important literary devices!

important literary devices!
a handy dandy revision cchmssec4lit2016mrahmad FEAR NO POETRY!
•  Dr. Gwee Li Sui’s “Fear No Poetry! The EssenEal Guide To Close Reading” is a delighJul book on the cri$cal apprecia$on of poetry. The following slides explore some of the criEcal terms and literary devices he has idenEfied as basic terms which every student of verse ought to know. I have also added other literary devices which are applicable to prose and our set texts. •  The defini$on of these terms is complimented by examples of their use, using examples of poems/prose passages/extracts from our set texts we have come across in class. •  There will also be demonstra$ons of how to write cri$cally about the poets’ or writers’ use of these devices. allitera<on
•  the repeEEon of sounds in a sequence of words •  creates rhythm allitera<on: gilbert koh’s old folks home
•  the last stanza of Gilbert Koh’s Old Folk’s Home Later they will clamber noisily back up the deparEng school buses, and next week in class they will write startlingly similar essays on what a meaningful, memorable experience they had at the old folks' home last week. allitera<on: gilbert koh’s old folks home
•  The poet’s tone is sarcasEc here, as he points out that the students’ essays are of no real value as they are ‘startlingly / similar’, implying that they have no originality or were not sincere. Now that we have detected his sarcasEc tone, the lines ‘meaningful / memorable’ also seem to be used to mock the ‘experience’ the students had. The allitera$on of the ‘s’ sounds of ‘shockingly similar’ and the ‘m’ sounds in ‘meaningful, memorable’ create a rhythm that conEnues into the next line because of the run-­‐off lines, also known as enjambment. The rhythm gives the word a sing-­‐song effect, and adds to the mocking tone of the speaker of the poem. allitera<on: Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s Rime of the Ancient Mariner
•  The fair breeze blew, the white foam flew, The furrow followed free; We were the first that ever burst Into that silent sea. allitera<on: Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s Rime of the Ancient Mariner
•  The fair breeze blew, the white foam flew, The furrow followed free; We were the first that ever burst Into that silent sea. •  The allitera$on used with the repeated ‘b’ and ‘f’ and ‘s’ sounds create a rhythm that resembles the movement of the breeze and the foam flying and the sense of speed of the ra_/boat. Our a`enEon is also drawn to the contrast between the movement and speed of the wind and foam and the ‘silent sea’. The significance of being the first is further magnified by the internal rhyme of ‘first’ and burst’. The use of the word ‘ever’ also makes it seem like a momentous event. allusion
•  a reference made in a work to something – be it a character, a place, an event, a passage, or a style – from another work •  o_en, an allusion adds depth: the reader / audience ‘fills in the gap’ without the writer having to explain what the reference means. The assumpEon is that the writer and reader both know what is being referred to allusion: Billy Collin’s To My Favourite 17-­‐Year Old High School Girl
•  Do you realize that if you had started building the Parthenon on the day you were born, you would be all done in only one more year? allusion: Billy Collin’s To My Favourite 17-­‐Year Old High School Girl
•  Do you realize that if you had started building the Parthenon on the day you were born, you would be all done in only one more year? •  The poet alludes to the building of the Parthenon, which is a building from ancient Greece and one of the enduring symbols of western civilizaEon. When the poet suggests that his daughter could have built such a grand and important building all by herself in just one year, we suspect that he must not be serious and is probably saying this in a light-­‐hearted tone. Yet, I sEll detect some genuine frustraEon towards his daughter. Perhaps he is suggesEng to her that she is not doing the illustrious history of her ancestors jusEce and is not fulfilling her true potenEal. ambience, atmosphere, mood
•  the general feeling that a writer creates at a parEcular moment or scene or even throughout the whole text, to evoke a certain feeling or emoEon in the reader/audience •  possible kinds of atmosphere/mood (the list is not exhausEve): sad, cheerful, melancholy, bleak, depressing, upli_ing, tranquil, upsehng, tense, peaceful, chaoEc, joyful, happy, electrifying, somber, intense… ambience, atmosphere, mood in William Golding’s Lord of the Flies
•  The boy with fair hair lowered himself down the last few feet of rock and began to pick his way toward the lagoon. Though he had taken off his school sweater and trailed it now from one hand, his grey shirt stuck to him and his hair was plastered to his forehead. All round him the long scar smashed into the jungle was a bath of heat. he was clambering heavily among the creepers and broken trunks when a bird, a vision of red and yellow, flashed upwards with a witch-­‐like cry, and this cry was echoed by another. ambience, atmosphere, mood in William Golding’s Lord of the Flies
