VOCABULARY FOR MARCH 31ST – APRIL 4TH: TERMS, FUNCTIONS, AND EXAMPLES
*Please consult http://bit.ly/1oj75dv to study the definitions of the following terms*
Anaphora
Apart from the function of giving prominence to ideas, the use of anaphora in literature adds rhythm to it and thus, making
it more pleasurable to read and easier to remember. As a literary device, anaphora serves the purpose of furnishing artistic
effect to the passages of prose and poetry. As a rhetorical device, it is used to appeal to the emotions of the audience in order
to persuade, inspire, motivate and encourage them.
“My doctor advised me to go home and get my affairs in order, which is doctor’s code for prepare to die.
It means to try to tell your kids everything you thought you’d have the next 10 years to tell them in just a few
months .It means to make sure everything is buttoned up so that it will be as easy as possible for your family. It
means to say your goodbyes.” –Steve Jobs, “2005 Stanford Convention Speech”
Antithesis
A literary device like antithesis uses words to convey ideas in different ways from the common words and expressions of
daily life. Thus, it conveys meaning more vividly than ordinary speech. When contrasting ideas are brought together, the
idea is expressed more emphatically. As a literary device, antithesis makes contrasts in order to examine pros and cons of a
subject under discussion and helps to bring forth judgment on that particular subject.
“Better to reign in Hell, than serve in Heav’n.” –John Milton, Paradise Lost
Assonance and Consonance
Similar to any other literary device, assonance also has a very important role to play in both poetry and prose. Writers use it
as a tool to enhance a musical effect in the text by using it for creating internal rhyme, which consequently enhances the
pleasure of reading a literary piece. In addition, it helps writers to develop a particular mood in the text that corresponds
with its subject matter.
Consonance is commonly employed in a range of situations ranging from poetry to prose writing. The use of consonance
provides the structure of poetry with a rhyming effect. The writer normally employs the tool of consonance for the purpose
of reiterating the significance of an idea or theme. Further, the use of the device makes the structure of poetry or prose
appealing for the reader. The poet generally makes use of consonance in an attempt to underscore the emotions behind
their words that simple words cannot convey. Furthermore, the use of consonance adds a lyrical feeling to the poetry that
otherwise cannot be added. The significance of the use of consonance in poetry is enhanced by the fact that it is often used to
make the imagery employed clearer. It acts as a tool that enables the poet to formulate a fine and powerful structure for his
poetry and create a background for the themes underlying the poetry.
“See if I get away with it now
That I ain't as big as I was, but I'm
Morphin' into an immortal coming through the portal
You're stuck in a time warp from two thousand four though” –Marshall Mathers, “Rap God”
“I'm in a strange place
I feel like Mace when he gave up the game for his faith
I feel like I'm caged in these chains and restraints
Grimming every stranger in the place while I gaze into space” –Marshall Mathers, “Evil Twin”
Asyndeton
Asyndeton helps in speeding up the rhythm of words. Mostly this technique is employed in speech but can be used in written
works too. It helps in attracting the readers to collaborate with the writers, since it suggests that words, phrases and
sentences are incomplete and the readers would have to do some work to deduce meanings. This version creates immediate
impact and the readers are attuned to what the author is trying to convey. Asyndeton are applied often intentionally in
order to give a unique emphasis to the text, thereby drawing the attention of readers towards a particular idea the author
wants to convey.
“Thirty—the promise of a decade of loneliness, a thinning list of single men to know, a thinning brief-case of
enthusiasm, thinning hair.” –F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby
“It had gone beyond her, beyond everything. He had thrown himself into it with a creative passion, adding to it
all the time, decking it out with every bright feather that drifted his way.” –F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby
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Polysyndeton
Polysyndeton performs several functions. Not only does it join words, phrases and clauses and thus brings continuity in a
sentence, but it acts also as a stylistic device, brings rhythm to the text with the repetition of conjunctions in quick
succession. It is also employed as a tool to lay emphasis to the ideas the conjunctions connect.
“I said, "Who killed him?" and he said, "I don't know who killed him but he's dead all right," and it was dark and
there was water standing in the street and no lights and windows broke and boats all up in the town and trees
blown down and everything all blown and I got a skiff and went out and found my boat where I had her inside
Mango Key and she was all right only she was full of water.” –Ernest Hemingway, “After the Storm”
Hyperbole
In our daily conversation, we use hyperbole to emphasize for an amusing effect. However, in literature it has very serious
implications. By using hyperbole, a writer or a poet makes common human feelings remarkable and intense to such an
extent that they do not remain ordinary. In literature, usage of hyperbole develops contrasts. When one thing is described
with an over-statement and the other thing is presented normally, a striking contrast is developed. This technique is
employed to catch the reader’s attention.
“He cried all night, and dawn found him still there, though his tears had dried and only hard, dry sobs shook his
wooden frame. But these were so loud that they could be heard by the faraway hills…” –C. Colloid, The
Adventures of Pinocchio
Invective
Invective is one of the most commonly used devices in the modern poetic framework. The tool of invective can be used in a
variety of ways to highlight the depth of the writer’s emotions for the cause at hand. For instance, the use of high invective
involves formal language and creative expression which creates an entirely different impact than that of low invective,
which concerns with the value of stock words and images. The tool of invective also acts as an opportunity for the speaker to
convey his heartfelt bitter emotions in respect of people in power or other such annoyances. Invective is not, however, a
powerful tool of persuasion as sometimes is thought but is a device employed to get a sort of reaction from the interlocutor.
"A vile beastly rotten-headed fool-begotten brazen-throated pernicious piggish screaming, tearing, roaring,
perplexing, split-me-crackle crash-me-criggle insane ass of a woman is practicing howling below-stairs with a
brute of a singing-master so horribly, that my head is nearly off." –Edward Lear, "Letter to Lady Strachey"
Metaphor
Using appropriate metaphors appeals directly to the senses of listeners or readers, sharpening their imaginations to
comprehend what is being communicated to them. Moreover, it gives a life-like quality to our conversations and to the
characters of the fiction or poetry. Metaphors are also ways of thinking, offering the listeners and the readers fresh ways of
examining ideas and viewing the world.
“Blind fools of fate and slaves of circumstance, / Life is a fiddler, and we all must dance.” –Robert Service, The
Spell of Yukon: And Other Verses
Metonymy
Generally, metonymy is used in developing literary symbolism (i.e. it gives more profound meanings to otherwise common
ideas and objects). By using metonymy, texts exhibit deeper or hidden meanings and thus drawing readers’ attention. In
addition, the use of metonymy helps achieve conciseness. For instance, “Rifles were guarding the gate” is more concise than
“The guards with rifles in their hands were guarding the gate.” Furthermore, metonymy, like other literary devices, is
employed to add a poetic color to words to make them come to life. The simple ordinary things are described in a creative
way to insert this “life” factor to the literary works.
“The pen is mightier than the sword.” –Edward Bulwer-Lytton, Richelieu
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