Unit 1: Literary Terms

Simile

Definition

A simile is a figure of speech that makes an explicit comparison between two unlike things, using a connecting word such as "like," "as," "so," or "than." The comparison is not meant to be literal but to highlight a specific quality shared by the two things.

Structure

A simile consists of two primary components:

• Tenor: The subject or object being described.
• Vehicle: The object to which the subject is being compared. The qualities of the vehicle are used to illuminate the tenor.

Example: "My love is like a red, red rose."

• Tenor: My love
• Vehicle: a red, red rose
• Connecting Word: like

Purpose and Effect

Writers use similes to:

• Create Vivid Imagery: Help the reader visualize a scene, character, or object in a more detailed and imaginative way.
• Clarify Abstract Ideas: Make a complex or abstract concept more understandable by comparing it to something concrete and familiar.
• Evoke Emotion: The choice of vehicle can trigger specific emotional responses in the reader (e.g., comparing a child's laughter to bells evokes joy, while comparing it to a screech evokes irritation).
• Add Emphasis: Draw attention to a particular quality of the tenor.

Examples in Literature

• Poetry (Classic):

  O my Luve is like a red, red rose
  That’s newly sprung in June;
  O my Luve is like the melody
  That’s sweetly played in tune.
  — Robert Burns, "A Red, Red Rose"

  • Analysis: The love (tenor) is compared to a rose and a melody (vehicles). This suggests the love is beautiful, fresh, vibrant, and harmonious.

• Poetry (Contemporary):

  Does it dry up
  like a raisin in the sun?
  Or fester like a sore—
  And then run?
  — Langston Hughes, "Harlem"

  • Analysis: Hughes uses a series of powerful similes to explore the potential consequences of a deferred dream. The vehicles ("raisin," "sore") are visceral and negative, conveying decay, pain, and corruption.

• Prose:

  "In the eastern sky there was a yellow patch like a rug laid for the feet of the coming sun..."
  — Stephen Crane, The Red Badge of Courage

  • Analysis: The patch of sky (tenor) is compared to a rug (vehicle). This simile personifies the sun, making its arrival seem like a royal or divine entrance, and gives the dawn a tangible, textured quality.

Metaphor

Definition

A metaphor is a figure of speech that makes an implicit or direct comparison between two unlike things without using connecting words like "like" or "as." It asserts that one thing is another thing, equating their identities to transfer qualities from one to the other.

Structure

Like a simile, a metaphor has a tenor and a vehicle, but the comparison is stated as a fact.
Example: "All the world's a stage."

• Tenor: The world
• Vehicle: A stage

Types of Metaphors

1. Direct Metaphor: The comparison is explicitly stated.

   • Example: "Hope is the thing with feathers." — Emily Dickinson

2. Implied Metaphor: The comparison is not directly stated. The writer uses words associated with the vehicle to describe the tenor, implying the connection.

   • Example: "He barked his commands at the team." (The tenor "he" is implicitly compared to a dog, the vehicle).

3. Extended Metaphor (Conceit): A single metaphor that is developed at length, often over several lines, stanzas, or even an entire work.

   • Example: Shakespeare's "All the world's a stage" speech from As You Like It, which extends the metaphor by comparing birth to an entrance, death to an exit, and the phases of life to different acting roles.

4. Dead Metaphor: A metaphor that has been used so frequently that it has lost its figurative power and is now considered a literal expression.

   • Examples: "the foot of the mountain," "the leg of a table," "a fork in the road."

5. Mixed Metaphor: The illogical combination of two or more inconsistent metaphors. This is often a sign of poor writing but can sometimes be used for comedic or surreal effect.

   • Example: "We need to get all our ducks in a row before we can bite the bullet."

Simile vs. Metaphor

Purpose and Effect

Metaphors are more forceful than similes. They are used to:

• Create Complex Layers of Meaning: By equating two things, a metaphor transfers a whole set of associated qualities and connotations.
• Generate Powerful Imagery: A metaphor can create a striking and memorable image in the reader's mind.
• Offer a New Perspective: It can make the reader see something familiar in a completely new light.

Alliteration

Definition

Alliteration is the repetition of the same initial consonant sound in a series of words that are close together in a text. The repeated sound, not the letter, is what matters (e.g., "killer whale" is not alliteration, but "a fine phone" is).

Purpose and Effect

• Musicality and Rhythm: Creates a pleasing, lyrical, or rhythmic effect, making the language more memorable and engaging.
• Emphasis: Draws the reader's attention to the alliterative words, highlighting their importance or the connection between them.
• Mood and Tone: The specific sound being repeated can influence the mood.
  • Soft sounds ('s', 'l', 'f') can create a soft, gentle, or whispering tone.
  • Hard sounds ('k', 'b', 'p') can create a harsh, jarring, or energetic tone.
• Onomatopoeia: It can work with onomatopoeia to mimic sounds (e.g., "the slithering serpent sneaked").

