Sound devices help form visual images and highlight the mood and tone of a text.

●Alliteration is the repetition of similar consonant sounds at the beginning of closely spaced words.
●Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds that form internal rhymes in a line.
●Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds, usually at the end of words.
●Cacophony is the use of jarring sounds, meant to convey disorder.
●Euphony is the use of sound devices meant to create a pleasant experience to the ear.
●Onomatopoeia is the use of words that mimic the natural sound of what is being described.
●Repetition is the repetition of words or phrases to form rhythm or to emphasize an idea.
●Rhyme is the repetition of identical (or similar) sounds in two or more words, most often at the end of lines in a poem.

Figurative Language
Analogy - a comparison that presents the similarities between two concepts or ideas
Cliché - a word, a phrase, a sentence, or a whole text that used to be perceived as clever but has become démodé
Connotation - the secondary or suggestive meaning of the word, one that is not its literal or primary meaning in the
dictionary
Euphemism - used to substitute for a description that is considered harsh or blunt
Hyperbole - a gross exaggeration to achieve an effect, usually for humor or emphasis
Metaphor - compares two seemingly unlike objects that have similar or common characteristics without the use of like
or as
Metonymy - a word or phrase that is substituted for another that is closely associated to it
Oxymoron - a combination of two ideas that appear to be opposite or contradictory
Paradox - an assertion that seems to be contradictory or silly but actually reveals some truth
Personification - a statement wherein an animal, object, or abstract idea is given human attributes or characteristics
Simile - compares two seemingly unlike objects by using the words like or as
Synecdoche - used when a part of something is used to represent the whole or vice versa

Other Literary Techniques

An allusion is a passing reference, without explicit identification, to a literary or historical person, place, or event, or to
another literary work or passage. Example: Chocolate cake is my Achilles’ heels. We got a new Einstein in the class.
An allegory is a narrative in which the characters and their actions, and sometimes the setting, are contrived by the
author to represent a currently significant event/issue.
A dichotomy divides a concept, idea, story, or plot into two equal and contradictory parts; or between two opposing
groups.
Juxtaposition is a technique wherein two or more ideas, places, characters, and their actions are placed side by side to
develop comparisons and contrasts

The plot is the sequence of events that make up the story, told in either a chronological or a nonchronological order.

The atmosphere in prose refers to the creation of a mood or feeling by the use of descriptions and setting.
Characterization in prose refers to how the author describes the character, either directly or indirectly through action,
using details or nuances to add depth.
The problem or challenge faced by the character or characters in the story is called the conflict.
The perspective or vantage point of the speaker or the narrator is called the point of view.
First person
Second person
Third-person objective
Third-person omniscient
The setting is the time and place where the story is set.
Theme is the central idea of the story, and to an extent, the purpose for its utterance.
A flashback is a scene or a passage that interrupts the present action of a plot to introduce a past event.
Foreshadowing is the use of clues or indication suggesting at a future event in the story.
Literary Genres
Elements of Prose
Sample Story: A Lady’s Story by Anton Chekhov
Plot
● The plot follows a chronological sequence of events. It can be separated into three acts, the first of which involves
Atmosphere
● In the following excerpts, the author used vivid descriptions of the surroundings and weather to illustrate the feelings
of the two main characters. In the beginning, the two almost-lovers experienced the excitement of their young love,
likening its onslaught to a sudden storm.
Characterization
● The following excerpts illustrate a very clear characterization of Pyotr Sergeyitch at the start of the story. As a young
man in love and living in the moment, the imagery around Pyotr was flowery and cheerful.
Conflict
● The story makes use of the Man Vs. Man, Man Vs. Nature, and Man Vs.
Himself types of conflict.
○ Man Vs. Man: We can consider the emotional conflict between Pyotr and Natalya a “Man Vs. Man” conflict. From
certain passages in the story, we can warm nights flashed by, the nightingales sang, the hay smelt fragrant, and all this,
sweet and overwhelming in remembrance, passed with me as with everyone rapidly, leaving no trace, was not prized,
and vanished like mist.... Where is it all?”
Point of View
● The point of view used in the story is the first person point of view. We experienced the events from the perspective
of Natalya Vladimirovna, who is one of the two main characters. This is also indicated by the text’s use of the words I,
me, we, and us in the narration.
Setting
● The setting of the story is in Russia sometime in the past. This can be gleaned from the following details:
○ “Nine years ago Pyotr Sergeyitch, the deputy prosecutor, and I were riding towards evening in haymaking time to fetch
the letters from the station.”
○ “Pyotr Sergeyitch himself took the bridles off and led the horses to their stalls.”
Theme
● One of the main themes of “A Lady’s Story” is the destructive quality of regret
and of love unfulfilled.

