Literary devices

1. Literary elements:

*Characterization:

    The choices an author makes to reveal a character’s personality, such as physical descriptions, actions, reactions, dialogues, dreams, thoughts and motivations.  

    *Characters:

• Protagonist: The major character the story revolves around.
• Antagonist: A character or force that opposes the protagonist.
• Minor characters: Often help the protagonist.
• Static characters (Flat): Characters who remain the same.
• Dynamic characters (Round): Characters who changes in some important way.

*Themes:

    They are the most important ideas a literary work either major or minor. The former is an idea the author returns to many times. However, Minor themes are ideas that are presented from time to time. Themes can be grasped through: Feelings, actions, reactions or events and symbols.

     * Plot:

     A plot is the sequence of events; a plot's structure is the way in which the story elements are arranged.

1. Exposition: It is the initial information at the beginning to help readers understand the story.
2. Foreshadowing: hints which help expect something that may occur in the story.
3. Complication/ raising action: Marking the beginning of major conflict.
4. Suspense - The pressure which the author intentionally rises to create a feeling of tension about the coming events.
5. Climax/ Conflict/ Crisis: It is the zenith of complicated problems.

-The conflict can be:

            * Human VS Human

            *Human VS Nature

            *Human VS Society

            * Human VS oneself

6. Falling Action: The events which end tension.
7. Resolution/ Denouement: The events which bring the story to an end.

* Setting:

    The setting is when and where the literary work takes place. Settings generally tell a great deal of what may probably happen and have an enormous effect of the characters’ emotions, choices and actions.

2. literary techniques

*Imagery:

     It is the use of figurative language to create symbolic representations.

• E.g. the view was blurry and gloomy. -The words “blurry” and “gloomy” are visual images.

    *Simile and Metaphor: 

    Both compare two objects. Yet the difference is that the Simile uses “as” or “like” and the Metaphor does not. For example:

• “She is like an angel” (Simile)
• “She is an angel”. (Metaphor)

    *Alliteration: The repetition of the same consonant sound in a raw

     “Wendy is waiting for the white whale.”

    *Assonance: The repetition of the same vowel sound in a raw

      I lie on the high mountain and cry

    *Hyperbole: It is a deliberate exaggeration of something