Forms and Devices in Literature

• Literature encompasses written works, especially those considered of superior or lasting artistic merit
• It expresses ideas or communicates experiences

Forms of Literature

• Poetry employs aesthetic and rhythmic qualities of language
• Prose represents a direct form of language, reflecting ordinary speech
• Drama is literature meant to be performed

Literary Devices

• Literary devices are specific structures or techniques used by writers to produce an effect on the reader.
• Alliteration is the repetition of initial consonant sounds
• Metaphor implies a comparison between two unlike things
• Simile compares two things using "like" or "as"
• Personification gives human qualities to non-human things
• Irony expresses meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite
• Hyperbole involves exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally
• Onomatopoeia uses words that imitate or suggest sounds
• Imagery uses descriptive language that appeals to the senses
• Symbolism uses of symbols to represent ideas or qualities

Poetry

• Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in place of, its ostensible meaning
• It is often divided into lines and stanzas and uses rhythm, meter, and rhyme

Types of Poetry

• Narrative Poetry tells a story
• Lyric Poetry expresses personal emotions or feelings
• Epic Poetry is a lengthy narrative poem, usually about heroic deeds and events
• Sonnet, a 14-line poem, uses a formal rhyme scheme, typically with 10 syllables per line
• Haiku is a three-line poem with a 5-7-5 syllable structure, often about nature

Prose

• Prose is a form of language that exhibits a grammatical structure and natural flow of speech
• It lacks the formal structure associated with poetry
• This is the most common form of writing, used in fiction, non-fiction, and everyday speech

Types of Prose

• Novels are extended fictional narratives in prose
• Short Stories are brief fictional narratives in prose
• Essays represent a short piece of writing on a particular subject
• Non-fiction is factual prose writing
• Biography is an account of someone's life written by someone else
• Autobiography is an account of someone's life written by themselves

Drama

• Drama is a mode of narrative, typically fictional, represented in performance
• It is written as a script that includes dialogue and stage directions
• Intended to be acted out on a stage in front of an audience

Elements of Drama

• Script is the written text of the play
• Acts and Scenes are the basic units of dramatic structure
• Dialogue consists of conversations between characters
• Stage Directions are instructions for actors and stage crew
• Characters are the individuals in the play
• Plot represents the sequence of events in the play
• Theme is the central topic or idea explored in the play

Types of Drama

• Tragedy deals with serious and tragic events in the life of the protagonist
• Comedy is intended to be humorous or amusing
• Farce uses exaggerated situations and characters for humor
• Melodrama uses exaggerated emotions and sensational events
• Musical combines music, songs, spoken dialogue, and dance
• Historical Drama is based on historical events and figures

Literary Theory

• Literary theory refers to any principled approach to interpreting literature
• It aims to formulate coherent principles for understanding the meaning and significance of literary texts
• Diverse range of critical approaches are included
• Examine values and assumptions in literary texts

Main Literary Theories

• Formalism focuses on the formal features of the text, such as grammar, structure, and literary devices, separate from historical context
• Structuralism examines the underlying structures and systems of relationships that make meaning possible in a text
• Psychoanalytic Criticism applies the principles of psychoanalysis to the study of literature to understand characters and authors
• Marxist Criticism focuses on how literature reflects and reinforces class struggle and social inequalities
• Feminist Criticism examines how literature reinforces or undermines the economic, political, social, and psychological oppression of women
• Post-Structuralism questions the idea of fixed structures and meanings, emphasizing instability and deconstruction of meaning in texts
• Postcolonial Criticism: Examines literature in the context of colonialism and the power dynamics between colonizers and the colonized
• Reader-Response Criticism focuses on the reader's experience and interpretation of a text, rather than the author's intention or the text itself
• New Historicism examines literature in its historical and cultural context, emphasizing the interplay between text and history