Literary Features

PLOT SETTING
Foreshadowing, Setting,
Allusions, Mood,
References, Atmosphere
Suspense/Tension

Commentary’s Central
Assertion

NARRATION/
NARRATIVE STRUCTURE
Tone/Distance
Diction
Punctuation
Line/Sentence Length,
Stanza/Paragraph Structure,
CHARACTER Rhyme,
Character Development, Metre,
Dialogue Rhetorical Devices
Some Common Rhetorical Devices in Poetry
and Prose
DEVICES OF DESCRIPTION

Imagery--visual, auditory, olfactory, gustatory

DEVICES OF COMPARISON

Metaphor—A comparison between two unlike things that does not use “like” or “as” (“All the
world’s a stage”)

Simile—A comparison using “like” or “as” (“In the thick of battle, he fought as bravely as a lion”)

Synecdoche—The substitution of a part of a concept for the whole concept (“all hands on
deck,” “the crowned heads of Europe”)

Metonymy—The substitution of the name of something with something else that has come to
symbolize it (“The crown will tour the commonwealth” for “the queen will tour the
commonwealth”)

Apostrophe—A device in which some absent or nonexistent person or thing is addressed as if

present and capable of understanding. Apostrophe is often represented by an
exclamation, such as “Oh” (“O Death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy
victory?”)

Personification--To attribute to inanimate objects, animals, or abstract ideas the characteristics

and qualities of persons (“The sea was angry that day”)

Oxymoron—An expression (usually consisting of two words) in which apparently contradictory

or opposite ideas are combined (“faith unfaithful kept him falsely true”)

Hyperbole—Obvious exaggeration of the facts for serious or comic effect (“I spent an eternity in
that classroom”)

Understatement—Obvious diminishment of the facts for serious or comic effect (“There’s some
water in the Atlantic Ocean”)

Identify the following DEVICES OF COMPARISON (metaphor, simile, synecdoche, metonymy,

apostrophe, personification, oxymoron, hyperbole, understatement)
1. For Brutus, as you know, was Caesar's angel.
Judge, O you gods, how dearly Caesar loved him. ______________________
2. The night embraced me, and the moon smiled down upon me.
________________

3. His ideas are as worthless as withered weeds. ________________

4. Iraq has not yet responded to America’s threats. ________________

5. Life is a dream. ________________

6. I was somewhat worried when the psychopath ran towards me with a chainsaw.
________________

7. O, pardon me, thou bleeding piece of earth,

That I am meek and gentle with these butchers!
____________________________________________

8. I’m doing a million things right now. ________________

9. “I fall upon the thorns of life!”________________

10. The path went on forever. ________________

11. The West Indies beat England at cricket. ________________

12. Once given a push, the machine of justice rolls on by itself. ________________

13. All its citizens must pledge allegiance to the flag. ________________

14. “Why then, O brawling love! O loving hate! O heavy lightness“

________________

15. Check out my new wheels! ________________

16. Carthage was a beehive of buzzing workers. ________________

17. Shakespeare was a playwright of some genius. ________________

18. “Necessity is the mother of invention.” ________________

19. She was a rose among thorns. ________________

20. Lean famine stalked the land. ________________

 21. The stubborn door refused to open. ________________

DEVICES OF STRUCTURE

Hypophora—Raising a question and then immediately answering it (“Why is it better to be

loved? It is surer.”)

Rhetorical Question—A question asked for effect rather than information, suggesting either
that the answer is self-evident or, conversely, there is no answer

Antithesis—The balance of contrasting words, usually achieved by parallelism (“To err is

human; to forgive divine.”)

Hyperbaton—Inverted word order (“Not idly do the leaves of Lorien fall.”)

Aposiopesis—The sudden leaving off of a line (“Get out, or else--!”)

Climax—Ideas are listed in increasing importance (“Let a man acknowledge his obligations to
himself, his family, his country, and his God.”)

Anti-climax—Ideas seem to increase in importance, only to end in mediocrity (“I’m passionate

about freedom, dignity, and some other stuff.”)

Asyndeton—The use of fewer conjunctions than would normally be used (“I’ve got my keys,
wallet, glasses.”)

Polysyndeton—The use of more conjunctions than would normally be used (“I’ve got my keys
and wallet and glasses.”)

Identify the following DEVICES OF STRUCTURE (hypophora, rhetorical question, antithesis,

hyperbaton, aposiopesis, climax, anticlimax, asyndeton, polysyndeton)

1. What makes a king out of a slave? Courage! What makes the flag on the mast to
wave? Courage!
____________________________________________

2. For God, for country, and for free doughnuts in the lunchroom!
____________________________________________

3. Well, I lay, if I get hold of you, I’ll—

____________________________________________

4. And soon it lightly dipped, and rose, and sank,

 And dipped again
____________________________________________
5. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it
was the age of foolishness
____________________________________________

6. Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more.
(Shakespeare, Julius Caesar)
____________________________________________

7. Told you, I did. Reckless is he. Now matters are worse.

Mind what you have learned. Save you it can.
"If once you start down the dark path . . . consume you it will.

