Devices of Foregrounding in Literature

16 Questions

What is the term for the use of the name of one thing for that of another of which it is associated?

Metonymy

What is the purpose of phonological deviations in poetry?

To achieve specific sound patterns and rhythmic effects

What is the term for a direct comparison of two unrelated things?

Metaphor

What is the term for the omission of an initial part of a word or phrase?

Aphesis

What is the purpose of poetic license?

To depart from expected standards

What is the term for a comparison of one thing to another of a different kind?

Simile

What is the term for the omission of a final part of a word?

Apocope

What is the term for an exaggeration or overstatement?

Hyperbole

What is deviation in literary devices?

A phenomenon when a set of rules is broken in some way

What is an example of lexical deviation?

A new word coined for a particular period

What is grammatical deviation an example of?

A violation of the rules of sentence structure or phrase

What is an example of morphological deviation?

The intentional deviation from ordinary spelling, formation, or application of words

What is an example of semantic deviation?

A phrase or word that has an ambiguous meaning

What is an example of pleonasm?

The use of more words than necessary to convey meaning

What is an example of oxymoron?

A combination of words with opposite or very different meanings

What is parallelism?

An unexpected regularity in language

Study Notes

Devices of Foregrounding

Deviation: an unexpected irregularity that breaks a set of rules, resulting in surprise for the reader and drawing attention to the text itself

Types of Deviation

Lexical Deviation: violation of lexical rules, e.g., nonce formation, neologism, and coinage
- Examples: Jabberwocky by Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, "I decided to toothbrush my way in the bathroom"
Grammatical Deviation: violation of irregularity at the level of sentence or phrase structure
- Examples: "It does not be ligning she", "Saw you anything?", "I doesn’t like him"
Morphological Deviation: intentional deviation from ordinary spelling, formation, construction, or application of words
- Examples: double negative, double comparative, double superlative
Semantic Deviation: ambiguousness of phrases and words in a sentence
- Examples: semantic oddity, pleonasm, periphrasis, tautology, oxymoron, paradox

Figurative Language

4 Types of Figurative Languages:
- Synecdoche: a part is put for the whole
- Metonymy: the use of the name of one thing for that of another of which it is associated
- Metaphor: direct comparison of two unrelated things
- Simile: comparison of one thing to another of a different kind (as, like)

Tropes

Honest deception: a trope that involves figurative language
- 3 types:
  - Hyperbole (exaggeration): represents things as greater or less, better or worse, than they really are
    - Examples: "The waves ran mountain high", "I’ll love you till China and Africa meet..."
  - Litotes (understatement): a figure of speech that involves making an understatement
    - Examples: "Not a bad singer", "The name of Britain’s biggest dog is “Tiny”"
  - Irony: language that, taken literally, expresses the contrary of what is meant
    - Example: Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Cry aloud, for he is a god”

Phonological Deviation

2 types of phonological deviations:
- Conventional license of verse composition
- 3 types of phonological deviations:
  - Aphesis: omission of an initial part of a word or phrase
    - Examples: 'tis, 'lone, 'mid
  - Syncope: omission of a medial part of a word
    - Examples: ne'er, pow'r, o'er
  - Apocope: omission of a final part of a word
    - Examples: oft', wi'

Explore the literary devices of foregrounding, including deviation and parallelism, and their effects on the reader. Learn about the different types of deviation and how they are used in literature.

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