Elements of StyleNotes, pg. 6L-6R

Prose

Figures of speech*Tools authors use to convey or add meaning/depth/richness to their writing1. Alliteration: the repetition of a sounds at the beginning

of words• “The boisterous boys bounced boldly down the lane.”

2. Allusion: a reference/ association to another (usually artistic) work

• When Chris McCandless referenced the work of Tolstoy.3. Hyperbole: an exaggeration used for the purpose of

emphasis• The dog was the size of a truck and had a sonic-boom

bark!

Figures of speech4. Imagery: language that entices your senses or helps

to create a picture or an experience for the reader (Sensory details)

• The crystalized icing on the cake was fluid and sweet like rose-colored honey.

5. Irony: The use of words to convey the opposite of their literal meaning. A statement or situation where the meaning is contradicted by the idea. • A historical example of irony might be the fact that

people in medieval Europe believed bathing would harm them when in fact not bathing led to the unsanitary conditions that caused the bubonic plague.

Figures of speech6. Metaphor: An implied comparison between two unlike things• Her eyes were stone cold stone skyscrapers piercing the clouds

as she gazed upwards.7. Understatement: when the writer/ speaker deliberately downplays a serious situation• “As the officer opened the door, the bomb nearly exploded in

his face. He slowly closed the door, hair singed, and face burnt, went back toward his desk, and said, ‘Well, that was close,’ and returned to eating his doughnut.”

8. Symbol: An object, character, figure, place, or color used to represent an abstract idea or concept. • The Statue of Liberty representing freedom, liberty, and

perseverance

Figures of speech9. Theme: A fundamental, universal idea explored in a literary work• The struggle to achieve the American Dream, for

example, is a common theme in 20th-century American literature.

10. Tone: (Mood) The general atmosphere created in a story, or the author’s or narrator’s attitude toward the story or the subject. • Often influenced by the subject matter, the word choice,

and the author’s purpose. • The overall mood or atmosphere established throughout

the text to create a particular feeling in the reader.

Images / imagery• A mental picture or “snapshot” / visual

pictures created by the author’s use of:• Imagery / Sensory details• Setting• Character descriptions• Figures of speech• Word choice

• What words might you use to describe this picture?

SYMBOLISM• Symbolism in France began as a revolt against the

cold impersonality of the realistic novel. • The rebel poets turned inward, to explore the human

psyche. • They believed that poetry should evoke and suggest

instead of directly explain, so they sought poetic techniques that would reflect the human consciousness.

• The symbol and the metaphor enabled them to suggest mysterious and subjective emotions in order to create individual interpretations and meaning.

• Readers are intended to create their own meaning by interpreting symbols and symbolism for themselves.

Sentence structure• Long, wordy sentences v. short choppy

sentences• Variation among sentence length or structure• Repetition of phrases or similarly constructed

sentences• Rhythm within sentences • Contrasting sentence structure and variation can

create specific emphasis and effect• “He sat in the dreary classroom with white walls, staring

blankly at the clock which seemed to drudge slowly as if the clock’s hand was pushing through a lake of thick, gooey, molasses. Time stood still. Silence.

Literary Ambiguities• A statement used in literature that is purposely

vague, unclear, or confusing to the reader• Usually have multiple different meanings or

interpretations. • Open-ended for the readers to make

interpretations for themselves• Often use a play on words and their meaning• Used as a figure of speech to add depth and

meaning to a text

Examples of ambiguities:

•“I rode a black horse in red pajamas.”•Who was wearing the red pajamas? The

horse or the rider?•“A good life depends on a liver.”

• liver may be an organ or simply a living person

Ambiguities*Ambiguities can be seen in the intentional omission (leaving out) of important facts or details that would clarify meaning, or in wordplay, as demonstrated above.

*Ultimately, literary ambiguities are used to force the individual to make interpretations of their own.

Literary Ambiguities:• An excerpt from “The Sick Rose” written by William Blake “Has found out thy bedOf crimson joy;And his dark secret loveDoes thy life destroy”Many of the words in above lines show ambiguity. We cannot say for sure what “crimson bed of joy” means neither can we be exact about the interpretation of “dark secret love”. The ambiguous nature of such phrases allows readers to explore for deeper meanings of the poem.

“Bed of crimson joy” is a reference to making love, and yet it is described as as a process of destroying life rather than creating it. In the context of the larger poem, the “crimson blood” alluded to the transmission of syphilis, which ruined marriages.

Diction• word choice used by the author• how a writer uses language for a distinct purpose and

effect, including word choice and figures of speech. lengthy, scientific words vs. easy to understand? Is there dialogue between character? Specific word choice for connotation

Ex: choosing to use the word “anguish” instead of “suffering” = deeper, more severe meaning.

• Dialect: Do the characters speak in a particular way?• Time period specific? Region specific? Is there

dialogue?