Literary Elements and Techniques

allegory: the use of universal symbols to teach a moral lesson and discuss another subject; OED and Merriam-Webster; see also this article

anaphora: "repetition of a word or expression at the beginning of successive phrases, clauses, sentences, or verses especially for rhetorical or poetic effect <Lincoln's “we cannot dedicate—we cannot consecrate—we cannot hallow—this ground” is an example of anaphora" Merriam Webster; see also this article

chiasmus: "an inverted relationship between the syntactic elements of parallel phrases (as in Goldsmith's to stop too fearful, and too faint to go)" Merriam Webster

epistrophe: "repetition of a word or expression at the end of successive phrases, clauses, sentences, or verses especially for rhetorical or poetic effect (as Lincoln's “of the people, by the people, for the people”)" Merriam Webster; see also this article

homonym: "a word that is spelled and pronounced like another word but is different in meaning" MW

homophone: "one of two or more words pronounced alike but different in meaning or derivation or spelling (as the words to, too, and two)" MW; see also this link

irony: when words convey the opposite meaning that they purport to tell; for example, I say "Isn't the weather great?" when it is freezing outside; see definition from Oxford English Dictionary; Merriam-Webster. There is dramatic irony, when the audience knows a secret that the players onstage do not. However, please do not confuse irony with hypocrisy or coincidence.

juxtaposition: the position of two scenes in a text

keywords: important words in a passage that highlight the author's (intended or unintended) meaning

metaphor: figure of speech that transfers one object to another; OED and MW

metonymy: "a figure of speech consisting of the use of the name of one thing for that of another of which it is an attribute or with which it is associated (as “crown” in “lands belonging to the crown”)" MW

motif: a recurring symbol in a text; in music, a motif is a recurring refrain

onomatopoeia: "the use of words whose sound suggests the sense" MW

oxymoron: when two contradictory words are used in a figure of speech; see def. on OED and Merriam Webster

personification: " the practice of representing a thing or idea as a person in art, literature, etc." Merriam Webster

repetition: See this article

simile: a comparison of two things using like or as; OED and Merriam-Webster; see also this article

symbol: word, object, or phrase that represents another idea; OED and MW

syntax: "the way in which words are put together to form phrases, clauses, or sentences" MW

symploce: "The combination of anaphora and epistrophe: beginning a series of lines, clauses, or sentences with the same word or phrase while simultaneously repeating a different word or phrase at the end of each element in this series."

synecdoche: "a figure of speech by which a part is put for the whole (as fifty sail for fifty ships), the whole for a part (as society for high society), the species for the genus (as cutthroat for assassin), the genus for the species (as a creature for a man), or the name of the material for the thing made (as boards for stage)"

tone: "a quality, feeling, or attitude expressed by the words that someone uses in speaking or writing" Merriam Webster

word choice: the use of words by an author, which the reader should look up in a dictionary and ponder; consider also how words are repeated, how they relate to other words, how they sound

See also: How to do a close reading; glossary at For Better for Verse; Jack Lynch, How to Get an A on an English Paper and Guide to Literary Terms
Some students have found the following instructions for how to go about closely analyzing a passage helpful: 

1) Circle keywords. 

2) Analyze their technical functions in the sentence: word meaning/etymology; syntax; symbolism/simile/metaphor/allegory, see other literary elements; and tone. 

3) Relate this data to some of the critical and thematic issues in the text. 


Wendy C. Nielsen, "Literary Elements and Techniques," English Dept., Montclair State University, Jan. 2014