English 9: Literary Device Project

Literary terms/devices are the language of literature, and they are the reference points we use in English class to discuss literature. Based on my

experience, you have been introduced to these terms and you have probably been using them for several years. (No worries, if they are new to you; you

will have plenty of opportunities to learn them and use them.)

It’s important that you are able to identify the way authors use these devices, but it’s more important that you understand why the author is using the

device and how it is creating meaning. To review and to you give you a chance to familiarize yourself with these terms and how they create meaning, you

are going to engage in the Literary Device Project. For each term listed, I have offered you the definition and an example that comes from class or other

commonly read texts. Your job is to now start looking for these devices in your world. And specifically, I want you to look at the music you listen to. You

will find lots of examples of musicians using literary devices to create meaning in their songs. So, here’s what you will do:

Find at least two examples of each literary device in different songs.

For each example, write the lyrics that use the device and then explain what the musician really means (what meaning is created through the device). For

example, in “Love Story” by Taylor Swift, when she sings: “Cause you were Romeo – I was a scarlet letter,” she is making an allusion to The Scarlet Letter,

indicating that she is something that is shameful and would be a source of public humiliation (at least in the eyes of the father).

Definition

Literary Device

Example from

our class

Your examples from songs

Include the lyrics that use the

device

Include an explanation of what

the line really means or how it is

an example of the device

Personification

Giving an object human characteristics;

describing a thing as if it were a person

From “The Scarlet Ibis”: The smell of flowers

“drifted across the cotton field and through every

room of our house, speaking the softly the names of

our dead.” (Flowers can’t speak.)

Your examples:

Simile A comparison between two things

using “like” or “as”

From “Abuela Invents the Zero”: “He hands her over

to my parents like she was a package sent airmail.”

(comparing abuela to a package using “like”)

Your examples:

Metaphor A direct comparison between two

things

From “The Scarlet Ibis”: “pride is a

wonderful, terrible thing, a seed that bears

two vines, life and death.” (comparing pride

to a vine)

Your examples:

Foreshadowing

Hints or clues in the story about what

will happen later

The storm in “The Scarlet Ibis”

foreshadows Doodle’s death; it tells us

something bad is coming

Your examples:

Symbol An object in a story that represents

something else, like a character or an

idea

In the title “Abuela Invents the Zero”

the zero is a symbol that represents

how Connie made her grandmother

feel

Your examples

Theme An author’s opinion or message about a real-

life issue that s/he shows readers in a story

A theme in the Harry Potter books is to

be tolerant and to end bigotry

(prejudice).

Your examples

Conflict The source of tension (the problem) in a story. There are

four types of conflict:

1. character vs. self 2. character vs. character 3. character vs. society 4. character vs. nature

In “The Most Dangerous Game,” Rainsford is in conflict

with the sea (character vs. nature) when he falls off the

boat, and then he is in conflict with Zaroff (character vs.

character) on the island

Your examples:

Irony A contradiction of some sort. There are

three types of irony:

Verbal

Situational

Dramatic

Irony examples may be difficult to find in songs, so you may include examples from books,

movies, or other examples that you encounter in your world.

Verbal Irony Verbal irony—a contradiction between what someone says and what they mean

When there is a raging storm and someone

says, “Nice weather,” they are using verbal

irony.

Your examples:

Situational Irony

Situational irony—a contradiction between what a writer sets you up to expect and what actually happens

Situational Irony in “The Most Dangerous Game”

comes up when Rainsford says there are only two

classes in the world, the hunters and the hunted.

This seems true, but then Rainsford ends up being a

hunter who gets hunted.

Your examples:

Dramatic Irony Dramatic irony—a contradiction between what the characters in a story know and what readers know

In scary movies, there is always a scene where the

audience knows where the killer is, and the character

is going to enter that room. This dramatic irony

creates the suspense for the audience.

Your examples:

Point of View/ Narrator

The narrator is who tells a story. There

are four types of narrators:

First Person

Second Person (not used very often)

Third Person Limited

Third Person Omniscient

When writing in second person, the author uses the word

“you,” which makes the reader become the main

character. This can make the narrator seems very

intimately connected and detached at the same time.

