GENRES OF LITERATURE 1.2.2.

1 Fantasy - a genre of imaginative fiction

Genre means a type of art, literature, or music characterized involving magic and adventure,
by a specific form, content, and style. For example, especially in a setting other than the
literature has four main genres: poetry, drama, fiction, and real world
non-fiction. All of these genres have particular features and 1.2.2.1 Humor – a kind of fiction that is full of fun,
functions that distinguish them from one another. Hence, it fancy and excitement.
is necessary on the part of readers to know which category 1.2.2.1 Fable - a short story, typically with animals
of genre they are reading in order to understand the as characters, conveying a moral.
message it conveys, as they may have certain expectations 1.2.2.1 Fairy Tale – or wonder tales about fairies or
prior to the reading concerned. other magical creatures, usually intended
(https://literarydevices.net/genre/) to entertain
Types of Genre 1.2.2.1 Science Fiction - fiction based on imagined
1. Prose - This type of written text is different from poetry future scientific or technological advances
in that it has complete sentences organized into and major social or environmental
paragraphs. Unlike poetry, prose focuses on characters and changes, frequently portraying space or
plot, rather than focusing on sounds. It includes short time travel and life on other planets
stories and novels, while fiction and non-fiction are its sub 1.2.2.1 Short Story - a story with a fully
genres. Prose is further categorized into essays, speeches, developed theme but significantly
sermons, and interpretations. shorter and less elaborate than a novel
1.2.2.1 Realistic Fiction – a story that can actually
1.1 Non-fiction – a form of prose that is based on facts that happen and is true to real life
may sometimes convey information to readers. 1.2.2.1 Historical Fiction -a story with fictional
characters and events in a historical
1.1.1 Categories setting
1.1.1.1 Realistic 1.2.2.1 Horror - a literary or film genre
1.1.1.2 Non-Realistic concerned with arousing feelings of
1.1.1.3 Semi-Fiction horror
1.2.2.1 Tall Tale – humorous story with blatant
1.1.2 Types
exaggerations
1.1.2.1 Biography- written account of another
person’s life 1.2.2.1 Legend – a tory that sometimes of a
1.1.2.2 Autobiography – history of a person’s life national or folk hero
written or told by that person. Often 1.2.2.1 Mystery – a genre of fiction that deals with
written in narrative form the solution of a crime or the unravelling
1.1.2.3 Anecdote - a short amusing or interesting secrets
story about a real incident or person 1.2.2.1 Mythology - a collection of myths,
especially one belonging to a particular
1.1.2.4 Diary - a book in which one keeps a
daily record of events and experiences religious or cultural tradition
1.1.2.5 History - the whole series of past events
connected with someone or something 1.2.2 Examples
1.1.2.6 Essay - a short piece of writing on a 1.2.2.1 The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History
particular subject of Four Meals by Michael Pollan
1.1.2.7 Narrative Non-Fiction 1.2.2.1 Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling
1.1.2.8 News - a short piece of writing on a
particular subject
1.1.2.9 Speech - a formal address or discourse
delivered to an audience

1.1.3 Examples
1.1.3.1 A Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man by
James Joyce
1.1.3.2 A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
1.1.3.3 Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
1.1.3.4 To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
1. 2. Fiction – a form of prose that incorporates fantastical
and imaginary ideas from everyday life.

1.2.1 Categories
1.2.1.1 Personal Essay
1.2.1.2 Factual
1.2.2 Types
1.2.2.1 Drama - a play for theater, radio, or
television
 Figure of Speech Moreover, we can identify a group of words related to
A figure of speech is a phrase or word having different different sounds of wind, such as swish, swoosh, whiff,
meanings than its literal meanings. It conveys meaning whoosh, whizz, and whisper.
by identifying or comparing one thing to another, Examples of Onomatopoeia in Literature
which has connotation or meaning familiar to Onomatopoeia is frequently employed in literature.
the audience. That is why it is helpful in creating vivid We notice, in the following examples, the use of
rhetorical effect. onomatopoeia gives rhythm to the texts. This makes
the descriptions livelier and more interesting,
Onomatopoeia appealing directly to the senses of the reader.
Onomatopoeia, pronounced on-uh-mat-uh–pee–uh, is Below, a few Onomatopoeia examples are highlighted
defined as a word which imitates the natural sounds of in bold letters:
a thing. It creates a sound effect that mimics the thing
described, making the description more expressive and Example #1: Come Down, O Maid (By Alfred Lord
interesting. Tennyson)
For instance, saying, “The gushing stream flows in the “The moan of doves in immemorial elms,
forest” is a more meaningful description than just And murmuring of innumerable bees…”
saying, “The stream flows in the forest.” The reader is
drawn to hear the sound of a “gushing stream,” which Example #2: The Tempest (By William Shakespeare)
makes the expression more effective. “Hark, hark!