•  In this extract, Golding emphasizes the heat of the surroundings. The jungle was a ‘bath of heat’, and Ralph was sweaEng profusely, literally bathing in sweat, as his grey shirt ‘stuck to him’ and his hair was ‘plastered’ to his forehead. Golding’s use of vivid imagery makes the heat almost palpable, and we can imagine Ralph’s discomfort as he walked toward the lagoon. The presence of the long scar, and the use of the word ‘smashed’, adds tension to the scene as it recalls the violent entry of the boys to the island. The sudden ‘witch-­‐like cry’ of the red and yellow bird creates a sense of danger. The gaudy combinaEon of the colours red and yellow are like a warning, as red is associated with danger. Golding’s choice of the words ‘witch-­‐like’ to describe the cry of the bird also adds to the sinister atmosphere, as we associate witches with evil and unnatural acts. The fact that the cry was ‘echoed by another’ hints that there could be more hidden dangers to come. ambiguity
•  there is ambiguity when what the writer or poet or character says is not clear, and could be interpreted in more than one way. •  ambiguity can lead to deeper meaning as we can explore different possible interpretaEons ambiguity: Grace Chua’s (love song, with two goldfish)
•  (He's a dri?er, always floaEng around her, has nowhere else to go. He wishes she would sing, not much, just the scales; or take some noEce, give him the fish eye.) ambiguity: Grace Chua’s (love song, with two goldfish)
The poet’s choice of the word ‘dri?er’ is striking, as it creates ambiguity. On one hand, the male goldfish is literally ‘dri_ing’ in the water. On the other hand, he is also ‘dri_ing’ around, with ‘nowhere else to go’, implying that he is leading an aimless existence. The clever play of words invites us to look for more puns and ambiguity in the rest of the poem, making for a more engaging reading. ambiguity: William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, Act PARIS Happily met, my lady and my wife. JULIET
That may be sir, when I may be a wife. PARIS That ‘may be’ must be, love, on Thursday next. JULIET
What must be shall be. FRIAR LAWRENCE That’s a certain text. … PARIS Do not deny to him that you love me. JULIET
I will confess to you that I love him. ambiguity: William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, Act 4 Sc 1, response part 1
In this tense encounter between Paris and Juliet, Paris is clueless about Juliet’s distraught state and tries in vain to get a posiEve response of some kind from Juliet to affirm their ‘love’. However, she offers only vague, ambiguous replies, and manages to stay true to Romeo without giving Paris too much reason to suspect that something is amiss. When Paris refers to Juliet as his wife, she replies that she is or will be ‘a wife’, though not his. When he reminds her that on Thursday what she has said ‘may’ happen will be a certainty as arrangements for their marriage have already been made, Juliet states that ‘what must be shall be’, staEng the universal truth that what is desEned to happen will most certainly happen. Friar Lawrence readily agrees to this, and we know exactly what he means while Paris sEll has no clue. When Paris presses further, insisEng that Juliet ‘do not deny’ that she loves him, Juliet crypEcally confesses that ‘I love him’, referring to Romeo instead. ambiguity: William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, Act 4 Scene 1, response part 2
All this while, Paris is completely ignorant of the true situaEon. He must be so excited about the wedding that he seems oblivious to the deliberate ambiguity in Juliet’s words. Juliet’s words and the Friar’s presence too create a strong sense of dramaEc irony. Juliet’s deliberately vague answers may seem like the resistance of a shy bride to Paris, but they hold great resonance for us, the audience, as we know that her heart is with Romeo, and each menEon of marriage and love makes her think of Romeo and reminds her of her separaEon from him. To make it worse, having to face Paris at this moment must be very difficult for her, as he is unwihngly one of the reasons for her woes. assonance and consonance
•  assonance refers to the repeEEon of vowel sounds, while consonance refers to the repeEEon of consonant sounds. •  both create rhythm •  alliteraEon is a form of consonance assonance and consonance: from Sir Alfred Lord Tennyson’s The Eagle
•  He clasps the crag with crooked hands Close to the sun in lonely lands Ringed with the azure world he stands assonance and consonance: from Dylan Thomas’ Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night
•  Do not go gentle into that good night, Old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage, against the dying of the light. Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight, Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay, Rage, rage against the dying of the light. assonance and consonance: from Dylan Thomas’ Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night
