MODULE 5

LITERARY DEVICE
It refers to specific aspects of literature in the sense of its universal functions as an art
from which expresses ideas through language. Both literary elements literary techniques can
rightly be called literary devices. It could be a combination of literary technique and figure of
speech. It is also the writer‟ s style of the language in terms of choice of words and the manner
of presentation. Style varies from one writer to another. In other words, it the writer‟ s word
power and artistry.

Allegory and Allusion (reference to a character in history and mythology) and

constructed with Rhyme Scheme. It is a literary device which refers to a larger abstract
concept usually symbolic or important event with characters in history as reference.

Hold fast to the gift of fire!

I am rage! I am wrath! I am ire!
The vulture sits on my rock,
Licks at the chains that mock
Emancipation‟ s breath,
Reeks of death, death, death.

Political Parable and Allusion (reference to historic place). This is literary device that refers
to the significant accounts of the times which have reference to a place in history.

Strike! Strike! Strike!

A dormant hate erupts
Bundok Buntis, Arayat! Kanlaon

Symbolism and Allusion (reference to historic event). It is literary device that which symbol
is combined with a specific event in history as reference relative to the development of the
poem.

Stay for supper of turnips on our table since

1946 swollen with the same hard tears.

Imagery with Rhyme Scheme. This is a literary device which describes something in details
that stimulate visual and sound images because •of the similar sounds at the end of the lines.

A light serene, ethereal glory, rests

Its beams effulgent on each cresting wave; The
silver touches on the moonlight lave
The deep‟ s bare bosom at the breeze molests;
While lingering whispers deepen as the wavy crests Roll
with weird rhythm, now, gay, now gently grave;
And floods of lambent light appear the sea to pave-
Interllary Chapters. These are chapters that are “in between”. They have almost nothing to do
with the story.

Metaphor with Symbolism. This is literary device which the comparison of two unlike things is
joined with a tangible thing that represents an abstract idea.
If a poem was just a bouquet of
flowers, I‟ d rather be given a bundle
of swamp shoots or a bundle of sweet
potato tops gathered from a mud
puddle or filched from the bamboo
tray of a vegetable vendor, because I
hunger and my innards have not a
nose, they have no eyes. Want has
long benumbed my taste buds, so
don‟ t, revered poets of my country,
don‟ t offer me verses if a poem was
just a bouquet of flowers.

Microsom. This is a form of symbolism that uses a small thing to depict something on a larger
scale.

SOUND DEVICES are a poet‟ s way of making language more expressive and musical. Two of
the most frequently used of these devices are alliteration and onomatopoeia.

Alliteration is the repetition of the same consonant sounds at the beginning of words. This sound
device can reinforce meaning as well as contribute to the “music” of the poem.

Sand and sandwiches spread for luncheon

Onomatopoeia is the use of a word that imitates or suggests the sound of what the word refers
to.

And you hear the kyouck

and the gobble of the struttin turkey-cock

Euphony: pleasant words

Come,
Let us roam the night together singing

Cacophony: harsh, jawing sounds, twisted, crushed, junked automobiles

Consonance: repetition of internal consonant sounds

“The spotted kitten slept quietly on matted fur”

Assonance: repetition of vowel sounds

“young, fuzzy puppy”

Parallelism: repetition of grammatical patterns

“through the door and up-the-stairs”

Repetition: the repeated use of a sound, word, phrase, sentence, rhythmical pattern or
grammatical pattern. Forms of repetition include alliteration, consonance, meter, parallelism
and rhyme.

LITERARY TECHNIQUES. It refers to any specific, deliberate constructions which an author

uses to convey meaning in a particular way. It is an author‟ s use of literary technique usually
occurs with a single word of words, or a particular group of words or phrases. They represent
deliberate, conscious choices by individual author.

• Allegory is a technique for expanding the meaning of a literary work by having the
characters, and sometimes the setting and the events, represent certain abstract ideas,
qualities or concepts — usually moral, religious, or political in nature.

The abstractions of allegory are fixed and definite and tend to take the form of specific
ideas once identified can reading be understood. Because they remain constant, they are
easily remembered.