In addition to the sounds they represent, many Bow-wow.
The watch-dogs bark!
onomatopoeic words have developed meanings of
Bow-wow.
their own. For example, the word “whisper” not only Hark, hark! I hear
represents the wispy or breathy sound of people The strain of strutting chanticleer
talking quietly, but also describes the action of people Cry, ‘cock-a-diddle-dow!'”
talking quietly.
Common Examples of Onomatopoeia Example #3: For Whom the Bell Tolls (By Ernest
• The buzzing bee flew away. Hemingway)
• The sack fell into the river with a splash. “He saw nothing and heard nothing but he could feel
• The books fell on the table with a loud thump. his heart pounding and then he heard the clack on
• He looked at the roaring stone and the leaping, dropping clicks of a small rock
• The rustling leaves kept me awake. falling.”

The different sounds of animals are also considered as Example #4: The Marvelous Toy (By Tom Paxton)
examples of onomatopoeia. You will recognize the “It went zip when it moved and bop when it stopped,
following sounds easily: And whirr when it stood still.
• Meow I never knew just what it was and I guess I never will.”
• Moo
• Neigh Example #5: Get Me to the Church on Time (By Alan
• Tweet Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe)
• Oink “I’m getting married in the morning!
• Baa Ding dong! the bells are gonna chime.”

Groups of Onomatopoeic Words

Onomatopoeic words come in combinations, as they

reflect different sounds of a single object. For example,
a group of words reflecting different sounds of water
are: plop, splash, gush, sprinkle, drizzle, and drip.
Similarly, words like growl, giggle, grunt, murmur,
blurt, and chatter denote different kinds of
human voice sounds.
Anaphora • “The players were much exited for the
In writing or speech, the deliberate repetition of the tour; the players wished to do a lot of
first part of the sentence in order to achieve an artistic shopping; the players planned to go
effect is known as Anaphora. sightseeing.”
Anaphora, possibly the oldest literary device, has its • “The young writer was given the award for his
roots in Biblical Psalms used to emphasize certain best seller. The young writer was exited to get
words or phrases. Gradually, Elizabethan and Romantic the reward, and he decided to celebrate the
writers brought this device into practice. Examine the occasion in a fitting manner.”
following psalm: • “Tell them to be good, tell them to follow
“O LORD, rebuke me not in thine anger, neither their elders, and tell them to mind their
chasten me in thy hot displeasure. manners.”
Have mercy upon me, O LORD; for I am weak: O LORD, • “The young athlete was in a decent uniform,
heal me; for my bones are vexed. and wanted to perform very well.”
My soul is also sore vexed: but thou, O LORD, how • “My mother liked the house very much, but
long?” she couldn’t buy it.”
The repetition of the phrase “O Lord,” attempts to • “An apple fell on the head of a peasant, but he
create a spiritual sentiment. This is anaphora. couldn’t grasp the laws of motion.”
• “The search party barely got to the middle of
Common Anaphora Examples the desert, when a storm overtook it.”
It is common for us to use anaphora in our everyday • “The film was based on a true story, but it
speech, to lay emphasis on the idea we want to convey, failed to get viewers’ attention.”
or for self affirmation. The following are anaphora
examples: Examples of Anaphora in Literature
• “Every day, every night, in every way, I am Example #1: Richard II, Act 2, Scene 1 (By William
getting better and better.” Shakespeare)
• “My life is my purpose. My life is my goal. My “This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England,
life is my inspiration.” This nurse, this teeming womb of royal kings [. . .]
• “Buying diapers for the baby, feeding the This land of such dear souls, this dear dear land,”
baby, playing with the baby: This is what your Here, Shakespeare does not disappoint us in the use of
life is when you have a baby.” anaphora. The repetition of the word “this” creates an
• “I want my money right now, right here, emotional effect on the readers, particularly those who
all right?” are English. Further, it highlights the significance of
• “The wrong person was selected for England. The repetition of the word “dear” shows the
the wrong job, at the wrong time, for writer’s emotional attachment to the land, and expects
the wrong purpose.” to elicit a similar response from the readers as well.
• “Their property was sold, their
homestead was sold, and their everything was Example #2: A Tale of Two Cities (By Charles Dickens)
sold for want.” “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it
• “Who is to blame, who is to look to, who is was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it
to turn to, in a tough situation like this.” was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of
• “In adversity, his close friends left him, his incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was
close colleagues left him, and his best close the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it
relatives left him.” was the winter of despair.”
• “Everything looked dark and bleak, everything The repetitive structure used in the above lines make it
looked gloomy, and everything was under a the most memorable and remarkable start of
blanket of mist.” a narrative ever achieved by a writer. The word “it” –
• “All the people were moving in the same repeated all the way through the passage – makes the
direction; all the people were thinking about reader focus more on the traits of the “age” they are
the same thing; and all the people reading about.
were discussing the same topic.”