•  Do not go gentle into that good night, Old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage, against the dying of the light. Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight, Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay, Rage, rage against the dying of the light. •  The assonance throughout the lines, with the repe$$on of the long vowels in ‘rave’, ‘day’, ‘rage’, ‘grave’, ‘blaze’ and ‘gay’, slow down the reading, and give the lines a somber, serious tone, which suits the overall mood of the poem. assonance and consonance: from Sir Alfred Lord Tennyson’s The Eagle
•  He clasps the crag with crooked hands Close to the sun in lonely lands Ringed with the azure world he stands •  The consonance in the first line, with the repe$$on of the hard ‘c’ sounds, reinforces the poet’s descripEon of the harsh environment the eagle is in, high up in the rocky mountains, gripping the hard rock of the cliff wall. •  The eagle is described as ‘close to the sun’, assonance and consonance: from Sir Alfred Lord Tennyson’s The Eagle
•  The eagle is described as ‘close to the sun’, giving me the impression that it looks down on everything below it as it is so high up. This gives it an aura of majesty, as who else but the king of its realm could be so close to the symbol of life , the sun? The sun has also been an object of worship for various cultures throughout history, and the proximity of the eagle to the sun suggests that the eagle is a mighty being. This is reinforced when the eagle is described as being ‘ringed with the azure world’. ‘Ringed’ conjures the image of a crown, and the eagle reigns over the sky, which is the ‘azure’ or blue world that he surveys from his mountain top throne. The repe$$on of the ‘l’ sounds in line 2, in the words, ‘close’, ‘lonely’ and ‘lands’, create an echo effect, suggesEng the vast space that the eagle has dominion over, reinforcing the power and majesty of the eagle. dic<on, also known as word choice
•  refers to the vocabulary and phrasing in a work dic<on in William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet
•  Gallop apace, you fiery-­‐footed steeds, Towards Phoebus’ lodging; such a wagoner As Phaeton would whip you to the west, And bring in cloudy night immediately. dic<on in William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet
•  Juliet’s use of words like ‘gallop’ and ‘steeds’ and ‘whip’ indicate her impa$ence as she wishes the ‘cloudy night’ would come ‘immediately’. The dic$on here is linked by their associa$on to speed and urgency. Her impaEence suggests her strong desire and longing for Romeo. The words ‘gallop’ and ‘steeds’ also evoke the image of strong, virile horses, a very masculine associa?on which further emphasizes Juliet’s strong desire for her husband. dic<on in William Golding’s Lord of the Flies
•  The rock struck Piggy a glancing blow from chin to knee; the conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist. Piggy, saying nothing, with no Eme for even a grunt, traveled through the air sideways from the rock, turning over as he went. The rock bounded twice and was lost in the forest. Piggy fell forty feet and landed on his back across that square red rock in the sea. His head opened and stuff came out and turned red. Piggy's arms and legs twitched a bit, like a pig's a_er it has been killed. Then the sea breathed again in a long, slow sigh, the water boiled white and pink over the rock; and when it went, sucking back again, the body of Piggy was gone. This Eme the silence was complete. Ralph's lips formed a word but no sound came. Suddenly Jack bounded out from the tribe and began screaming wildly. "See? See? That's what you'll get! I meant that! There isn't a tribe for you any morel The conch is gone-­‐" He ran forward, stooping. "I'm chief!" dic<on in William Golding’s Lord of the Flies
•  “He ran forward, stooping.” •  Golding’s use of the word ‘stooping’ to describe Jack here is a powerful use of dic$on. ‘Stooping’ conjures the image of a savage, less evolved version of man. The murder of Piggy, or more significantly, the lack or remorse over the killing of Piggy by all the members of the Tribe, indicate that the boys have almost fully descended into savagery, and Jack ‘stooping’ presents a striking visual image that show just how much the boys have regressed. enjambment
•  refers to the way a sentence conEnues beyond one or more line breaks in a poem. These verse lines are someEmes called run-­‐on lines. enjambment in Gilbert Koh’s Old Folks’ Home
•  Resigned to the prisons of their own failing bodies, they dri_ in and out of the haze of senility, half-­‐forgehng themselves in the paEent wait for death. enjambment in Gilbert Koh’s Old Folks’ Home