The most famous sustained allegory in the English language is John Bunyan‟ s “The
Pilgrim‟ s Progress”. It is a moral and religious allegory of the Christian soul in search of
salvation. It tells the story of an individual, appropriately named Christian who sets off in
search of celestial city (heaven) and along the way is forced to confront obstacles whose names
and personalities embody the ideal virtues, and vices for which they stand: Mr. Wordly
Wiseman, Mistrust, Timorous, Faithful, Giant Despair, the Slough of Despond, The Valley of the
Death.

• Allusion. An implicit reference to a historical, literary, or biblical character, event, or

element.

Ex. The title of Faulkner‟ s The Sound and then Fury alludes a line from Shakespeare‟ s Macbeth:
“(Life) is a tale told by an idiot.”

• Characterization. Writers use many techniques to reveal information about

characters. A character‟ s personality may be described directly or through another
character‟ s words. The physical description of character may also reveal about him or
her. The actions of a character are important in revealing information as well.
1. Direct Characterization. It is a technique of building up a character by means
of telling who, what, or how a character is. Characterization comes out from a
character through descriptive words about his physical appearance and/or
mental and emotional attitude or disposition.
2. Indirect Characterization. It is a technique which revelation of the character
is done by showing rather than by saying. Instead of telling who, what, or how
a character is identified by author‟ s description of how he/she moves, thinks,
acts or interacts. He/She is given mannerisms, gestures and utterances.

(With this type of characterization, it is important that the reader Observes closely what, when,
where, why and how has the character said or done to whom•)
  Doppelganger. A mysterious figure, often haunting who is in some way the double of
another character.
 Epiphany. A sudden, powerful, and often spiritual or life-changing realization that a
character reaches in an otherwise ordinary or everyday moment.
(Many of the short stories in James Joyce‟ s Dubliners involve moments of epiphany.)

 Hubris. Excessive pride that leads to the protagonist‟ s downfall.

 Imagery is a portrayal, in words, of a sight, sound, taste, or smell. Poets use images to
create pictures, in words, of people, places, and things, and to create feelings, or moods.
 Interior Monologue. A record of a character‟ s thoughts and impressions; a technique
for presenting the character‟ s stream of consciousness. The term “interior monologue”
may be used as a synonym for “stream of consciousness,” but is often restricted to refer
to a more structured sequence of rational thoughts.
 Irony. The use of detachment to draw awareness to the discrepancy between the
apparent literal meaning of words and their intended implication, between the stated and
the actual.
 Oedipus Complex. In psychoanalysis, the (subconsciously sexual) attachment of a
young boy to his mother.
 Tragic Flaw. In critical theory, the flaw that leads to the downfall of a tragic hero. (In
Othello jealousy is Othello‟ s tragic flaw)
 Symbolism is a literary technique that enhances fiction through helping readers
organize and enlarge the experience of the work. Symbols in literature are in the forms
of words, images, objects, settings, events and characters which are often used
deliberately to suggest and to reinforce meaning to provide enrichment. Symbols are
usually classified as being traditional and original depending on the source of the
association that provides their meaning.

GEMS FOR THE THOUGHT

Kinds of Symbol

• Traditional Symbols are those whose associations are the common property of a
society or culture and are so widely recognized and accepted that they can be said. The
symbolic associations that generally accompany the forest and the sea, the moon

and the sea, night and day, the colors black, white, red and the seasons of the year are
examples of traditional symbols. They are so much part of the culture that their significance is
pretty much granted.
• Original Symbols are those whose associations are neither immediate nor traditional,
instead, they derive their meaning largely if not excessively from the context of the work in
which they are used. The most famous example of an original symbol is
Herman Melville‟ s “Moby Dick! White whales are often associated in the popular imagination
with brute strength and cunning.

Uses of Symbols (Fiction)

• For Setting. Symbols are particularly useful in framing and encompassing the events of
the plot and thus provides the work as a whole an overarching pattern of unity.
• For Plot. The symbolic nature of plot or plot elements may not in fact become clear until
the reader is done reading the whole work. He has to look backward to see how the
individual parts of the plot relate to the whole.

• For Characters. Symbolism is frequently employed as a way of deepening the

reader‟ s understanding of characters. Some characters are given symbolic names to

suggest underlying moral, intellectual or emotional qualities. (The personalities of

major characters are often revealed and clarified through the use of symbols rooted in

the language that describes them, their complexity as human beings usually

prevents them being This is not true to minor characters).

