Literary technique - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Name
Alliteration
Type
Poetic
Allusion
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Notes
Repeating the same letter or sound at the beginning of
adjacent or closely connected words.
A figure of speech that makes a reference to, or
representation of, people, places, events, literary work,
myths, or works of art, either directly or by implication.
Anthropomorphism
Personification
Form of personification that applies human-like
characteristics to animals or objects
Asyndeton
Stylistic Scheme
When sentences do not use conjunctions (e.g.: and, or, nor)
to separate clauses, but run clauses into one another, usually
marking the separation of clauses with punctuation. An
example is when John F. Kennedy said on January the 20th
1961 "...that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet
any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure
the survival and the success of liberty."
Author surrogate
Character
Character who speaks for the author—sometimes an
intentionally or unintentionally idealized version of the
author. A well known variation is the Mary Sue or Gary Stu
(self-insertion).
Back-story
Background
exposure
Story that precedes events in the story being told—past
events or background that add meaning to current
circumstances
Bathos
Mood that overstates its own pathos or drama.
Bildungsroman
A type of novel concerned with education, development,
and maturation of a young protagonist. Essentially, a
bildungsroman traces the formation of a protagonist's
maturity (the passage from childhood to adulthood) by
following the development of his/her mind and character.
An example is Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit.
Breaking the fourth
wall
An author or character addresses the audience directly (also
known as direct address). This may acknowledge to the
reader or audience that what is being presented is fiction, or
may seek to extend the world of the story to provide the
illusion that they are included in it. An example is the end
scene of Pokémon 2000 when Meowth and Slowking are
talking about Team Rocket's heroics.
Caesura
Prosody
A break, especially a sense pause, usually near the middle
of a verse, and marked in scansion by a double vertical line,
as in "know then thyself ǁ presume not God to scan."
Chekhov's gun
Plot
Insertion of an apparently irrelevant object early in a
narrative for a purpose only revealed later. See
foreshadowing and repetitive designation.
Cliffhanger
Plot
The narrative ends unresolved, to draw the audience back to
a future episode for the resolution.
Conceit
An extended metaphor associated with metaphysical poetry
that pushes the imagination's limits to portray something
indescribable.
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indescribable.
Cut-up technique
The cut-up technique is an aleatory literary technique in
which a text is cut up and rearranged to create a new text.
Most commonly, cut-ups are used to offer a non-linear
alternative to traditional reading and writing.
Defamiliarization
Forcing the reader to recognize common things in an
unfamiliar or strange way, to enhance perception of the
familiar
Deleted affair
A romantic relationship not referred to in the current story.
Deus ex machina (a
machination, or act
of god)
Plot
Dionysian imitatio
Resolving the primary conflict by a means unrelated to the
story (e.g., a god appears and solves everything). This
device dates back to ancient Greek theater, but can be a
clumsy method that frustrates the audience. An example
occurs in Mighty Aphrodite.
The literary method of copying and improving other
writers. In Ancient Greece was first formulated by
Dionysius of Halicarnassus, and the subsequent Latin
rhetoricians adopted this literary method instead of
Aristotle's mere imitation of nature.
Distancing Effect
Literary technique
Alienating or distancing the audience from a play's
emotional content—popularized by 20th century playwright
Bertolt Brecht.
Dramatic
visualization
Descriptive
Representing an object or character with abundant
descriptive detail, or mimetically rendering gestures and
dialogue to make a scene more visual or imaginatively
present to an audience. This technique appears at least as
far back as the Arabian Nights.[3]
Echoing
Literary technique
defined as the mimicking of dialogue by characters after a
shifted context or place in time. Also known as
"shadowing". First used by the American author Iimani
David
Epiphany
Epistolary novel
A sudden revelation or insight—usually with a symbolic
role in the narrative—in a literary work.
Literary genre
Novel in the form of a series of documents (letters, e-mails,
etc.) exchanged between characters. Classic examples
include Pamela by Samuel Richardson (1740), The
Expedition of Humphry Clinker by Tobias Smollett (1771),
Les Liaisons dangereuses by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos
(1782) and Dracula by Bram Stoker (1897).
Eucatastrophe
Coined by J. R. R. Tolkien, it refers to the sudden turn of
events at the end of a story which result in the protagonist's
well-being.
Euphuism
Named from Euphues (1579) the prose romance by John
Lyly. A deliberately excessive use of balanced antitheses
emphasised by alliteration.
False documents
Literary genre
Fiction in the form of, or about, apparently real, but actually
fake documents. Examples include Robert Graves's I,
Claudius, a fictional autobiography of the Roman emperor,
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Claudius, a fictional autobiography of the Roman emperor,
H.P. Lovecraft's Necronomicon, and the Flashman series by
George MacDonald Fraser. The short stories of Jorge Luis
Borges are often written as summaries or criticisms of
imaginary books.
First Person
Narration
A text presented from the point of view of a character (esp.
the protagonist) and written in the first person. An example
is The Remains of the Day.