•  The poet uses enjambment to powerful effect in line 3-­‐6 of the second stanza. The old folks ‘dri_ in and out of the haze’ of ‘senility’, with the word ‘senility’ coming a_er the line break. As a reader, I may not have expected that the ‘haze’ might originate from ‘senility’, as the word ‘haze’ is normally associated with unhealthy weather condiEons or even metaphorically associated with confusion. The poet describes the old folks as ‘half-­‐forgehng’ ‘themselves’, which is again a striking surprise, as we normally expect to forget mundane things like shopping lists or events. By saying they are forgehng ‘themselves’, the feeling of pity for the old folks and a sense of loss is evoked. •  We o_en take our memories for granted. Our very personality is something we cannot imagine losing as it is always there and seems invulnerable even as our bodies age and start to fail. Old age however chips away at everything, not just our bodies. When the poet says the old folks are waiEng paEently, we again may expect some mundane, everyday event, but the enjambment offers a twist again, as they are waiEng paEently for ‘death’. The word ‘paEent’ implies that the old folks are resigned to their fate, and it almost seems as if death is preferable to the life of quiet suffering they are leading now. By using enjambment, the poet presents the painful truth of the lives of the elderly at the home in a startling way, making the state the old folks are in seem even more pi?ful and shocking. form and structure
•  refers to the way a poem conforms to or does not conform to a parEcular structure or set of rules •  can also be reflected in the visual shape of a poem form and structure in e.e. cumming’s may I feel?
•  may i feel said he (i'll squeal said she just once said he) it's fun said she (may i touch said he how much said she a lot said he) why not said she (let's go said he not too far said she what's too far said he where you are said she) form and structure in e.e. cumming’s may I feel?
•  the structure of the poem seems to be in the form of a dialogue between a man and a woman. As I read the lines, the structure makes me imagine the two speakers whispering to each other in close proximity. The brackets add intrigue to the poem as well, as if they are in a close, confined space, which adds to the sense of danger and suspense. The two speakers seem to be lovers engaged in a forbidden relaEonship. form and structure in Grace Chua’s (love song, with two goldfish)
(But her love's since gone belly-­‐up. His heart sinks like a fish. He drinks like a stone. Drowns those sorrows, stares empEly through glass.) (the reason, she said she wanted) (and he could not give) a life beyond the (bowl)
form and structure in Grace Chua’s (love song, with two goldfish)
•  The creaEve use of parentheses by the poet suggests the shape of a fish bowl. Given the subject ma`er of the poem, this is appropriate and adds visual interest to the poem. •  The ‘bowls’ also get smaller and smaller towards the end of the poem, and this again is in line with the meaning of the poem. As the life of the goldfish seems more and more restricted, as the female goldfish feels that the male cannot give her a ‘life beyond the bowl’, the ‘bowl’ itself gets smaller and smaller to reflect the feeling of being trapped and confined. form and structure: explore further
•  think of how Romeo and Juliet’s first encounter is made even more special and roman$c when their dialogue is wri`en in the form of a sonnet •  Look at how Mark Antony, in the play Julius Caesar, keeps repea$ng the phrase ‘honourable men’, and how its meaning and implica$ons change as his speech progresses •  look closely at the Emes William Golding in Lord of the Flies uses short sentences or even one-­‐word dialogue to increase the tension of the scene imagery
•  refers to descripEve language that appeals to our 5 senses, as well as figures of speech like metaphor and similes Imagery in F. Sco_ Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby
•  So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past. imagery in F. Sco_ Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby
•  So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past. •  This is the last sentence of the novel, and captures the haun?ng, tragic atmosphere of the novel perfectly. The writer uses a metaphor to compare the lives of the characters to boats, struggling against the challenges of life and its many turbulent events and obstacles. These boats, however, despite their valiant a`empt to move forward and reach their desEnaEon, are thrown backwards by the current, so they never progress. The metaphor is a powerful one, sugges?ng that the lives of the characters are forever doomed to be defined by their past failures and shortcomings. It is a cynical comment on the inevitability of our fates despite our best efforts to break out of the tragic cycle. imagery in Koh Buck Song’s Ah Por
•  now the only lights you leave behind are memories of fragrant face powder, snow mountain pallor, smoothening the years, your standard samfoo of Samsui simplicity, and scent of medicated hairpins imagery in Koh Buck Song’s Ah Por
