Literary Terms1. Dramatic Irony

2. Verbal irony3. Situational Irony

4. Allusion5. Analogy6. Storyline

7. Puns

Dramatic Irony

• An occasion in a play, film, or other work in which a character’s words or actions convey a meaning unperceived by the character but understood by the audience.

Dramatic Irony Examples• For instance, if you were in a restaurant and

said out loud, 'I can't wait to eat the veal marsala I ordered,' and there were people around who knew that the veal marsala was poisoned and that you would die as soon as you took a bite, your situation would be one of dramatic irony.“

Dramatic Irony Examples Cont…

• In Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, when Romeo finds Juliet in a drugged sleep, he assumes her to be dead and kills himself. Upon awakening to find her dead lover beside her, Juliet then kills herself.

Dramatic Irony Ex. from Night• After leaving the ghetto, the Jews were put in

the cattle cars. We know that they are going to a concentration camp, but they do not.

• “The train stopped in Kaschau, a small town on the Czechoslovakian border. We realized then that we were not staying in Hungary. Our eyes opened. Too late.” p. 22

Verbal Irony

• A character says one thing but really means the opposite.

Example: "Water is as clear as mud" - The person actually says that the water is not at all clear.

Verbal Irony Ex. From Night

• We know that the yellow star identified Jews during WWII and the Holocaust. By wearing this small piece of cloth, many Jews were singled out and taken away to concentration camps where they most likely were put to death. Therefore, it was in fact lethal.

• “ ‘The yellow star? So What? It’s not lethal…’ (Poor Father! Of what then did you die?” p. 11

Situational Irony

• Occurs when what actually happens is the opposite of what is expected or appropriate.

• Examples: A police officer gets arrested. A fire station burns down. A tow truck being towed. Someone moving to avoid a sprinkler and falling into a swimming pool.

Situational Irony Ex. from Night• It is ironic when Elie and his father decide to evacuate

when they could have stayed in the infirmary and simply been liberated by the Red Army. They assumed all those who were left in the infirmary would be killed by the Nazis. Had they known that they would not be killed, they could have easily waited for freedom in the infirmary.

• “After the war, I learned the fate of those who had remained at the infirmary. They were, quite simply, liberated by the Russians, two days after the evacuation.” p. 82

Allusion

• An allusion is a figure of speech that makes a reference to a place, person, or something that happened. This can be real or imaginary and may refer to anything, including paintings, opera, folk lore, historical, mythical figures, or religious manuscripts. The reference can be direct or may be inferred, and can broaden the reader’s understanding.

Allusion Examples

• “I was surprised his nose was not growing like Pinocchio’s.” This refers to the story of Pinocchio, where his nose grew whenever he told a lie. It is from The Adventures of Pinocchio, written by Carlo Collodi.

• “When she lost her job, she acted like a Scrooge, and refused to buy anything that wasn’t necessary.” Scrooge was an extremely stingy character from Charles Dickens’, A Christmas Carol.

Allusion Examples Cont…

• “Chocolate was her Achilles’ heel.” This means that her weakness was her love of chocolate. Achilles is a character in Greek mythology who was invincible. His mother dipped him in magical water when he was a baby, and she held him by the heel. The magic protected him all over, except for his heel.

Analogy

• A comparison between two things, typically on the basis of their structure and for the purpose of explanation or clarification.

Analogy Examples• fish is to swimming as a bird is to flying

• death is to life, blindness is to vision

• sweets are to a diabetic, water is to fire

• gold is to a goldsmith, iron is to a blacksmith

• cold is to ice, heat is to fire

• dog is to a kennel, a rabbit is to a burrow

• voice is to a person, communication is to a language

• Painting is to a painter as water is to a plant

• Strings are to a guitar, love is to life

Storyline

• Also called plotline. The plan, scheme, or main story of a literary or dramatic work, as a play, novel, or short story.

• A storyline may entail patterns such as:– Rags to Riches– Two Rivals– The Great Quest– Growth and Learning

Puns• A joke exploiting the different possible meanings

of a word or the fact that there are words that sound alike but have different meanings.

Examples:• I knew a woman who owned a taser, man was

she stunning!• I went to buy some camouflage trousers

yesterday but couldn't find any.• I've been to the dentist many

times so I know the drill.