 Sequence and Cause. Effect Relationships is a literary technique which a writer uses
to signal sequence with such words as first, then, or later that day, or the writer may let
the reader infer the order. The sequence of events in a story is presented with details
are written in chronological order, or time sequence. One event follows another just as
they occurred in time. The sequence of events may be arranged to reveal cause-effect
relationships. In cause-effect relationships, one event may cause a later event to
happen. The first event is the cause of the second event, the effect. Such words like
hence, because, therefore and since may signal the relationship. Many times, however,
a writer uses no special words. Then, the reader must infer whether events have a
cause-effect relationship.
 Stream of Consciousness is literary technique often confused with interior
monologue, but the latter technique works the sensations of the mind into a mere formal
pattern: a flow of thoughts inwardly expressed, similar to soliloquy. The technique of
stream of consciousness, however attempts to Portray the remote, preconscious state
that exists before the mind organizes sensations. Consequently, the recreation of a
stream frequently lacks the unity, explicit, and selectivity of direct
GEMS FOR THE THOUGHT

th
Steam of Consciousness was first used in the late 1 9 century, employed to

evince subjective as well as objective reality. It reveals the character‟ s feelings, and
actions, often without logical sequence (as in actual thought), without commentary by
the author.

(N.B. Literary techniques and figures of speech may be also used and observed in fiction•)

 Parallelism. It is literary technique. Which refers to the use of similar identical language,
structure or ideas in different part of the poem.
banner waving
machine-guns firing
and canons dragging.
 Periphrasis. It
refers to a literary
technique which
repetition of a word or
words which may
appear superfluous
but it extends the
message that is trying
to give, “beating
behind the bush” so as
to speak. But that is
beside the point the
point being that you
have definitely had a
point.
 Repeated Grammar Structure. This is a literary technique which a part or some parts of
the poem is repeated in the whole poem.

I saw it. I saw the banks that failed.

And the crowds rioting. I saw the crops plowed under,
And the masses starving. I saw the fields flower once more,
And the stock exchange rise in panic again I saw the rise
and fall of nations.
I saw mount intricate

. Refers to the specific kind of figurative language that uses words, phrases, and sentences in a
non-literal definition but rather gives meanings.

• Antanagoge is a figure in rhetoric in which, not being able to answer the accusation of an
adversary, a person returns the charge, by charging his adversary with the
 When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.
Many are the pains and perils to be passed, But
great is the pain and glory at the last.

• Apostrophe addresses an inanimate object, an idea or a person who is absent/ long

To you, who love so joyously, farewell, you who

own my heart, the other half of my body; farewell
indeed, I let go freely, farewell, my beloved, to
you farewell.

Immortal hero! Legendary colossus!

Emerge from the ossuary‟ s abys where
you sleep the slumber of glory. Come; our
love that your memory inflames, calls you
from the shadowy eternity to crown with
flowers your memory.

• Deus Ex machina. The use of a forced, unexpected event to resolve the conflicts in a
story. Fortinbras‟ s appearance at the end of hamlet is a due ex machina that assures the
succession to the Danish throne.
• Epanalepsis is a figure of speech defined by the repetition of the initial word or words
of a clause or sentence at the end.

I got my mind on my money, and my money on my mind.

• Hyperbole is used as an exaggeration, Often, hyperbole is used for some humorous

effect, however, it can also be used to stress a serious point.

You could have been knocked over with a feather.

• Irony is a contrast between what appears to be true and what is actually true. (Verbal
Irony occurs when a character says one thing but means the opposite.)
Litotes. Understatement expressed through negating the opposite.

She‟ s no fool.

• Metaphor implies a comparison of a d Statement and that equates two seemingly unlike
things or ideas. It is often used to refer to any kind of imaginative comparison which does
not use the words “like” or “as.”

Life is but a walking shadow.

• Metonymy uses one word to stand for a related term or replacement of word that relates
to the thing or person to be named for the name itself.

Our company just brought a new Xerox machine.