Flashback (or
analeptic reference)
General term for altering time sequences, taking characters
back to the beginning of the tale, for instance
Flashforward
Also called prolepsis, an interjected scene that temporarily
jumps the narrative forward in time. Flashforwards often
represent events expected, projected, or imagined to occur
in the future. They may also reveal significant parts of the
story that have not yet occurred, but soon will in greater
detail. This has been highly popularized by the television
series Lost.
Foreshadowing
Plot
Formal patterning
Hinting at events to occur later. See also formal patterning,
repetitive designation, and Chekhov's gun.
Rigorously organizing events, actions, and gestures that
constitute a narrative and shape a story. When done well,
formal patterning helps the audience discern and anticipate
the plot structure as it unfolds. This technique dates back at
least to Arabian Nights,[3] and is also used in Romeo and
Juliet. See also foreshadowing.
Frame story, or a
story within a story
Framing
A main story that organizes a series of shorter stories. Early
examples include Panchatantra, Arabian Nights and The
Decameron. A more modern example is Brian Jacques The
Legend of Luke.
Framing device
Framing
A single action, scene, event, setting, or any element of
significance at the beginning and end of a work.
Hamartia
Hyperbole
The character flaw or error of a tragic hero that leads to his
downfall.
Literary Technique
Exaggeration used to evoke strong feelings or create an
impression which is not meant to be taken literally.
Imagery
Forming mental images of a scene using descriptive words,
especially making use of the human senses.
Incluing
Setting::Background Gradually exposing the reader to background information
exposure
about the story's world—to subtly clue the readers into the
world the author is building—such in as Brave New World.
It is the opposite of Infodumping.
Infodumping (also,
plot dump)
Setting::Background The author puts a concentrated amount of background
exposure
material, all at once, into the story, often in the form of a
conversation between two characters, both of whom should
already know the material under discussion. (The so-called
"As you know, Bob" conversation) This is the opposite of
Incluing.
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Incluing.
In medias res
Narrative hook
Beginning the story in the middle of a sequence of events.
The Iliad and the Odyssey of Homer are prime examples.
The latter work begins with the return of Odysseus to his
home of Ithaka and then in flashbacks tells of his ten years
of wandering following the Trojan War.
Irony
Contextual
This discrepancy between expectation and reality occurs in
three forms: situational irony, where a situation features a
discrepancy between what is expected and what is
actualized; dramatic irony, where a character is unaware of
pivotal information already revealed to the audience (the
discrepancy here lies in the two levels of awareness
between the character and the audience); and verbal irony,
where one states one thing while meaning another. The
difference between verbal irony and sarcasm is exquisitely
subtle and often contested. The concept of irony is too often
misunderstood in popular usage. Unfortunate circumstances
and coincidences do not constitute irony (nor do they
qualify as being tragic). See the Usage controversy section
under irony, and the term tragedy.
Juxtaposition
Contextual
Using two themes, characters, phrases, words, or situations
together for comparison, contrast, or rhetoric
Leitwortstil
Poetic
Purposefully repeating words that usually express a motif
or theme important to the story. This dates back at least to
the Arabian Nights.[3]
Maypoling
Literary technique
the rearrangement of words of the latter of two consecutive
sentences so that the latter sentence adds color and mood to
the former while borrowing its words to affirm or deny its
existence. First used in the novel Anathema Rhodes.
Magical realism
Literary genre
Describing events realistically, but in a magical haze of
strange local customs and beliefs—particularly popular
with Latin American authors like Gabriel García Márquez.
Elsewhere, Salman Rushdie's work provides good
examples.
Metonymy
Word or phrase in a figure of speech in which a noun is
referenced by something closely associated with it, rather
than explicitly by the noun itself. This is not to be confused
with synecdoche, in which a part of the whole stands for the
thing itself (Metonomy: The boxer threw in the towel.
Synecdoche: She gave her hand in marriage.)
Mooreeffoc (also
written Moor Eeffoc)
Coined by Charles Dickens and, as used by G. K.
Chesterton, meaning "the queerness of things that have
become trite, when they are seen suddenly from a new
angle."
Narrative hook
Overstatement
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Narrative hook
Story opening that "hooks" readers' attention so they will
keep reading
Exaggerating something, often for emphasis (also known as
hyperbole)
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Onomatopoeia
Poetic
Word that sounds the same as, or similar to what the word
means, e.g., "boom" or "squish"
Oxymoron
Contextual
A term made of two words that deliberately or
coincidentally imply each other's opposite, e.g. "terrible
beauty"
Paradox
Contextual
A phrase that describes an idea composed of concepts that
conflict, e.g., "It was the best of times, it was the worst of
times." (A Tale of Two Cities)
Parody
Genre, Contextual
Ridicule by overstated imitation, usually humorous, as in
MAD Magazine
Pastiche
Genre
Using forms and styles from another author, generally as an
affectionate tribute, such as the many stories featuring
Sherlock Holmes not written by Arthur Conan Doyle, or
much of the Cthulhu Mythos.
Pathetic fallacy
Reflecting a character's (usually the protagonist) mood in
the atmosphere or inanimate objects—for example, the
storm in William Shakespeare's King Lear, which mirrors
Lear's mental deterioration.
