Literary Devices

1. Literary Devices Definitions and Examples

2. IDIOM: Definition • Definition: noun 1. an expression whose meaning is not predictable from the usual meanings of its constituent elements, as kick the bucket  or hang one's head,  or from the general grammatical rules of a language, as the table round  for the round table,  and that is not a constituent of a larger expression of like characteristics. • 2. a language, dialect, or style of speaking peculiar to a people. • 3. a construction or expression of one language whose parts correspond to elements in another language but whose total structure or meaning is not matched in the same way in the second language.

3. IDIOM: ORIGIN • Origin: 1565–75;  < Latin idiōma  < Greek idíōma  peculiarity, specific property equivalent to idiō-  (variant stem of idioûsthai  to make one's own, appropriate, verbal derivative of idiós;  see idio-) + -ma  noun suffix of result

4. IDIOM: EXAMPLES • An Arm And A Leg: Very expensive. A large amount of money. • Bite Your Tongue: To avoid talking. • Blue Moon: A rare event or occurance. • Like a chicken with its head cut off: To act in a frenzied manner.

5. Euphemism: Definition • noun 1. the substitution of a mild, indirect, or vague expression for one thought to be offensive, harsh, or blunt. • 2. the expression so substituted: “To pass away” is a euphemism for “to die.”

6. Euphemism: Origin • 1650–60;  < Greek euphēmismós  the use of words of good omen, equivalent to eu- eu- + phḗm ( ē ) speaking, fame + -ismos-ism

7. Euphemism: Examples • Passed away instead of died • Correctional facility instead of jail • Departed instead of died • Differently-abled instead of handicapped or disabled • Fell off the back of a truck instead of stolen • Ethnic cleansing instead of genocide • Turn a trick instead of engage in prostitution • Negative patient outcome instead of dead • Relocation center instead of prison camp • Collateral damage instead of accidental deaths • Letting someone go instead of firing someone • Put to sleep instead of euthanize • Pregnancy termination instead of abortion • On the streets instead of homeless

8. Paradox: Definition • A paradox is a statement that apparently contradicts itself and yet might be true. Most logical paradoxes are known to be invalid arguments but are still valuable in promoting critical thinking.

9. Paradox: Origin • Latin paradoxum, from Greek paradoxon, from neuter of paradoxos contrary to expectation, from para- + dokein to think, seem — more at decentFirst Known Use: 1540

10. Paradox: Examples • You can save money by spending it. • I'm nobody. • "What a pity that youth must be wasted on the young." - George Bernard Shaw • Wise fool • Bittersweet • "I can resist anything but temptation."-Oscar Wilde • I'm a compulsive liar- am I lying when I say that? • A rich man is no richer than a poor man. • Nobody goes to that restaurant because it is too crowded. • You shouldn't go in the water until you know how to swim. • If you didn't get this message, call me. • The person who wrote something so stupid can't write at all • Men work together whether they work together or apart. - Robert Frost • Be cruel to be kind • The beginning of the end • Drowning in the fountain of eternal life • Deep down, you're really shallow.

11. Irony: Definition • 3 different types of Irony • Dramatic, Verbal, and Situational. • noun, plural i·ro·nies. 1. the use of words to convey a meaning that is the opposite of its literal meaning: the irony of her reply, “How nice!” when I said I had to work all weekend. • 2. Literature. a. a technique of indicating, as through character or plot development, an intention or attitude opposite to that which is actually or ostensibly stated. • b. (especially in contemporary writing) a manner of organizing a work so as to give full expression to contradictory or complementary impulses, attitudes, etc., especially as a means of indicating detachment from a subject, theme, or emotion. • 3. Socratic irony. • 4. dramatic irony. • 5. an outcome of events contrary to what was, or might have been, expected.

12. Irony: Origin • Latin ironia, from Greek eirōnia, from eirōndissemblerFirst Known Use: 1502

13. Irony: Examples • I posted a video on YouTube about how boring and useless YouTube is. • The name of Britain’s biggest dog was “Tiny”. • You laugh at a person who slipped stepping on a banana peel and the next thing you know, you slipped too. • The butter is as soft as a marble piece. • “Oh great! Now you have broken my new camera.”

