Comedy Literary Devices Essay Example

Comedy Literary Devices Paper Comedy is a literary work, especially a play, which is light, often humorous or satirical, and ends happily Characterization is the device used by an author to develop a character through (1) what that character says and does, ( 2 ) what other people in the story say about him/her and how they react to him/her, and (3) what the author reveals directly or through a narrator. Stereotype character A flat character who possesses expected traits of a group rather than being an individual Flat character A character who is not well developed, not complex Round character A well-developed, complex character Static character A character who does not change throughout the story Dynamic character A character who undergoes a change during the story Foil character A character who is in direct contrast to another character External conflict the struggle of a character against an outside force, such as fate, nature, society, or another person Internal conflict a characters conflict with himself/herself Verbal irony when the speaker or writer says one thing but means something very differentoften opposite of what is said (sarcasm) Situational irony what actually happens is opposite of what is expected or appropriate Dramatic irony occurs when the audience or the reader knows something important that the character does not know Juxtaposition placing dissimilar items, descriptions, or ideas close together or side by side, especially for comparison or contrast Hyperbole obvious and intentional exaggeration. Understatement The opposite of hyperbole, an understatement says less than is intended. Understatement usually has an ironic effect, and sometimes may be used for comic purposes Oxymoron Two contradictory words used together, as in sweet sorrow, original copy, or jumbo shrimp Alliteration the repetition of the same sounds, such as Sally sells sea shells Onomatopoeia words that sound like what they mean, such as plop Diction The writers choice of words. Diction expresses tone. Tone a writers or speakers attitude toward the subject Theme the underlying message of the story; the central idea behind the story; an expression of the authors attitude Figurative Language Words or phrases that mean something other than what they literally say. Simile Figurative language that makes a comparison between two things, usually using like or as Metaphor Figurative language that makes a comparison between two things without the use of such specific words of comparison as like, as, than, or resembles Personification Figurative language in which an object or animal is given human qualities Farce a comedy characterized by broad satire and improbable situations Satire a type of writing that ridicules the shortcomings of people or instructions in an attempt to bring about a change Foreshadowing the use of hints and clues to suggest what will happen later in a plot Drama a play Allusion a reference to another literary work, a myth, a historical figure or event Fiction An made-up story, whether in prose, poetry, or drama (fake) Non-fiction prose writing that presents and explains ideas or that tells about real people, places, objects, or events (not fake) Prose ordinary form of written language, opposite of poetry Poetry written in lines and stanzas, opposite of prose Imagery description that uses any of the 5 senses Mood the emotional feeling of a story, often created through imagery

Definition and Examples of the Colloquial Style

Definition and Examples of the Colloquial Style The term colloquial refers to a style of writing that conveys the effect of informal spoken language as distinct from formal or literary English. As a noun, the term is a  colloquialism. A colloquial style is commonly used, for example, in  informal  emails  and  text messages. You wouldnt use it where you need to sound professional, serious, or knowledgeable, such as in presentations, meetings, business letters and memos, and academic papers. As a literary device, it would be used in fiction and theater, especially in dialogue and internal narration of characters. Its more likely to be in lyrics as well. Colloquial writing is a conversational style, but its not writing exactly how you talk, either, Robert Saba said.  To do that would be bad writing - wordy, repetitive, disorganized.  A conversational style is  a default style, a  drafting  style, or point of departure that can serve as a consistent foundation for your writing. It is the style of a painter doing sketches for a painting, not the painting itself. Conversational writing as a style, then, is still more refined, composed, and precise than talking because of the ability to self-edit and polish the words. On using the conversational style in essays, critic Joseph Epstein wrote, While there is no firmly set, single style for the  essayist, styles varying with each particular essayist, the best general description of essayistic style was written in 1827 by  William Hazlitt  in his essay  Familiar Style.  To write a genuine familiar or truly English style, Hazlitt wrote, is to write as any one would speak in common conversation who had a thorough command and  choice of words, or who could discourse with ease, force, and perspicuity, setting aside all pedantic and  oratorical  flourishes. The style of the essayist is that of an extremely intelligent, highly commonsensical person talking, without stammer and with impressive  coherence, to himself or herself and to anyone else who cares to eavesdrop. This self-reflexivity, this notion of talking to oneself, has always seemed to me to mark the essay off from the lecture. The lecturer is always teaching; so, too, frequently is the critic. If the essayist does so, it is usually only indirectly. One should not go too informal in writing, either. According to Tracy Kidder and Richard Todd, Breeziness has become for many the literary mode of first resort, a ready-to-wear means to seeming fresh and authentic. The style is catchy, and catching, like any other fashion. Writers should be cautious with this or any other stylized jauntiness - especially young writers, to whom the  tone  tends to come easily. The colloquial writer seeks intimacy, but the discerning reader, resisting that friendly hand on the shoulder, that winning grin, is apt to back away. Mark Twains Style In fiction, Mark Twains skill with dialogue and ability to capture and portray dialect in his works are highly lauded and make his style and voice distinct.  Lionel Trilling  described it: Out of his knowledge of the actual speech of America Mark Twain forged a classic prose...[Twain] is the master of the style that escapes the fixity of the printed page, that sounds in our ears with the immediacy of the heard voice, the very voice of unpretentious truth. See this example from  Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, 1884: We catched fish and talked, and we took a swim now and then to keep off sleepiness. It was kind of solemn, drifting down the big, still river, laying on our backs looking up at the stars, and we didnt ever feel like talking loud, and it warnt often that we laughed - only a little kind of a low chuckle. We had mighty good weather as a general thing, and nothing ever happened to us at all - that night, nor the next, nor the next. George Orwells Style George Orwells goal in writing was to be clear and direct and to reach as many people as possible, ordinary folks, so his was not a formal or stilted style. Richard H. Rovere explains it this way: There is not much to do with [George] Orwells novels except read them. Nor is there much to be said about his style. It was colloquial in diction and sinewy in construction; it aimed at clarity and unobtrusiveness and achieved both. Orwells opening line of the novel 1984 starts simply yet jarringly, It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen. (1949) Sources Composing to Communicate. Cengage, 2017Good Prose: The Art of Nonfiction. Random House, 2013 Introduction. The Best American Essays 1993. Ticknor Fields, 1993The Liberal Imagination, Lionel Trilling, 1950Introduction to The Orwell Reader, 1961