____________________________________________

8. Look! Up in the sky! It’s a bird . . . it’s a plane . . . it’s Superman!

____________________________________________

9. If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh?
____________________________________________

10. An empty stream, a great silence, an impenetrable forest. The air was thick,
warm, heavy, sluggish.
____________________________________________

DEVICES OF REPETITION

Alliteration—The repetition of initial consonant sounds in words in a line of poetry or prose

(“From forth the fatal loins of these two foes / A pair of star-cross’d lovers take their
life”)

Assonance—(usu. poetry or poetic drama) The repetition of vowel sounds in stressed syllables
that end with different consonant sounds (while “lake” and “fake” rhyme, “lake” and
“fate” demonstrate assonance)

Consonance--A device in which a consonant sound is repeated in words that are in close
proximity. The repeated sound can appear anywhere in the words (“Mill” and “Ball”)

Chiasmus--A device that repeats two words or phrases in inverse order (“Never let a fool kiss
you or a kiss fool you”)
Polyptoton—The repetition of a word in a slightly different way (He was not born to
shame:/Upon his brow shame is asham’d to sit.”)

Anaphora—The repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive lines or sentences

(“We shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans”)

Epistrophe—The repetition of a word or phrase at the end of successive lines or sentences

(“I’m tired of this job. I’m over this job. I’m done with this job!”)

Symploce—Anaphora and epistrophe combined. The effect is a powerful repetition that

hammers home an important point. (“If thou hast any sound, or use of voice, speak to
me. / If there be any good thing to be done, that may to thee do ease and grace to me,
speak to me.”)

Epanalepsis—The repetition of the beginning word or phrase of a line at the end (“to report
that your committee is still investigating the matter is to tell me that you have nothing
to report.”)

Anadiplosis—The repetition of the last word or phrase from one line at the beginning of
another. (“Suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character,
hope”)

Epizeuxis—The repetition of a word with nothing between (“Oh, vanity, vanity!” “Madness!
Madness!)

Onomatopoeia--The sound of the word mimics the sound to which it refers (“Bow-wow. The
watchdog’s bark! Hark, hark! I hear the strain of strutting chanticleer cry cock-a-diddle-dow”)

Identify the following DEVICES OF REPETITION (alliteration, assonance, consonance,

chiasmus, polyptoton, anaphora, epistrophe, symploce, epanalepsis, anadiplosis, epizeuxis,
and onomatopoeia)

1. So shalt thou feed on Death, that feeds on men,

And Death once dead. there’s no more dying then.
____________________________________________

2. Fleet feet sweep by sleeping Greeks.

____________________________________________

3. To each the boulders that have fallen to each.

__________________________________________
4. Cressid! O false Cressid! false, false, false!
____________________________________________

5. Becky’s beagle barked and bayed, becoming bothersome for Billy

____________________________________________

6. I am a man more sinned against than sinning.

____________________________________________

7. This royal throne of kings, this scepter’d isle,

This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars . . .
This blessed plot, this earth, this realm
____________________________________________

8. Why I should fear I know not,

Since guiltiness I know not;
____________________________________________

9. Bring me my bow of burning gold:

Bring me my arrows of desire:
Bring me my Spear
____________________________________________

10. You have begot me, bred me, lov'd me: I

Return those duties back as are right fit,
Obey you, love you, and most honour you.
____________________________________________

11. Traffic figures, on July the Fourth, can be tough.

____________________________________________

12. Dog goes “woof” Cat goes “meow” Bird goes “tweet”
____________________________________________

13. Son: How will my mother for a father’s death

Take on with me, and ne’er be satisfied!
Father: How will my wife for slaughter of my son
Shed seas of tears, and ne’er be satisfied!
King Henry: How will the country for these woeful chances
Misthink the King, and not be satisfied!
(Shakespeare, Henry VI, Part 3)
____________________________________________
14. With eager feeding food doth choke the feeder.
____________________________________________

15. I wasted time, and now time doth waste me.

____________________________________________

16. My fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you: Ask what you
can do for your country.
____________________________________________

17. I’ll tell you who Time ambles withal, who Time trots withal, and
Who Time gallops withal,
____________________________________________

18. They call for you: The general who became a slave; the slave who became a
gladiator; the gladiator who defied an Emperor.
____________________________________________