Activity: Try to read and look for other lines that shows:
1. Plot
2. Characterization
3. Point of view
4. Setting
5. Theme

Dramas stories in verse or prose form that are meant to be performed onstage in front of an audience
Authors who write dramas are called dramatists or playwrights.
Elements of drama are similar to those of fiction except that drama is written in a form called script, in which the lines
are written in dialogues with stage directions.
Instead of chapters, dramas are divided into acts and scenes.
Tragedy
central character has a tragic flaw, making this character a tragic hero
He or she possesses a characteristic that can lead to his or her downfall.
Comedy
aims to make the audience laugh
lighthearted
often take place in unusual circumstances, and it is typical for characters in these plays to utter witty remarks
Musical Drama
Characters dance and sing.
Various themes are presented, from serious to comedic.
Farce
a nonsensical drama that employs slapstick humor
mainly comedic
characterized by absurd conditions or situations and ardent actions
Melodrama
characterized by the characters’ exaggerated emotions in various situations
Dialogue
refers to the characters’ speech and is considered the lifeblood of drama
the audience get to understand the story, not only by the characters’ actions but also by their speech
Forms of Dialogue

Dialogue
the conversations of two or more characters onstage

Monologue
a long speech given by one character that can be heard by or directed to other characters who are also onstage
Soliloquy the speech of a character who is alone onstage
portrayed as though the character is talking to himself or herself, or to the audience, and the words cannot be heard by
the other characters

Aside
a remark that a character makes that is meant only for the audience to hear
other characters onstage do not hear asides

Prose

any writing that does not have a metrical structure and rhythmical pattern like poetry
composed of sentences and paragraphs instead of lines and stanzas
divided into two: fiction and nonfiction

Fiction
a story that is made up or invented by an author
events in the story are not real; they are products of the author’s imagination
examples are short stories and novels

Short Stories
read in one sitting and strive for unity and effect
begins with the first sentence and has nothing in it that detracts from the writer’s design
aims for the truth and stress imagination, invention, creation, and originality

Novels
longer and more complex than a short story
over 40,000 words (novella has 17,500–39,999 words, novelette has 7,500–17,499 words)
characters, setting, plot, and theme are usually more developed and detailed than a short story’s

Plot Structure

linear format produces a climactic plot

contains the exposition, rising action, climax, and falling action leading to the resolution of the story

*Some stories follow a nonlinear format. It means that some stories start in the middle or at the end.

Episodic plot
features distinct episodes that are related to one another but that also can be read individually, almost as stories by
themselves
e.g., The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien

Cumulative plot
contains repetition of phrases, sentences, or events with one new aspect added with each repetition
common among children’s stories
e.g., “The Three Little Pigs”

Cumulative plot
contains repetition of phrases, sentences, or events with one new aspect added with each repetition
common among children’s stories
e.g., “The Three Little Pigs”

Frame Narrative/Embedded plot

a story in which another story or other multiple stories is/are embedded
can also be that the main story is relayed secondhand to a character in the narrative
e.g., The Sign of Four by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Creative Nonfiction
Nonfiction deals with real people, places, and events

Informative Nonfiction
texts that provide factual information
examples are science and history books, encyclopedias, dictionaries, and periodicals

Literary Nonfiction
written like fiction, but the people, events, and places involved remain factual
examples of nonfiction narratives are autobiographies, biographies, and personal essays

Autobiography the story of a person’s life told by the same person usually written in the first-person point of view and
covers a long period of the author’s life types are journals, diaries, and memoirs

Literary Nonfiction

Biography the story of a person’s life told by another person Both autobiographies and biographies share similar
elements to that of fiction such as character, setting, and plot.

