21 CENTURY

ST

LITERARY
THEMES,
DEVICES
TECHNIQUES
AND
WHAT IS LITERARY THEME?
A theme is a universal idea, lesson, or message
explored throughout a work of literature.
WHAT IS A LITERARY
DEVICE AND LITERARY
TECHNIQUES?
A literary device is a writing technique that writers
use to express ideas, convey meaning, and highlight
important themes in a piece of text.

Literary techniques are specific, deliberate

constructions of language which an author uses to
convey meaning.
Literary Elements and
Techniques
 1. Setting-refers to time periods, geographic locations,
cultural contexts, immediate surroundings, weather, times
of day, or times of year employed in the story.
 2. Tone … refers to
the attitude the work
takes toward the
audience and subject.
Exposition ...refers to the background plot
information.
Narrative perspective / point-of-view …
refers to the point-of-view from which the
story is narrated.

First Person Point of View

Third Person Point of View
MAJOR POINTS-OF-VIEW:
 First person protagonist – the person telling the story is
also the main character

 First person observer – the person telling the story is a

secondary character in the story.
 Third person limited – the narrative follows around one character
primarily and has access to his/her thoughts. This narrative
perspective also describes things happening around him/her.

 Third person omniscient – has access to multiple character’s

thoughts and actions.

 Third person objective – describes only the actions of the

characters. We see the actions of the book almost as if on a stage
with no access or limited access to character’s thoughts.
MOTIF …
refers to a series of reoccurring details
that have symbolic importance in the
story.
 IMAGE
 refers to a
description of
something to be
seen, hear, smelled,
or touched (use of
senses).
CHARACTERIZATION
 refers to how the author describes his/her characters.

Protagonist The main character in a story. He/she is often a hero but

sometimes is not. He/she can also be the story’s narrator.

Antagonist A character who stands in the way of the protagonist’s

movement in the story. Often times, this is a villain but it does not
have
STATIC VS. DYNAMIC
CHARACTERIZATION
Static
character stays pretty much
the same
Dynamic
the character changes a lot
over the course of the story
 ROUND VS. FLAT
CHARACTERIZATION
Round Flat
Very complex in his/her straightforward in his/her
motivations and/or actions motivations and/or actions

complex and undergo uncomplicated and do not

development, sometimes change throughout the course of
sufficiently to surprise the reader a work
FOIL CHARACTER
intended as an thematic opposite
of the main character, revealing
his/her salient qualities.
THEME
refers to a broad idea or
moral in a story.
RESOLUTION /
DENOUEMENT
refers to a story’s final “untying” or
resolution. The story’s denouement is
always at the end, after the climax.
CONFLICT
… refers to the central problems of a text.
Most works are animated by some form of
conflict.
FIVE PRIMARY TYPES OF CONFLICT

 

Man vs. man

Man vs. himself
Man vs. society
Man vs. technology
Man vs. mythical/paranormal force.
FORESHADOWING
refers to when an author hints at what is to
come in the narrative through a particular
description or image. Be a warning or
indication of (a future event).
SYMBOLISM
refers to when a word or object stands in for
something of bigger significance.

Conotative Meaning- signifying or suggestive of an

associative or secondary meaning in addition to the
primary meaning.
FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE:
Metaphor: word or phrase that compares two unlike
things.
Simile: word or phrase that compares two unlike
things using “as” or “like”
Hyperbole (dramatic exaggeration),
Synecdoche (a part standing from the whole)
word/phrase used to convey special effect or
meaning.
ALLEGORY
refers to a work in which almost all of the
characters are intended as symbols.
Personification … refers to when animals,
inanimate objects, or places are metaphorically
given the qualities of human beings. …
FLASHBACK
… refers to a technique in which
an author interrupts present events
with a look at past events.
IRONY-
In simplest terms, irony occurs in literature
 and in life whenever a person says
something or does something that departs
from what they (or we) expect them to say
or do.
THREE KINDS OF IRONY
1. verbal irony
 occurs whenever a speaker or narrator tells us something that
differs from what they mean, what they intend, or what the situation
requires.

 Example: “Job well done” , “Good luck”, “What a pleasant day”

(when it is raining heavily)
 
2. Dramatic irony
 occurs when the audience has more information than one
or more characters in a work of literature.

 For example, in Shakespeare’s Othello, the audience is

aware that Othello’s best friend Iago is villainous and
attempting to bring Othello down. The audience is also
aware that Desdemona has been faithful, though Othello
doesn’t know this. The audience can foresee the imminent
disaster.
3. Situational irony.
consists of a situation in which the outcome is
very different from what was expected.