Literary Devices

"coming of age story" in which the plot focuses on the overall growth of the central character

process wherein an author introduces and then describes a character

a story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning as a whole

Flopson and Millers had got the children into the house, like a little flock of sheep...

Internal conflict where one struggles between right and wrong/must overcome his own nature.

The author's overall attitude towards a subject.

Time and place in which a story takes place.

An extreme exaggeration to emphasize a point

Logical sequence of events that develops a story

Author uses words and phrases to help reader visualize the author's writings.

The eggs from which young insurers were hatched were incubated in dust and heat

A subject is compared to another, using a form of "to be," to show similarity/ emphasize trait

The main idea or underlying meaning of a literary work.

The main character of a story, novel, or play.

The personality of a character is revealed through speech, actions, appearance, etc.

the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose/criticize people's stupidity/vices

While To Let To Let To Let glared at me from empty rooms, as if no new wretches ever came there

The resistance the protagonist of the story finds in achieving his/her aims or dreams.

Comparison between two unrelated/dissimilar things, people, objects, etc using "like" or "as"

An owl is often used to represent wisdom.

Author's choice of words that help establish tone, mood, imagery, etc.

My Achilles' heel is shopping, eating out, and watching the Real Housewives franchise.

Pip struggles between admiration and shame for Joe.

A discrepancy between what is expected to happen versus what actually happens

Author makes a passing reference to a significant person, place, historical event, etc.

Conflict where character is placed at odds against government or cultural tradition or norms.

Technique where the author hints at a future event in the story.

Attaching human traits to inanimate objects, phenomena, and animals

An object, person, place, or situation has another meaning than its literal one.

The audience is aware of something the characters are not

The dictionary or literal definition of a word.

"His mouth was such a post office of a mouth that he had a mechanical way of smiling" (180).

The author specifically reveals traits about a character in a straightforward manner.

[His] high-backed chair was of deadly black horse-hair with rows of brass nails...like a coffin

Associations people make with words beyond literal or dictionary definitions.

Use of words to mean something different than what is actually said

The emotional atmosphere of a work evoked by an author; how we are made to feel about a text...

External conflict between two more characters - usually protagonist and antagonist

Miss Havisham's conflict with her half-brother would be considered...

Character is at odds with a force of nature, such as a natural disaster.