Your examples (second person):

First person—a character in the story tells the story; the narrator says, “I” and talks about his or her life.

First Person Narrator Your examples:

Third Person Limited Narrator

Third person limited—someone who is not in the story tells the story, saying “he” and “she” about the characters. This narrator is limited to knowing the thoughts and feelings of ONE character in the story (inside one character’s head).

Your examples:

The Harry Potter series is written with the

narrator outside the story with access to Harry’s

internal thoughts and feelings; therefore, the

point of view is third person limited.

“Abuela Invents the Zero” it told from

Connie’s perspective, a character inside the

story; therefore, the point of view is first

person.

The way an author develops a character and the things we

use to form opinions about characters. Authors use many

techniques for doing this:

1. how a character looks 2. what a character says 3. what a character does 4. how the character interacts with other characters 5. what other characters say about the character 6. what the narrator tells us about the character

Your examples:

how a character looks

what a character says what a character does

Characterization In “Abuela Invents the Zero” the way Connie acts (what she

does) in church made you form an opinion about her. Some

thought she was selfish; some thought it was understandable

that Connie was embarrassed.

Third Person Omniscient Narrator

Third person omniscient-- someone who is not in the story

tells the story, saying “he” and “she” about the

characters. This narrator can tell us what every character

in the story is thinking and feeling—can get inside

anyone’s head

“The Most Dangerous Game” is narrated from

outside the story, and we have access to

thoughts and feelings of Zaroff and Rainsford,

therefore the point of view is third person

omniscient.

Your examples:

Protagonist The hero in the story; usually the main

character

Your examples:

Antagonist The character in the story who creates

conflict for the protagonist

In the “Hunger Games,” the capital, as

well as other tributes, serve as the

antagonist.

Your examples:

In the “Hunger Games,” Katniss is the

protagonist.

Mood The feeling created in the reader by the

story. The author works to create this

feeling though events, characters, and

word choice (diction).

The mood of “The Most Dangerous

Game” is eerie.

Your examples:

Flashback A break in the story that moves back to

a previous time to reveal information

The beginning of “The Scarlet Ibis” sets

up a flashback to tell the story of

Doodle.

Your examples:

Tone The author’s attitude toward the subject (will be

expressed through the narrator). How the author

approaches the theme is developed through the tone.

May be described as formal, informal, detached,

sarcastic, serious, sad, ironic, playful, regretful, etc.

The narrator remembers Doodle with

fondness and recognizes his mistakes, so

the tone of “The Scarlet Ibis” is regretful.

Your examples:

Diction The words an author chooses to use to

convey meaning.

Your examples:

The diction in the first paragraph of “The Scarlet Ibis,” dead, not yet been born, rotting brown, rank untenanted an empty cradle, graveyard, dead, creates a melancholy (sad) mood.

Plot / Plot Triangle A standard pattern of events in a story. The plot triangle has five parts:

1. Exposition: the opening, sets the mood, tells setting, characters

2. Rising action: this begins with conflict—a conflict begins and gets the

tension in the story building

3. Climax: the turning point in a story, usually the highest point of tension.

After the climax, the conflicts will be resolved

4. Falling action: the time when we see the resolution of the conflicts

5. Resolution: the end of the story

In “The Scarlet Ibis,” the plot triangle looks like this:

1. Exposition: the opening is sad and has images of death. The narrator says that at this time of year, he remembers Doodle.

2. Rising action: Doodle is born with disabilities. The narrator struggles with his shame about his brother, and Doodle struggles to learn to walk and run.

3. Climax: these conflicts reach their peak in the storm, when the narrator runs away from Doodle.

4. Falling action: the narrator returns to Doodle and finds him dead

5. Resolution: the narrator says Doodle is a scarlet ibis that should be sheltered from rain

Allusion A reference to a historical person, place, event,

literary work, piece of art, etc. Shakespeare

makes allusions to mythological figures

throughout the play.

Chateau - Thierry, Amiens, and Soissons are

allusions used in “The Scarlet Ibis” to help

establish the setting (time) and America’s

involvement in war (death).

Your examples: