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Also apophthegm. A terse, pithy saying, akin to a proverb, maxim, or aphorism. aposiopesis A rhetorical device in which speech is broken off abruptly and the sentence is left unfinished. apostrophe A figure of speech in which a speaker breaks off from addressing the audience (e.g., in a play) and directs speech to a third party such as an opposing litigant or some other individual, sometimes ...
A narrative hook (or just hook) is a literary technique in the opening of a story that "hooks" the reader's attention so that they will keep on reading. The "opening" may consist of several paragraphs for a short story, or several pages for a novel, and may even be the opening sentence.
This is an example of explicit meta-reference because the text draws attention to the fact that the novel the recipient is reading is merely a fiction created by the author. It also foregrounds the convention that readers of realist fiction accept the presence of an all-knowing narrator, and breaks it by allowing the narrator to take centre ...
Metafiction is self-conscious about language, literary form, and story-telling, and works of metafiction directly or indirectly draw attention to their status as artifacts. [1] Metafiction is frequently used as a form of parody or a tool to undermine literary conventions and explore the relationship between literature and reality, life and art. [2]
[1]: 780 This definition does not ascribe a motivation to the behavior and assumes a human actor, although the term "attention seeking" sometimes also assumes a motive of seeking validation. People are thought to engage in both positive and negative attention seeking behavior independent of the actual benefit or harm to health.
Name Definition Example Setting as a form of symbolism or allegory: The setting is both the time and geographic location within a narrative or within a work of fiction; sometimes, storytellers use the setting as a way to represent deeper ideas, reflect characters' emotions, or encourage the audience to make certain connections that add complexity to how the story may be interpreted.
Reference work: publication that one can refer to for confirmed facts, such as a dictionary, thesaurus, encyclopedia, almanac, or atlas. Self-help: a work written with information intended to instruct or guide readers on solving personal problems. Obituary; Travel: literature containing elements of the outdoors, nature, adventure, and traveling.
When a word, phrase, image, or idea is repeated throughout a work or several works of literature. For example, in Ray Bradbury's short story, "There Will Come Soft Rains", he describes a futuristic "smart house" in a post-nuclear-war time. All life is dead except for one dog, which dies in the course of the story.