Related Sound Devices

• Consonance: The repetition of consonant sounds anywhere within the words, not just at the beginning. Alliteration is a specific type of consonance.

  • Example: "The dozy lazy lizard"

• Assonance: The repetition of vowel sounds within words that are close together.

  • Example: "The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain."

Examples in Literature

• Poetry:

  The fair breeze blew, the white foam flew,
  The furrow followed free;
  — Samuel Taylor Coleridge, "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner"

  • Analysis: The repetition of 'f' and 'b' sounds creates a sense of smooth, swift movement, mimicking the sailing ship cutting through the water.

• Prose:

  "So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past."
  — F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

  • Analysis: The forceful 'b' sound emphasizes the struggle and the persistent, rhythmic futility of the effort being described.

Symbolism

Definition

A symbol is a person, place, object, or action that has a literal meaning but also stands for something beyond itself, such as an idea, value, or belief. It is a tangible representation of an abstract concept.

Types of Symbols

1. Conventional/Universal Symbol: A symbol that has a widely recognized, shared meaning within a society or culture. These meanings are learned and passed down.

   • Examples:
     • Dove: Peace
     • Red Rose: Romantic love
     • Cross: Christianity, sacrifice
     • Skull and Crossbones: Death, poison, danger

2. Contextual/Literary Symbol: An object that gains its symbolic meaning only within the specific context of a literary work. Its meaning is not pre-established but is created by the author through repetition, emphasis, and association with characters or themes.

   • Examples:
     • The Green Light in The Great Gatsby: Literally, it's a light at the end of Daisy's dock. Contextually, it symbolizes Gatsby's unattainable dream, his hope for the future, and the allure of the past.
     • The Mockingjay in The Hunger Games: Literally, a bird species. Contextually, it becomes a powerful symbol of rebellion against the Capitol.

How to Identify and Interpret Symbols

1. Look for Repetition: Is a particular object, color, or image mentioned repeatedly?
2. Note the Emphasis: Does the author describe the object with significant detail or place it at a crucial moment in the plot?
3. Analyze Character Interactions: How do characters interact with or talk about the potential symbol?
4. Connect to Theme: How does the potential symbol relate to the major themes or ideas of the work? What abstract concept could it represent?

Metrical Schemes

Definition

A metrical scheme (or meter) is the organized rhythmic pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line of poetry. Analyzing this pattern is called scansion.

Fundamentals

• Syllable: A single unit of sound in a word.
• Stress: The emphasis placed on a syllable during pronunciation. In scansion, an unstressed syllable is marked with a ˘ (breve), and a stressed syllable is marked with a / (ictus).
• Foot: The basic building block of meter, consisting of a fixed combination of stressed and unstressed syllables.
• Meter: The number of feet in a line of poetry.

Common Metrical Feet

Common Meters (Line Length)

• Monometer: One foot
• Dimeter: Two feet
• Trimeter: Three feet
• Tetrameter: Four feet
• Pentameter: Five feet
• Hexameter: Six feet

A metrical scheme is named by combining the foot and the meter. For example, Iambic Pentameter is a line with five iambic feet.

Scansion: An Example

Let's scan the famous line from Shakespeare's Sonnet 18: "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?"

  ˘   /     ˘    /      ˘   /     ˘     /      ˘   /
Shall I | com-PARE | thee TO | a SUM- | mer's DAY?

• Analysis: The line contains ten syllables, alternating between unstressed and stressed. This creates five pairs, or five iambs. Since there are five feet, the meter is pentameter. Therefore, the line is written in iambic pentameter.

Purpose and Effect of Meter

• Creates Rhythm and Musicality: Meter gives poetry a predictable and pleasing sound.
• Affects Tone: Iambic meter often mimics the natural rhythm of English speech. Trochaic or dactylic meters can feel more urgent, incantatory, or somber.
• Provides Emphasis: A poet can break the established metrical pattern to draw attention to a specific word or idea. For instance, substituting a forceful trochee (/ ˘) at the beginning of an iambic line creates a dramatic impact.

Relevance in Contemporary Poetry

While many contemporary poets write in free verse (poetry that lacks a consistent meter or rhyme scheme), an understanding of meter is still essential.

• It is the key to analyzing and appreciating most poetry written before the 20th century.
• Contemporary poets who use free verse still make deliberate choices about rhythm and stress to create effects. Understanding meter helps us analyze these less formal rhythmic structures.
• Some contemporary poets (known as New Formalists) continue to write in traditional forms and meters, revitalizing them for a modern audience.