•  The poet acEvates our senses through the use of vivid imagery. There is the fragrant smell of ‘face powder’, the visually striking image of ‘snow mountain pallor’. Even texture is evoked as the face powder smoothens the years. The plain, minimalist design of Ah Por’s ‘standard samfoo’ is conjured, along with the associaEon with a life of hardship through the allusion to ‘Samsui simplicity’. Finally, our sense of smell is acEvated when the poet menEons the ‘scent of medicated hairpins’. •  The face powder and hairpins and samfoo as well as the smell of medicaEon like the tradiEonal Axe oil is something we associate with the older generaEon of our grandparents. The images are familiar, yet oddly alien as well, as they belong to another generaEon. In this poem, they highlight the gulf, the generaEon gap, between the grandchild and the grandmother. •  Although the lines are rich with imagery, the sense impressions they provide the reader are simply that: impressions. There is no real sense of who the grandmother is. She seems to be defined by these objects. We see only the things she possessed, but know nothing about her thoughts and feelings. I feel that the poet is trying to show the disconnect between him and his grandmother, and by extension, the disconnect between these two very disEnct generaEons of Singaporeans. imagery in Chinua Achebe’s Vultures
In the greyness and drizzle of one despondent dawn unsErred by harbingers of sunbreak a vulture perching high on broken bone of a dead tree nestled close to his mate his smooth bashed-­‐in head, a pebble on a stem rooted in a dump of gross feathers, inclined affecEonately to hers. imagery in Chinua Achebe’s Vultures
•  the use of the phrase ‘broken bone’ to describe the branch of the dead tree is a powerful metaphor, comparing the tree to a carcass. The comparison seems appropriate here as the branch is the resEng place of a pair of vultures, which are known to feed on dead carcasses. The imagery of the tree as a carcass creates a bleak, dark and sinister atmosphere. The ugliness of the vulture is vividly portrayed by the poet’s descripEon. The vulture has a ‘smooth / bashed-­‐in head’, which resembles a ‘pebble / on a stem rooted in / a dump of gross feathers. The ‘bashed-­‐in’ appearance suggests an unnatural shape, that is unpleasant to look at. The disproporEonate size of the head, described as a ‘pebble on a stem’, in relaEon to its body is also disconcerEng, and adds to the grotesque, monstrous image painted by the poet. This impression of the vultures is, however, challenged by the phrases ‘nestled close’ and ‘inclined affecEonately’. These acEons are associated with warmth and a loving nature, something we would not normally associate with vultures. The contrast is striking, and makes me rethink my stereotypical view of the vultures. imagery: explore further
•  look at the various types of imagery in Julius Caesar -­‐ images of the supernatural -­‐ images of light and darkness -­‐ images of death, death personified •  look at the way Golding uses imagery in Lord of the Flies -­‐ the way he describes the island as a peaceful, tranquil place -­‐ the images of the boy’s and mankind’s presence on the island, so at odds with the tranquility of nature, showing how man’s presence is corrupEng and disrupEve That’s all for now folks…
•  There are of course many other literacy devices, but we don’t have to know them all (next slide lists a few more) •  The important thing is to be sensi$ve to what the poet or writer is doing. They all want to share something with you. Read closely and carefully and figure out what this is, then analyse how what they do helps them convey their message to you in impacGul, striking, powerful ways. other literary devices to be aware of
•  euphony and cacophony •  irony •  hyperbole and understatement •  onomatopoeia •  paradox and oxymoron •  persona, voice and tone •  personificaEon •  wordplay, puns •  rhyme and rhythm •  sehng •  symbol and moEf •  foreshadowing •  dramaEc irony •  contrast •  suspense •  conflict and tension •  characterizaEon important wri<ng <ps
•  always analyse the quesEons thoroughly and idenEfy exactly what they want •  plan your approach; consistently a`ack the quesEon •  introducEons should be short and sweet, by staying focused on the quesEon and giving the reader a clear idea of your direcEon and arguments •  conclusions should be short and sweet too, by restaEng and affirming your main idea and argument important wri<ng <ps
•  remember to refer closely to evidence when making your points •  use one or two key quotes to anchor your point •  elaborate and explain the point you are making, describing and explaining how the writer’s techniques have created a certain effect, and show the significance of this important wri<ng <ps
•  strive to be clear and coherent •  be systemaEc and organized in the way you present your points •  use strong, convincing arguments