A tragicomedy is a drama that combines the elements of a tragedy and a comedy.  It can be a tragedy with a happy ending or a tragedy with enough comic elements.  This kind of drama may use humour while addressing ...

Oxymoron is derived from the Greek oksús which means “sharp, keen, pointed” and mōros which means “dull, stupid, foolish“. Once those meanings are put together, they can be “sharp-dull”, “keenly stupid”, or “pointedly foolish”. Oxymoron is then a figure of speech in which two words or phrases with opposing ...

Allegory is a representation of abstract ideas and principles by using characters, figures and events. It describes situations, events or express abstract ideas in terms of material, objects, persons, and actions. An allegory is a narrative form in which the ...

The flashback (analepsis) occurs when the writer breaks away from the current action of a story to recount events that happened earlier. It is an interjected scene that takes the narrative back in time from the current point. It is ...

The term paradox is from Middle French paradoxe. It also comes from the Greek word paradoxon which means “contrary to expectations, existing belief, or perceived opinion”, and directly from Latin paradoxum “paradox, statement seemingly absurd yet really true”. Paradox is therefore, a phrase/statement that appears ...

An allusion is a figure of speech that is a reference to a well-known person, place, thing, idea or event. Each of these concepts can be of historical, cultural, literary, religious or political significance. The referred thing can be real ...

The word “drama” comes from late Latin drāma, “play, drama,” from Greek drâma (dramatos) “action, deed; play, spectacle,” from drāo“to do, make, act, perform, achieve” especially some great deed, whether good or bad. Drama refers to literature that is written ...

Tone is the attitude or feelings of a writer towards the subject matter or the audience. It is also the manner of writing about the subject, characters and theme by careful choice of words. Tone is expressed by diction, sentence ...

Satire is the use of humour, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people’s stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues.         It can also be explained as:   -a ...

A symbol is a sign, a colour, a figure or object that is used to signify something else. Symbolism therefore is the use of symbols in stories to represent ideas, qualities or concepts. A literary symbol (thing/event/character/quality/relationship…) is something that ...

It is a deliberate exaggeration which is not intended to deceive but rather to create a special effect. It involves the exaggeration of ideas in order to express strong emotions or create a comic effect. Hyperbole is used to create a strong ...

It is a literary device which gives human traits or qualities to animals or things. It is when the non-humans are given human characteristics. By here a thing, an idea or an animal is given human attributes.  The non-human objects ...

It is a story of the author’s own life written by him or a self-written account of the life of oneself. Autobiography is one type of biography, which tells a life story of its author, meaning it is a written ...

A record (originally in handwriting) with discrete entries arranged by date reporting on what happened over the course of the day or other period. It is also a daily record of personal activities, reflections, or feelings. A diary can also ...

A novella is a short novel. It is a written, fictional, prose narrative normally longer than a short story but shorter than a novel. It is also a short novel or a long short story.        Examples √ ...