• Naphora is emphasizing words by repeating them at the beginning of neighboring

clauses. In contrast, an epiphora is repeating words at the clause‟ s ends.
 Strike as I would
Have struck those tyrants!
Strike deep as my curse
Strike! And but once

• Oxymoron two contradictory words used together.

Childhood is so bittersweet.

• Personification gives of human attributes/characteristics to inanimate objects, an

animal, force of nature, or an idea.

The lady in yellow rises her

hands in the defiant sign,
fingers roar in the sudden air.

In the park of a freed people, bermuda

grasses weep in sweet pain,

The fountains leap and sing

A spring of happiness rises, like a hymn

• Sarcasm refers to a bitter, cutting remark often ironical which is intended to hurt or to
prove a point.

Though my race has been pushed around in his

own land for nearly half a thousand years;
Though my race has been pitted against
themselves down the centuries
I find joy to discover that they are whole and
have remained unbroken in spirit

• Simile refers to the word or phrase such as “as” or “like” to compare seemingly unlike
things or ideas.

You fell like a fruit already yellow, but

with you fell the seed,

• Synecdoche refers to the naming of the parts to suggest the whole, or k whole to suggest
a part.

God bless the hands which prepared this food.

Poetry. It refers to the literary work expressed in verse, measure, rhythm, sound, and
imaginative language that creates emotional response to an experience, feeling and facts.
 From the literary genius of the famous poets and writers, the following are the definitions
of poetry that best describe its aesthetics.

Wordsworth: “Poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings recollected in

tranquility. “

Poe: “Poetry is the rhythmic creation of beauty.

Arnold: Poetry is the most perfect speech of man which comes nearest to uttering the
truth.”

Ruskin: “Poetry is the presentment in musical form to the imagination of noble grounds
for noble emotions.”

Shelley: Poetry is the record of the happiest and the best minds.”

Sandburg: “Poetry is the journal of a sea animal living on land, wanting to fly the air.‟

Robinson: “Poetry is a language that tells us through a more or less emotional reaction
something that cannot be said.”

Watts Dunton: Poetry is the concrete and artistic expression of the human mind in
emotional and rhythmical language.”

T.S. Eliot: “Poetry as the fusion of two poles of mind: emotion and thought. “

William Empson: “Poetry holds that what makes a poem is the rich ambiguity to its
diction.”

Manuel Viray: “Poetry is the union of thought and feeling.

Allen Tate: “Poetry is the art of apprehending and concentrating one‟ s experience in
the mysterious limitation of form.”

Howard Nemerov: “Poetry is getting right in language, that this idea of right in language
is in the first place a feeling, which does not in the least prevent it from existing.”

Robert Stallman: “Poetry has a rational structure, a core meaning, a scheme of

objective reference which orders and gives meanings to the meaningful organization of
words.”

Jose Garcia Villa: “Poetry is first of all experiments in language and form, not in meaning
and the true meaning of poem is its expressive force rather than its content. The language of
Poetry being a mode of action, a transmitter of energy, rather than of information… only when
there is a fine language and commensurate craft can there be the art of poetry.

SONNET 13

William Shakespeare
 VOCABULARY

boughs ------- branches of tree

expire ------- come to an end
twilight ------- the soft glowing light from the sky when the sun is below
the horizon.
nourished ------- provided with intellectual or emotional sustenance or
enrichment
perceives ------- observes; discerns sensitively

That time of year thou mayst in me behold

When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang
Upon those boughs which shake against the cold,
Bare ruined choirs, where late the sweet against birds sang;

In me thou see‟ st the twilight of such day

As after sunset fadeth in the west,
Which by and by black night doth take away,
Death‟ s second self, that seals up all the in rest.

In me thou see‟ st the glowing of such fire

That on the ashes of his youth doth dies, As the death-
bed whereon it must expire, Consumed with that which
it was nourish‟ d by. This thou percei‟ vst which makes
thy love more strong, To love that will which thou must
leave ere long.

CLASS DISCUSSION:

1. How figure of speech helps writers to create good outcomes on their writings.
 2. Explain why sound devices the poet‟ s way of making language more expressive and
musical.
3.

SUGGESTED CLASS ACTIVITIES:

1. What can you infer about the poem‟ s speaker regarding the Sonnet 13 of William
Shakespeare?
2. Construct at least 10 sentences with a figure of speech.