• “After a long term of studies, the Example #3: Tintern Abbey (By William Wordsworth)
students wanted to go home, This technique is employed by William Wordsworth in
they wanted to play, and they wanted to meet “Tintern Abbey“:
their parents and friends.”
“Five years have passed; Alliteration
Five summers, with the length of Alliteration is derived from Latin’s “Latira”. It means
Five long winters! and again I hear these waters…” “letters of alphabet”. It is a stylistic device in which a
Wordsworth also employs the technique of anaphora number of words, having the same first consonant
in this piece. The repetition of the word “five” at the sound, occur close together in a series.
beginning of each line gives melody to the lines, which Consider the following examples:
matches well with its nostalgic tone. • But a better butter makes a batter better.
• A big bully beats a baby boy.
Example #4: The Tyger (By William Blake) Both sentences are alliterative because the same first
“What the hammer? what the chain? letter of words (B) occurs close together and produces
In what furnace was thy brain? alliteration in the sentence. An important point to
What the anvil? what dread grasp remember here is that alliteration does not depend
Dare its deadly terrors clasp?” on letters but on sounds. So the phrase not knotty is
The repetition of a series of questions, which starts alliterative, but cigarette chase is not.
with the query, “what,” creates a rhythm that elicits
the effect of awe in readers. Common Examples of Alliteration
In our daily life, we notice alliteration in the names of
Example #5: WWII Speech (By Winston Churchill) different companies. It makes the name of a company
Politicians frequently use anaphora as a rhetorical catchy and easy to memorize. Here are several
device, in their addresses and political speeches, to common alliteration examples.
evoke passion among the audience. Read an excerpt • Dunkin’ Donuts
from Winston Churchill’s speech during the Second • PayPal
World War: • Best Buy
“We shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the • Coca-Cola
end. We shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas • Life Lock
and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence • Park Place
and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our • American Apparel
island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the • American Airlines
beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we • Chuckee Cheese’s
shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight • Bed Bath & Beyond
in the hills. We shall never surrender.” • Krispy Kreme
• The Scotch and Sirloin
This extract from Winston Churchill’s speech is full of
anaphoric examples in which the speaker has spoken We also find alliterations in names of people, making
the phrase “we shall” several times to refer to the such names prominent and easy to be remembered.
plural form that he is using for the whole nation. For instance, both fictional characters and real people
The repetitive structures in the above passage suggest may stand out prominently in your mind due to the
the importance of the war for England. Moreover, it alliterative effects of their names. Examples are:
inspires patriotic sentiments among the masses. • Ronald Reagan
• Sammy Sosa
Example #6: I have a Dream (By Martin Luther King • Jesse Jackson
Jr.) • Michael Moore
“Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back • William Wordsworth
to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back • Mickey Mouse
to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our • Porky Pig
northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation • Lois Lane
can and will be changed.” • Marilyn Monroe
This extract from I have a Dream contains the • Fred Flintstone
repetition of the phrase “go back to” many time. The • Donald Duck
whole speech is full of the anaphoric example. • Spongebob Squarepants
• Seattle Seahawks
Alliteration Examples in Literature Assonance
Example #1 Assonance takes place when two or more words, close
From Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s “The Rime of the to one another repeat the same vowel sound, but start
Ancient Mariner” with different consonant sounds.
“The fair breeze blew, the white foam flew, For instance, in the following sentence:
The furrow followed free; “Men sell the wedding bells.”
We were the first that ever burst
Into that silent sea.” The same vowel sound of the short vowel “-e-” repeats
In the above lines we see alliteration (“b”, “f” and “s”) itself in almost all the words, excluding the definite
in the phrases “breeze blew”, “foam flew”, “furrow article. The words do share the same vowel sounds, but
followed”, and “silent sea”. start with different consonant sounds –
unlike alliteration, which involves repetition of the
Example #2 same consonant sounds. Below are a few assonance
From James Joyce’s “The Dead” examples that are common.
“His soul swooned slowly as he heard the snow falling faintly
through the universe and faintly falling, like the descent of Common Assonance Examples
their last end, upon all the living and the dead.” • We light fire on the mountain.
We notice several instances of alliteration in the above • I feel depressed and restle
mentioned prose work of James Joyce. Alliterations are • Go and mow the lawn.
with “s” and “f” in the phrases “swooned slowly” and • Johnny went here and there and everywhe
“falling faintly”. • The engineer held the steering to steer the
vehicle.
Example #3
From Maya Angelou’s “I Know Why the Caged Bird Brief Examples of Assonance
Sings” 1. “If I bleat when I speak it’s because I just got ...
“Up the aisle, the moans and screams merged with the flee”
sickening smell of woolen black clothes worn in — Deadwood, by Al Swearengin
summer weather and green leaves wilting over yellow 2. “Those images that yet,
flowers.” Fresh images beget,
Maya gives us a striking example of alliteration in the That dolphin-torn, that gong-tormented sea.”
above extract with the letters “s” and “w”. We notice — Byzantium, by W. B. Yeats
that alliterative words are interrupted by other non- 3. “Strips of tinfoil winking like people”
alliterative words among them but the effect of — The Bee Meeting by Sylvia Plath
alliteration remains the same. We immediately notice 4. “I must confess that in my quest I felt
alliteration in the words “screams”, “sickening smell”, depressed and restless.”
“summer”, “weather” and “wilting”. — With Love, by Thin Lizzy

Example #4 Examples of Assonance in Literature

From William Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” Assonance is primarily used in poetry, in order to
(prologue to Act 1) add rhythm and music, by adding an internal rhyme to
“From forth the fatal loins of these two foes; a poem. Let us look at some examples of assonance
A pair of star-cross’d lovers take their life.” from literature:
This is an example of alliteration with the “f” and “l.” in
words “forth, fatal, foes” and “loins, lovers, and life”. Example #1: Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening
Example #5 (By Robert Frost)
Percy Bysshe Shelley’s (English Romantic poet) “The Try to recognize the use of assonance in Robert Frost’s
Witch of Atlas” is a famous poem that is full of poem Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening:
examples of alliterations. Just a few of them are “wings “He gives his harness bells a shake
of winds” (line 175), “sick soul to happy sleep” (line To ask if there is some mistake.
178), “cells of crystal silence” (line 156), “Wisdom’s The only other sound’s the sweep
wizard. . . wind. . . will” (lines 195-197), “drained and Of easy wind and downy flake.
dried” ( line 227), “lines of light” (line 245), “green and The woods are lovely, dar and deep.
glowing” (line 356), and crudded. . . cape of cloud” But I have promises to keep,
(lines 482-3).
And miles to go before I sleep, Example #6: The Feast of Famine (By Robert Louis
And miles to go before I sleep.” Stevenson)
The underlined bold letters in the above extract are “From folk that sat on the terrace and drew out the
vowels that are repeated to create assonance. even long
Sudden crowings of laughter, monotonous drone of
Example #2: Early Moon (By Carl Sandburg) song;
Assonance sets the mood of a passage in Carl The quiet passage of souls over his head in the trees;
Sandburg’s Early Moon: And from all around the haven the crumbling thunder
“Poetry is old, ancient, goes back far. It is among the of seas.”
oldest of living things. So old it is that no man knows Farewell, my home,” said Rua. “Farewell, O quiet seat!
how and why the first poems came.” To-morrow in all your valleys the drum of death shall
Notice how the long vowel, “o”, in the above extract, beat.”
helps emphasize the idea of something being old and
mysterious. This is a good example of assonance, in which almost
all the lines contain one example of assonance. All the
Example #3: Outer Dark (By Cormac McCarthy) examples have been written in bold. In the first line,
The sound of long vowels slows down the pace of a the /a/ sound has been repeated. In the second line,
passage, setting an atmosphere that is grave and the /o/ sound, as in dog, has been repeated. In the
serious. Look at the following example from Cormac third line, the /o/ sound as in go has been repeated. In
McCarthy’s Outer Dark: fourth line, /ʌ/ as in must has been repeated. In the
“And stepping softly with her air of blooded ruin about fifth line, the /a/ sound as in air, and the /e/ sound, as
the glade in a frail agony of grace she trailed her rags in ten have been repeated. In the sixth line, the long
through dust and ashes, circling the dead fire, the /e/ sound, as in sheep has been repeated.
charred billets and chalk bones, the little calcined
ribcage.” Example #7: When I have Hears (By John Keats)
The repetition of the long vowel sound in the above “When I have fears that I may cease to be
passage lays emphasis on the frightening atmosphere Before my pen has gleaned my teeming brain,
that the writer wants to depict. Before high-piled books, in charactery,
Hold like rich garners the full ripened grain …”
Example #4: Do Not Go Gentle into the Good Night (By This excerpt has been taken from John
Dylan Thomas) Keats’ sonnet, When I Have Fears. The first line exhibits
Similarly, we notice the use of long vowels in a passage repetition of the long /i/ sound, as in tripe. The second
from Dylan Thomas’ famous poem, Do Not Go Gentle line again contains the same long /i/ sound. The fourth
into the Good Night: line repeats /ai/ sound as in bye.
“Do not go gentle into that good night, Example #8: The Master (By Edgar Allan Poe)
Old age should burn and rave at close of day; “And the silken sad uncertain rustling of each purple
Rage, rage, against the dying of the light. curtain
Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight, Thrilled me – filled me with fantastic terrors never felt
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay, before;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.” So that now, to still the beating of my heart, I stood
The poet deliberately uses assonance in the above lines repeating`
‘Tis some visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door –
to slow down the pace of the poem, and to create a
Some late visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door; ”
somber mood, as the subject of the poem is death. This it is, and nothing more.”
The Master, by Edgar Allan Poe, is teeming with the
Example #5: Daffodils (By William Wordsworth) examples of assonance. The first line repeats the /ur/
William Wordsworth employs assonance to create sound, as in bird. The second line starts with the
an internal rhyme in his poem Daffodils: repetition of the short /i/ sound, and ends with the
“I wandered lonely as a cloud repetition of the short /e/ sound. The fourth line
That floats on high o‘er vales and hills, repeats the long /i/ sound twice. The third line has a
When all at once I saw a crowd, short /i/ sound twice. The last line has again short /i/
A host, of golden daffodils; sound repeated four times.
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze…”
Oxymoron 10. The hero of the play was so dejected that he
Oxymoron is a figure of speech in which two opposite was the perfect embodiment of being alone in
ideas are joined to create an effect. The common a crowd.
oxymoron phrase is a combination of 11. The heads of state gathered to determine
an adjective proceeded by a noun with contrasting an approximate solution to the crisis.
meanings, such as “cruel kindness,” or “living death”. 12. The green pasture surrounded by hills was
However, the contrasting words/phrases are not teeming with a deafening silence.
always glued together. The contrasting ideas may be 13. The political scientist was asked to give
spaced out in a sentence, such as, “In order to lead, you his unbiased opinion on the current issue.
must walk behind.” 14. The CEO of a multinational company said, “We
have been awfully lucky to have survived the
Difference Between Oxymoron and Paradox disastrous effects of the recent economic
It is important to understand the difference between recession.”
an oxymoron and a paradox. A paradox may consist of 15. The program was not liked by the people, for a
a sentence, or even a group of sentences. An lot of unpopular celebrities were invited.
oxymoron, on the other hand, is a combination of two
contradictory or opposite words. A paradox seems Examples of Oxymoron in Literature
contradictory to the general truth, but it does contain Example #1: Romeo and Juliet (By William
an implied truth. An oxymoron, however, may produce Shakespeare)
a dramatic effect, but does not make literal sense. Why, then, O brawling love! O loving hate!
O anything, of nothing first create!
Examples of oxymoron are found both in casual O heavy lightness! Serious vanity!
conversations and in literature. Misshapen chaos of well-seeming forms!
Common Examples of Oxymoron Feather of lead, bright smoke, cold fire, sick health!
1. Open secret Still-waking sleep, that is not what it is!
2. Tragic comedy This love feel I, that feel no love in this.
3. Seriously funny Dost thou not laugh?
4. Awfully pretty We notice a series of oxymora being employed when
5. Foolish wisdom Romeo confronts the love of an inaccessible woman.
6. Original copies An intense emotional effect is produced, to highlight
7. Liquid gas his mental conflict by the use of contradictory pairs of
words, such as “hating love,” “heavy lightness,” “bright
The above oxymoron examples produce a comical smoke,” “cold fire,” and “sick health”.
effect. Thus, it is a lot of fun to use them in your
everyday speech. Example #2: Lancelot and Elaine (By Alfred Lord
Tennyson)
Short Examples of Oxymoron in Speech The shackles of love straiten’d him
1. There was a love-hate relationship between His honour rooted in dishonoured stood
the two neighboring states. And faith unfaithful kept him falsely true
2. The professor was giving a lecture on virtual We clearly notice the use of oxymoron in the phrases
reality. “shackles… straiten’d,” “honour… dishonor,” “faith
3. Paid volunteers were working for the unfaithful,” and “falsely true”.
company.
4. The channel was repeating the old news again Example #3: Petrarch’s 134th sonnet (By Sir Thomas
and again. Wyatt)
5. The contractor was asked to give the exact I find no peace, and all my war is done
estimate of the project. I fear and hope, I burn and freeze like ice,
6. A lot of soldiers have been killed in friendly I flee above the wind, yet can I not arise;
fire. The contradicting ideas of “war … peace,” “burn …
7. The doctor was absolutely unsure of the freeze,” and “flee above … not rise” produce a dramatic
nature of his illness. effect in the above-mentioned lines.
8. All the politicians agreed to disagree.
9. There was an employee in the office who
was regularly irregular.
 Irony
Example #4: Essays of Criticism (By Alexander Pope) Irony is a figure of speech in which words are used in
The bookful blockhead ignorantly read, such a way that their intended meaning is different
With loads of learned lumber in his head, from the actual meaning of the words. It may also be a
With his own tongue still edifies his ears, situation that ends up in quite a different way than
And always list’ning to himself appears. what is generally anticipated. In simple words, it is a
The above lines provide fine evidence of Pope’s difference between appearance and reality.
witticism. The oxymora “bookful blockhead” and
“ignorantly read” describe a person who reads a lot, Types of Irony
but does not understand what he reads, and does not On the grounds of the above definition, we distinguish
employ his reading to improve his character. two basic types of irony: (1) verbal irony, and
(2) situational irony. Verbal irony involves what one
Example #5: Hamlet (By William Shakespeare) does not mean. For example, when in response to a
Shakespeare makes use of oxymora in his plays to foolish idea, we say, “What a great idea!” This is verbal
develop a paradox. irony. Situational irony occurs when, for instance, a
I will bestow him, and will answer well man is chuckling at the misfortune of another, even
The death I gave him. So, again, good night. when the same misfortune is, unbeknownst to him,
I must be cruel, only to be kind: befalling him.
Thus bad begins and worse remains behind.
One word more, good lady. Difference Between Dramatic Irony and Situational
In the above lines taken from “Hamlet,” Shakespeare Irony
draws two contradictory ideas: “be cruel … to be kind”. Dramatic irony is frequently employed by writers in
The contradiction is understood in the context of the their works. In situational irony, both the characters
play. Hamlet wants to kill Claudius, the murderer of his and the audience are fully unaware of the implications
father, who has married his mother. Hamlet does not of the real situation. In dramatic irony, the characters
want his mother to be the beloved of his father’s are oblivious of the situation, but the audience is not.
murderer. Therefore, he is of the view that this murder For example, in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, we
will purge her. know well before the characters that they are going to
die. In real life circumstances, irony may be comical,
Example #6: Romeo and Juliet , Act I, Scene II (By bitter, or sometimes unbearably offensive.
William Shakespeare)
O serpent heart, hid with a flowering face! Common Examples of Irony
Did ever dragon keep so fair a cave? Let us analyze some interesting examples from our
Beautiful tyrant! fiond angelical! daily life:
Dove-feather’d raven! wolvish-ravening lamb! • I posted a video on YouTube about how boring and
Despised substance of divinest show! useless YouTube is.
Just opposite to what thou justly seem’st; • The name of Britain’s biggest dog was “Tiny.”
A damned saint, an honourable villain! • You laugh at a person who slipped stepping on a
O, nature! what hadst thou to do in hell banana peel, and the next thing you know, you’ve
slipped too.
When thou didst bower the spirit of a fiend
• The butter is as soft as a slab of marble.
This extract makes use of some good oxymora, such as
• “Oh great! Now you have broken my new camera.”
“damned saint,” and “honorable villain,” etc.
Short Examples of Verbal Irony
1. The doctor is as kind hearted as a wolf.
2. He took a much-needed vacation, backpacking in
the mountains. Unfortunately, he came back dead
tired.
3. His friend’s hand was as soft as a rock.
4. The desert was as cool as a bed of burning coals.
5. The student was given ‘excellent’ on getting zero in
the exam.
6. The roasted chicken was as tender as a leather
boot.
 7. He was in such a harried state that he drove the Water, water, everywhere,
entire way at 20 miles per hour. Nor any drop to drink.”
8. He enjoyed his job about as much as a root canal.
9. My friend’s kids get along like cats and dogs. In the above-stated lines, the ship – blown by the south
10. Their new boss was as civilized as a shark.
wind – is stranded in the uncharted sea. Ironically,
11. The new manager is as friendly as a rattlesnake.
12. The weather was as balmy as a winter day in Siberia.
there is water everywhere, but they do not have a
13. A vehicle was parked right in front of the no-parking single drop of drinkable water.
sign.
14. The CEO of a big tobacco company said he did not Example #5: The Gift of the Magi (By W.H. Auden)
smoke. This is an example of situational irony, in which the wife
15. The fear of long words is called sells her most prized possession – her hair – to get her
“Hippopotomonstrosesquippedalio phobia.” husband a Christmas present; and the husband sells his
most dear possession – the gold watch – to get his wife
Irony Examples in Literature a Christmas present. By the end, it is revealed that
Example #1: Romeo and Juliet (By William neither has the utility of the present bought by the
Shakespeare) other, as both sell their best things to give the other
We come across the following lines in one a gift. Combs, the gift for the wife, is useless
Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, Act I, Scene V: because she has sold her hair. The gold watch chain,
“Go ask his name: if he be married. the gift for the husband, is useless because he has sold
My grave is like to be my wedding bed.” the watch to get the combs. The situation becomes
Juliet commands her nurse to find out who Romeo was, ironic for such an incident.
and says if he were married, then her wedding bed
would be her grave. It is a verbal irony because the Example #6: Othello (By William Shakespeare)
audience knows that she is going to die on her wedding There are many examples of verbal irony, in which
bed. the speaker means the opposite of what he says,
in Othello by Shakespeare, as given below:
Example #2: Julius Caesar (By William Shakespeare) OTHELLO: “O, thou art wise! ‘Tis certain” (IV.I.87),
Shakespeare employs this verbal irony in Julius Caesar, “Honest Iago . . . ” (V.II.88), (II.III.179) & (I.III.319), “I
Act I, Scene II: know, Iago, Thy honesty and love doth mince this
CASSIUS: ” ‘Tis true this god did shake.” matter” (II.III.251-52).
