Literary Term Examples
Literary Term Examples
Allegory
1. The movie O Brother Where Art Thou is full of small allegories. Different characters represent different groups and things in the real world, for example, the character Big Dan Teague can be seen as an allegory for the educational system.
2. The novel Lord of the Flies is an allegory where the children trapped on the island represent the different types of government of the world and how they interact.
Anachronism
1. In the movie Goodfellas when they go to the airport we see boeing 747’s which, according to the timeline of the film, have not came out yet.
2. The movie Forest Gump, Forest invests in Apple Computers in 1975 but they did not go public until 1977
Antithesis
1. “To err is human; to forgive is divine” – Alexander Pope
This is antithesis because the Alexander pope is comparing the average human to the divine, and he is divine, but made a human mistake in the statement.
2. “We observe today not a victory of party but a celebration of freedom” -JFK
Aphorism
1. “Lord, what fools these mortals be” (A Midsummers Nights Dream)
2. “Having nothing, nothing can be lost.” – Henry VI
Colloquialism
1. In Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain uses colloquialism to make the novel feel more free and at ease.
“But by-and-by Pap got too hand with his hick’ry, and I couldn’t stand it.”
2. In To Kill a Mocking Bird, Harper Lee uses colloquialism because the narrator is only 6 years old.
“Hmp, maybe we need a police force of children”
Epithet
1. Referring to Abraham Lincoln as “The Great Emancipator” is an example of an epithet.
2. “What time the gray-fly winds her sultry horn, Blind mouths! that scarce themselves know how to hold A sheep-hook, or have learn’d aught else the least That to the faithful herdman’s art belongs!” - John Milton (Lycidas)
Euphemism
1. “Kick the bucket” is a commonly used Euphemism for death.
2. Calling someone “Economically Disadvantaged” instead of poor is a Euphemism.
Hyperbole
1. “I had to wait in the station for
Allegory
1. The movie O Brother Where Art Thou is full of small allegories. Different characters represent different groups and things in the real world, for example, the character Big Dan Teague can be seen as an allegory for the educational system.
2. The novel Lord of the Flies is an allegory where the children trapped on the island represent the different types of government of the world and how they interact.
Anachronism
1. In the movie Goodfellas when they go to the airport we see boeing 747’s which, according to the timeline of the film, have not came out yet.
2. The movie Forest Gump, Forest invests in Apple Computers in 1975 but they did not go public until 1977
Antithesis
1. “To err is human; to forgive is divine” – Alexander Pope
This is antithesis because the Alexander pope is comparing the average human to the divine, and he is divine, but made a human mistake in the statement.
2. “We observe today not a victory of party but a celebration of freedom” -JFK
Aphorism
1. “Lord, what fools these mortals be” (A Midsummers Nights Dream)
2. “Having nothing, nothing can be lost.” – Henry VI
Colloquialism
1. In Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain uses colloquialism to make the novel feel more free and at ease.
“But by-and-by Pap got too hand with his hick’ry, and I couldn’t stand it.”
2. In To Kill a Mocking Bird, Harper Lee uses colloquialism because the narrator is only 6 years old.
“Hmp, maybe we need a police force of children”
Epithet
1. Referring to Abraham Lincoln as “The Great Emancipator” is an example of an epithet.
2. “What time the gray-fly winds her sultry horn, Blind mouths! that scarce themselves know how to hold A sheep-hook, or have learn’d aught else the least That to the faithful herdman’s art belongs!” - John Milton (Lycidas)
Euphemism
1. “Kick the bucket” is a commonly used Euphemism for death.
2. Calling someone “Economically Disadvantaged” instead of poor is a Euphemism.
Hyperbole
1. “I had to wait in the station for