Essay
a piece of writing that centers on one topic or subject matter purpose may be to inform, to describe, to entertain, or to
persuade the readers can be informal or personal and formal and periodicals

Poetry

the most compact form of literature ideas, feelings, rhythm, and sound are packed into carefully chosen words, working
to convey meaning to the readers

A poem has: tone (e.g., ecstatic, melancholic, satiric);

form; and figurative language (e.g., simile, metaphor, personification).

Three Types of Poetry

Narrative Poetry -poems that tell a story, historically began as oral traditions

Example: The Ramayana, epic from Hindu tradition

Lyric Poetry-poems that are supposedly sung with musical accompaniment express the poet’s or the persona’s feelings
and emotions

Example: Sonnets from the Portuguese by Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Dramatic Poetry-usually performed onstage can be sung or spoken

Example: William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar

Elements of Poetry

Imagery the use of language that appeals to the five senses: visual (sight), auditory (hearing), gustatory (taste), tactile
(touch), and olfactory (sense).

Sound Patterns

rhyme, rhythm, and other literary devices that pertain to sounds

onomatopoeia - using words that imitate the sound of what they refer to

alliteration - repetition of initial sounds

assonance - repetition of vowel sounds within neighboring words

Rhyme

the repetition of similar or identical sounds at the end of poetic lines

rhyme scheme - the pattern of the rhyme placed at the end of each line or stanza in a poem

rhythm

foot - equivalent to two or more stressed and/or unstressed syllables

meter - the measurement of syllables in a line

Figurative Language words or phrases that are put together to help readers picture ordinary things in new ways

Theme the central idea of a poem usually stated as a philosophical truth in life

Rhythm and Meter in English Poetry

English poetry employs five basic rhythms of varying stressed (/) and unstressed (x) syllables. The meters are iambs,
trochees, spondees, anapests and dactyls. In this document the stressed syllables are marked in boldface type rather
than the tradition al "/" and "x." Each unit of rhythm is called a "foot" of poetry.

The meters with two-syllable feet are

IAMBIC (x /) : That time of year thou mayst in me behold

TROCHAIC (/ x): Tell me not in mournful numbers

SPONDAIC (/ /): Break, break, break/ On thy cold gray stones, O Sea!

Meters with three-syllable feet are

ANAPESTIC (x x /): And the sound of a voice that is still

DACTYLIC (/ x x): This is the forest primeval, the murmuring pines and the hemlock (a trochee replaces the final dactyl)

Each line of a poem contains a certain number of feet of iambs, trochees, spondees, dactyls or anapests. A line of one
foot is a monometer, 2 feet is a dimeter, and so on--trimeter (3), tetrameter (4), pentameter (5), hexameter (6),
heptameter (7), and o ctameter (8). The number of syllables in a line varies therefore according to the meter. A good
example of trochaic monometer, for example, is this poem entitled "Fleas":

Adam

Had'em.

Here are some more serious examples of the various meters.

iambic pentameter (5 iambs, 10 syllables)

That time | of year | thou mayst | in me | behold

trochaic tetrameter (4 trochees, 8 syllables)

Tell me | not in | mournful | numbers

anapestic trimeter (3 anapests, 9 syllables)

dactylic hexameter (6 dactyls, 17 syllables; a trochee replaces the last dactyl)

This is the | forest pri | meval, the | murmuring | pine and the | hemlocks

Different literary theory

Marxism
Feminism
Structuralism
Post-Structuralism
Formalism
Query

Different literary reading strategies:

Analyze. Interpret, Evaluate, and Respond