Cassius, despite knowing the mortal flaws of Caesar, These few lines tell us how Othello uses irony to talk
calls him “this god”. about Iago.
IAGO: “My lord, you know I love you.” (III.III.136)
Example #3: Oedipus Rex (By Sophocles) This shows that Iago only uses this phrase superficially,
In the Greek drama Oedipus Rex, written by Sophocles: with quite the opposite meaning.
“Upon the murderer I invoke this curse – whether he is
one man and all unknown, Example #7: The Tell-Tale Heart (By Edgar Allan Poe)
Or one of many – may he wear out his life in misery to In the short story The Tell-Tale Heart, by Edgar Allan
miserable doom!” Poe, there are many instances of irony as given below:
The above lines are an illustration of verbal and 1. The murderer poses that he is a wise and
dramatic irony. It was predicted that a man guilty of intelligent person, who takes each step very
killing his father and marrying his own mother brought carefully to kill the victim. However, the way
A curse on the city and its people. In the above- the old’s man eye prompts him to murder the
mentioned lines, Oedipus curses the man who is the victim is very ironic. He behaves absolutely
cause of the curse. He is ignorant of the fact that he insanely throughout the story.
himself is that man, and thus he is cursing himself. The 2. Another instance of irony in the same story is
audience, on the other hand, knows the situation. that the killer himself confesses his crime
Example #4: The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (By without being asked by the police. The police
Samuel Coleridge) are there just to investigate the shriek some
Irony examples are not only found in stage plays, but in neighbor has reported. However, their delayed
poems too. In his poem The Rime of the Ancient stay makes the killer very nervous, and he
Mariner, Coleridge wrote: confesses his crime of murder in their
“Water, water, everywhere, presence. He even tells where he has buried
And all the boards did shrink; the dead body.
Allusion “Themis” namely “Thallo (Spring), Auxo (Summer) and
Allusion is a brief and indirect reference to a person, Carpo (Fall). “ With rosie hand” Milton refers to
place, thing or idea of historical, cultural, literary or Homer’s illustration of the “rosy fingered dawn”
political significance. It does not describe in detail the (Odyssey Book 2).
person or thing to which it refers. It is just a passing
comment and the writer expects the reader to possess Example #2
enough knowledge to spot the allusion and grasp its Marlowe’s “Doctor Faustus” is replete with instances
importance in a text. of allusions. Read the example from Act III below:
“Learnèd Faustus, to find the secrets of astronomy
For instance, you make a literary allusion the moment Graven in the book of Jove’s high firmament,
you say, “I do not approve of this quixotic idea,” Did mount him up to scale Olympus’ top,
Quixotic means stupid and impractical derived from Where, sitting in a chariot burning bright,
Cervantes’s “Don Quixote”, a story of a foolish knight Drawn by the strength of yokèd dragons’ necks,
and his misadventures. He views the clouds, the planets, and the stars.”
Jove’s high firmament refers to the outer stretches of
Allusion Examples in Everyday Speech the universe. “Olympus’ top” is an allusion to Greek
The use allusions are not confined to literature alone. Mythology where Mount Olympus is home of gods.
Their occurrence is fairly common in our daily speech. Similarly, “a chariot burning bright” refers to a Greek
Look at some common allusion examples in everyday Myth of “god Apollo” who is said to drive the sun in his
life: chariot.
• “Don’t act like a Romeo in front of her.” –
“Romeo” is a reference to Shakespeare’s Example #3
Romeo, a passionate lover of Juliet, in “Romeo In Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness”, “the two knitting
and Juliet”. women” whom Marlow sees alludes to “Moirae” or
• The rise in poverty will unlock the Pandora’s Fates as visualized in Greek Mythology:
box of crimes. – This is an allusion to one of “The two knitting women increase his anxiety by gazing
Greek Mythology’s origin myth, “Pandora’s at him and all the other sailors with knowing
box”. unconcern. Their eerie looks suggest that they know
• “This place is like a Garden of Eden.” – This is a what will happen (the men dying), yet don’t care”
biblical allusion to the “garden of God” in the The thread they knit represents human life. The two
Book of Genesis. women knitting black wool foreshadows Marlow’s
• “Hey! Guess who the new Newton of our horrific journey in the “Dark Continent”.
