Let's Learn Literary Techniques and Terms!

[Kitti]

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  Syllepsis
  Definition: The device syllepsis comes into play when a single word that influences or regulates two or more than two other words needs to be comprehended individually and in light of every particular ensuing word.
  
  Kitti's Definition: One word which modifies two or more words where the modification must be understood in both literal and metaphorical senses.
  
  Examples:
  "She tracks sand in as well as ideas, and I have to sweep up after her two or three times a day." -E.B. White
  
  

 

[Kitti]

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  Xanaduism
  Definition: Research to discover the sources that have contributed to a work of art.
  
  Kitti's Definition: Finding out the what has inspired a work of art.
  
  Examples:
  Lord of the Flies was written as a counterpoint to or parody of Coral Island by Ballantyne.

 

[Kitti]

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  MacGuffin
  Definition: A term for a motivating element in a story that is used to drive the plot. It actually serves no further purpose. It won't pop up again later, it won't explain the ending, it won't actually do anything except possibly distract you while you try to figure out its significance. In some cases, it won't even be shown. It is usually a mysterious package/artifact/superweapon that everyone in the story is chasing.
  
  Kitti's Definition: Something that drives or influences a plot simply because. If what an item is or what it does is irrelevant to the story and could be replaced with anything else, it's probably a MacGuffin.
  
  Examples:
  From the movie Citizen Kane, the name of the sled is a MacGuffin. Searching for it drives the entire plot of the story and serves as the central point for the movie, but the actual name of the sled doesn't matter at all and could be anything.
  

 

[Kitti]

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  Adverb
  Definition: A word used to modify a verb, an adjective, another adverb, a preposition, a phrase, a clause, or a sentence and often used to show degree, manner, place, or time.
  
  Kitti's Definition: An adverb typically tells you how, where, when, or to what extent something is done. (And most end in -ly !)
  
  Examples: She stepped delicately over the mess. Delicately is describing how she stepped.
  The blood spilled everywhere. Everywhere is an adverb here because it modifies 'spilled' to supply a where.

 

[Kitti]

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  Fourth Wall
  Definition: The fourth wall is the imaginary "wall" at the front of the stage in a traditional three-walled box set in a proscenium theatre, through which the audience sees the action in the world of the play.
  
  Kitti's Definition: The separation between those participating in a work of art and those who are viewing it.
  
  Examples:
  The most common usage of the fourth wall tends to be that which "breaks it", those inside a work of fiction or art communicating with those viewing it. An example of this can be found in the game Final Fantasy V, in which one of the characters attempts to get in-game characters to dance with her before finally entreating the player to do so, saying "You there in front of the screen, you too."

 

[Kitti]

• Analepsis

Definition: A literary or cinematic device in which an earlier event is inserted into the normal chronological order of a narrative. (Flashback)

Kitti's Definition:
When an earlier experience interrupts the current story to be told or remembered. There are two different forms of this in writing, internal and external. Internal reminds of something that occurred earlier in the narrative while external relates something that happened previously but was not in the story.

Examples: An example of external flashback is Citizen Kane. As the reporter moves through the movie, flashbacks of Kane's life unfold to explain or expound upon what's currently happening in the narrative.

 

[Kitti]

Deus ex Machina
Definition: A person or thing that appears or is introduced suddenly and unexpectedly and provides a contrived solution to an apparently insoluble difficulty.

Kitti's Definition: Something/someone not previously mentioned or not of any great importance suddenly appears with the ability to solve a seemingly impossible problem.

Examples:
Batman is a well-known (and often times put to great humor) example of rampant deus ex machina. Whenever something gets tight, he seems to have just the right random gadget we've never used before to get him out of the spot.

 

[Kitti]

Pastiche
Definition: A dramatic, literary, or musical piece openly imitating the previous works of other artists, often with satirical intent.

Kitti's Definition: Creating a piece of work intentionally in the style of someone else's work, often with the intent of adding something new or making light of their piece.

Examples:
Stephen King wrote a pastiche of Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes series titled "The Doctor's Case", employing the memorable characters and many of the tropes and themes that Doyle himself used frequently to keep his work similar to that of Doyle in many respects.

 

[Kitti]

Red Herring
Definition: A clue that leads in the wrong direction.

Kitti's Definition: A piece of information that serves to confuse or lead the wrong way.

Examples:

Spoiler

The first Harry Potter book portrays teacher Severus Snape as the most likely candidate to be the villain, complete with disdain for Harry, vague alibis for bad things that happen, and sketchy behavior. All of this made Harry and his friends suspect Snape and overlook entirely the real bad guy, a stuttering and meek Quirrel.