14. Understatement: Definition • An understatement is a figure of speech employed by writers or speakers to intentionally make a situation seem less important than it really is. • For example, you win 10 million dollars in a lottery. When you tell a news reporter “I am delighted”, you are making an understatement. Similarly, suppose a team loses to its opponent 50 to 0 in a soccer match and the captain of the team says in a post-match ceremony says, “We did not do well”, it is an understatement because he is trying to decrease the intensity of the loss. • An understatement usually has an ironic effect as an equally intense response is expected in severe situations but the statement in response is the opposite of what was expected i.e. less intense but of course with an ironical tone. For instance, your friend returns your new coat with blots all over it; in response, you make an understatement, “It doesn’t look too bad”. Therefore, an understatement is opposite to another figure of speech hyperbole or an overstatement.

15. Understatement: Examples • “Deserts are sometimes hot, dry and sandy” while describing deserts of the world. • “He is not too thin” while describing an obese person. • “It rained a bit more than usual” while describing an area being flooded after heavy rainfall. • “It was O.K.” is an understatement if someone who got the highest score in a test said this when asked about his result. • “It is a bit cold today,” when the temperature is 5 degrees below freezing.

16. Overstatement/Hyerbole : Definition/Examples • To state in exaggerated terms • Examples: • My grandmother is as old as the hills. • Your suitcase weighs a ton! • She is as heavy as an elephant! • I am dying of shame. • I am trying to solve a million issues these days.

17. Ambiguity • ambiguity or fallacy of ambiguity is a word, phrase, or statement which contains more than one meaning. • Ambiguous words or statements lead to vagueness and confusion, and shape the basis for instances of unintentional humor. For instance, it is ambiguous to say “I rode a black horse in red pajamas,” because it may lead us to think the horse was wearing red pajamas. The sentence becomes clear when it is restructured “Wearing red pajamas, I rode a black horse.” • Similarly, same words with different meanings can cause ambiguity e.g. “John took off his trousers by the bank.” It is funny if we confuse one meaning of “bank” which is a building, to another meaning, being “an edge of a river”. Context usually resolves any ambiguity in such cases.

18. Ambiguity: Examples • A good life depends on a liver. • – Liver may be an organ or simply a living person. • Foreigners are hunting dogs. • – It is unclear whether dogs were being hunted or foreigners are being spoken of as dogs. • Each of us saw her duck. • – It is not clear whether the word “duck” refers to an action of ducking or a duck that is a bird. • The passerby helps dog bite victim. • - Is the passerby helping a dog bite someone? Or is he helping a person bitten by a dog? It’s not clear.

19. Contradiction • A contradiction is two propositions used in combination where one makes the other impossible. It is something that is A and non-A at the same time. A contradiction, therefore, cannot exist in reality, since existence exists (whereas a contradiction could not possibly exist). In the cognitive process, reaching a contradiction as a conclusion or evaluation of reality is proof of an error in one's thinking. • A square circle is a contradiction in terms. It cannot even be imagined.

20. Contradiction Examples • If God can do anything, can He make a stone so heavy that He won’t be able to lift it?'"'Of course,' she replied promptly."'But if He can do anything, He can lift the stone,' I pointed out."'Yeah,' she said thoughtfully. 'Well, then I guess He can’t make the stone.'"'But He can do anything,' I reminded her."She scratched her pretty, empty head. 'I’m all confused,' she admitted."'Of course you are. Because when the premises of an argument contradict each other, there can be no argument. If there is an irresistible force, there can be no immovable object. If there is an immovable object, there can be no irresistible force. Get it?'"'Tell me more of this keen stuff,' she said eagerly."(Max Shulman, The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis. Doubleday, 1951)

21. Connotation • Negative and Positive Connotation • Connotations are the associations people make with words that go being the literal or dictionary definition. Many words have connotations that create emotions or feelings in the reader. • Example:  • And once again, the autumn leaves were falling. • This phrase uses ‘autumn’ to signify something coming to an end.

22. Allusion • Reference made to something outside the work the reader is supposed to be familiar with • “Don’t act like a Romeo in front of her.” • – “Romeo” is a reference to Shakespeare’s Romeo, a passionate lover of Juliet, in “Romeo and Juliet”. • The rise in poverty will unlock the Pandora’s box of crimes. • – This is an allusion to one of Greek Mythology’s origin myth, “Pandora’s box”. • “This place is like a Garden of Eden.” • –This is a biblical allusion to the “garden of God” in the Book of Genesis. • “Hey! Guess who the new Newton of our school is?” • – “Newton”, means a genius student, alludes to a famous scientist Isaac Newton. • “Stop acting like my ex-husband please.” • – Apart from scholarly allusions we refer to common people and places in our speech.