school is?” – “Newton”, means a genius
student, alludes to a famous scientist Isaac Example #4
Newton. We find a number of allusions in Keats’s “Ode to the
• “Stop acting like my ex-husband please.” – Grecian Urn”. For example:
Apart from scholarly allusions we refer to “Sylvan historian, who canst thus express
common people and places in our speech. A flowery tale more sweetly than our rhyme:
What leaf-fringed legend haunts about thy shape
Examples of Allusion in Literature Of deities or mortals, or of both,
Let us analyze a few examples of the use of allusions in In Tempe or the dales of Arcady?”
literature: “Sylvan” is a goat-like-man deity of Greek mythology.
Example #1 “Tempe” alludes to the “Vale of Tempe” in Greece, a
Milton’s “Paradise Lost” gives allusions a fair share. place (from Greek mythology) frequently visited by
Look at the example from Book 6 below: Apollo and other gods. Likewise, “the dales of Arcady”
“All night the dread less Angel unpursu’d refers to the home of “Pan”, the god of rustic music.
Through Heav’ns wide Champain held his way, till
Morn,
Wak’t by the circling Hours, with rosie hand
Unbarr’d the gates of Light. There is a Cave
Within the Mount of God, fast by his Throne”
In the above lines “dread less Angel” is a reference to
“Abdiel”, a fearless angel. “Circling Hours” alludes to a
Greek Myth “The Horae”, the daughters of “Zeus” and
Chiasmus Example #2: Essay on Man (By Alexander Pope)
Chiasmus is a rhetorical device in which two or more “His time a moment, and a point his space.”
clauses are balanced against each other by the reversal
of their structures in order to produce an artistic effect. Example #3: Do I Love You Because You’re
Let us try to understand chiasmus with the help of an Beautiful? (By Oscar Hammerstein)
example: “Do I love you because you’re beautiful?
“Never let a Fool Kiss You or a Kiss Fool You.” Or are you beautiful because I love you?”
Notice that the second half of this sentence is an
inverted form of the first half, both grammatically and Example #4: Paradise Lost (By John Milton)
logically. In the simplest sense, the term chiasmus “…in his face
applies to almost all “criss-cross” structures, and this is Divine compassion visibly appeared,
a concept that is common these days. In its strict Love without end, and without measure Grace…”
classical sense, however, the function of chiasmus is to
reverse grammatical structure or ideas of sentences, Example #5: Quote (By Judith Viorst)
given that the same words and phrases are not “Lust is what makes you keep wanting to do it, Even
repeated. when you have no desire to be with each other. Love is
what makes you keep wanting to be with each other,
The Difference Between Chiasmus and Antimetabole Even when you have no desire to do it.”
Chiasmus is different from antimetabole. An
antimetabole is the repetition of words in consecutive Example #6: Quote (By John Marshall)
clauses, but in an inverted or transposed order. For “In the blue grass region,
example: A paradox was born:
“You forget what you want to remember, and you The corn was full of kernels
remember what you want to forget.” And the colonels full of corn.”
Antimetabole examples resemble chiasmus, as they
are marked by the inversion of structure. In examples Example #7: Quote (By Alfred P. Solan)
of chiasmus, however, the words and phrases are not “Some have an idea that the reason we in this
repeated. Generally, chiasmus and antimetabole are country discard things so readily is because we have
regarded by many critics as similar tools of rhetoric. so much. The facts are exactly opposite – the
reason we have so much is simply because we discard
Examples of Chiasmus from Greek Sages things so readily.”
The use of chiasmus as a rhetorical device dates back
to the ancient Greek and Roman civilizations. Its traces Example #8: Quote (By Voltaire)
have been found in the ancient texts of Sanskrit, and “The instinct of a man is
also in ancient Chinese writings. Greeks, however, to pursue everything that flies from him, and
developed an unmatched inclination for this device, to fly from all that pursues him.”
and made it an essential part of the art of oration.
Example #9: Quote (By Thomas Szaz)
Example #1: Aeschylus, 5th Century B.C. “When religion was strong and science weak, men
“It is not the oath that makes us believe the man, mistook magic for medicine;
but the man the oath.” Now, when science is strong and religion weak, men
mistake medicine for magic.”
Example #2: Bias, 6th Century B.C.
“Love as if you would one day hate,
and hate as if you would one day love.”

Example #3: Socrates, 5th Century B.C.

“Bad men live that they may eat and drink, https://literarydevices.net/figure-of-speech/
whereas good men eat and drink that they may live.”
Examples of Chiasmus from Literature

Example #1: Othello (By William Shakespeare)

“But O, what damned minutes tells he o’er
Who dotes, yet doubts; suspects, yet strongly loves.”