Pathos
Emotional appeal, one of the three modes of persuasion in
rhetoric that the author uses to inspire pity or sorrow
towards a character—typically does not counterbalance the
target character's suffering with a positive outcome, as in
Tragedy.
Personification
Personification
Using comparative metaphors and similes to give living
characteristics to non-living objects.
Plot device
Plot
Object or character whose sole purpose is to advance the
plot
Plot twist
Plot
Unexpected change ("twist") in the direction or expected
outcome of the plot. See also twist ending. An example
occurs in The Crying Game.
Poetic justice
Plot
Virtue ultimately rewarded, or vice punished, by an ironic
twist of fate related to the character's own conduct
Polyptoton
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Using words derived from similar roots or origins with
different meanings or roles within the sentence.
Predestination
paradox
Plot
Time travel paradox where a time traveler is caught in a
loop of events that "predestines" them to travel back in time
Polysyndeton
Stylistic Scheme
Polysyndeton is the use of several conjunctions in close
succession, this provides a sense of exaggeration designed
to wear down the audience. An example of this is in the
first chapter of Great Expectations by Charles Dickens: "A
man who had been soaked in water, and smothered in mud,
and lamed by stones, and cut by flints, and stung by nettles,
and torn by briars; who limped, and shivered, and glared
and growled; and whose teeth chattered in his head as he
seized me by the chin".
Quibble
Plot device
Plot device based on an argument that an agreement's
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intended meaning holds no legal value, and that only the
exact, literal words agreed on apply. For example, William
Shakespeare used a quibble in The Merchant of Venice:
Portia saves Antonio in a court of law by pointing out that
the agreement called for a pound of flesh, but no blood, so
Shylock can collect only if he sheds no blood.
Red herring
Plot device
A rhetorical tactic of diverting attention away from an item
of significance. For example, in mystery fiction, an
innocent party may be purposefully cast as highly
suspicious through emphasis or descriptive techniques to
divert attention from the true guilty party.
Repetitive
designation
Plot device
Repeated references to a character or object that appears
insignificant at first, but later suddenly intrudes in the
narrative, a technique that dates back, at least, to Arabian
Nights.[4] See also foreshadowing and Chekhov's gun.
Roman à clef
A fictitious novel in which representations of real people
and real events are disguised. The "key" lists the
relationship between the nonfiction characters and the
fiction characters. Examples include The Bell Jar and
Primary Colors.[5]
Self-fulfilling
prophecy
Prediction that, by being made, makes itself come true.
Early examples include the legend of Oedipus, and the
story of Krishna in the Mahabharata. There is also an
example of this in Harry Potter.
Satire
The use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose
and criticize people's stupidity or vices. An example is
Network.
Second-person
Narration
A text written in the style of a direct address, in the secondperson. An example is Rape: A Love Story.
Sensory detail
Descriptive
Side story
Imagery, sight, sound, taste, touch, smell
Background narrative that explains the world of the main
story. Examples include Mahabharata, Ramayana,
Gundam, Doctor Who and Crouching Tiger, Hidden
Dragon
Story within a story
(Hypodiegesis)
Framing
A story told within another story. See also frame story.
Stream of
consciousness
Literary genre
Technique where the author writes down their thoughts as
fast as they come, typically to create an interior monologue,
characterized by leaps in syntax and punctuation that trace a
character's fragmentary thoughts and sensory feelings. An
example is "Ulysses".
Symbolism
Applied use of symbols: iconic representations that carry
particular conventional meanings.
Thematic patterning
Distributing recurrent thematic concepts and moralistic
motifs among various incidents and frames of a story. In a
skillfully crafted tale, thematic patterning may emphasize
the unifying argument or salient idea disparate events and
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the unifying argument or salient idea disparate events and
disparate frames have in common.
Ticking clock
scenario
Threat of impending disaster—often used in thrillers where
salvation and escape are essential elements
Tone
Overall attitude an author appears to hold toward key
elements of the work—the novel Candide makes fun of its
characters' suffering, while The Sorrows of Young Werther
takes its protagonist's suffering very seriously. Strictly
speaking, tone is generally an effect of literary techniques,
on the level of a work's overall meaning or effect. The tone
of a whole work is not itself a literary technique. However,
the tone of a work, especially in a discrete section, may
help create the overall tone, effect, or meaning of the work.
Understatement
Contextual
A diminishing or softening of a theme or effect. Examples
include The Informers and Norwegian Wood.
Unreliable narrator
Plot device
The narrator of the story is not sincere, or introduces a bias
in his narration and possibly misleads the reader, hiding or
minimizing events, characters, or motivations. An example
is The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
Vertical Storytelling Literary technique
the italicizing of words at the end of select sentences to
remind the reader of a consequential moment in the
narrative without adjusting the mechanics of the story to
allow lengthy and potentially distracting text. First used by
the American author Iimani David
Word play
Sounds of words used as an aspect of the work.
Writer's voice
Combination of the various structural aspects of an author's
writing style.
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