetorical Question: A question asked just for effect, or to lay emphasis on some point being discussed, when no real answer is expected. The question may have an obvious answer, but the questioner asks it to lay emphasis to the point and the questioner himself knows the answer already, or an answer is not actually demanded.
- Onomatopoeia: the use of words that mimic the sounds they describe: “hiss”, “buzz” and “bang”dde
Function of Literary Devices
In general, the literary devices are a collection of universal artistic structures that are so typical of all works of literature frequently employed by the writers to give meanings and a logical framework to their works through language. When such works are read by readers, they ultimately recognize and appreciate them. Because of their universality, they also allow the readers to compare a work of one writer to that of the other to determine its worth. They not only beautify the piece of literature but also give deeper meanings to it, testing the very understanding of the readers along with providing them enjoyment of reading. Besides, they help motivating readers’ imagination to visualize the characters and scenes more clearly.
In general, the literary devices are a collection of universal artistic structures that are so typical of all works of literature frequently employed by the writers to give meanings and a logical framework to their works through language. When such works are read by readers, they ultimately recognize and appreciate them. Because of their universality, they also allow the readers to compare a work of one writer to that of the other to determine its worth. They not only beautify the piece of literature but also give deeper meanings to it, testing the very understanding of the readers along with providing them enjoyment of reading. Besides, they help motivating readers’ imagination to visualize the characters and scenes more clearly.