All Quiet on the Western Front

Literary Terms

Apostrophe

• Not to be confused with the popular punctuation!• Act of addressing some thing, person, or

abstraction (idea) that is not physically present.• Examples:– "Where, O death, thy sting? where, O death, thy

victory?" – 1 Corinthians 15:55– "O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo?" –

Romeo and Juliet

Liturgical Prose

• Language with a spiritual tone• Uses antiquated words like “thee” and “art”

Allusion

• A casual reference in literature to a person, place, event, or another passage of literature, often without explicit identification.

• “We learned that a bright button is weightier than four volumes of Schopenhauer.”

Personification

• Giving nonhuman or inanimate objects the qualities associated with humans or living creatures.

• Examples:– The clock frowned at me as I dashed out the door.• Human or living quality:

– The puppies played and giggled with one another.• Human or living quality:

Symbol

• Something that on the surface is its literal self but which also has another meaning or even several meanings.

• For example, a sword may be a sword and also symbolize justice.

• A symbol may be said to embody an idea.

Grim Humor

• Humor about serious matters; things not usually involved in joking

Euphemism

• Using a mild or gentle phrase instead of a blunt, embarrassing, or painful one

• Choosing words with an overly positive connotation.

• “My grandfather passed away.”• “Five workers were give the mandatory

opportunity to seek new employment opportunities.

Rhetorical devices

• Used to effectively argue, explain, or persuade a point

Parallelism

• Balance of two or more similar words, phrases or clauses– “…that government of the people, by the people,

and for the people shall not perish from the earth." -Abraham Lincoln

– “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.” -John F. Kennedy

Parallel Structure?• I need to grab my Spanish book, turn in my

homework, and to borrow Sarah’s notes.

Parallel Structure?• The coach told the players that they should

get a lot of sleep, that they should not eat too much, and to do some warm-up exercises before the game.

Parallel Structure?• The dictionary can be used for these purposes:

to find word meanings, pronunciations, correct spellings, and looking up irregular verbs.

Repetition

• Repeating a key word or phrase for emphasis– “And miles to go before I sleep.

And miles to go before I sleep.” – Robert Frost

Antithesis

• Using opposite phrases in close conjunction – “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law

or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” –Matthew 5:17

– "One small step for a man, one giant leap for all mankind.” –Neil Armstrong

• Different than oxymoron