THE 19 MOST RELEVANT LITERATURE TECHNICALITIES - LITERATURE - 2024

The technicalities of literature are those words that refer to exclusive terms of literature. There are technicalities for all areas of knowledge of man.

The technicalities arise due to the need to name elements, phenomena or tools of each particular area.

Since they refer to very specific terms that are not used frequently in everyday life, they are usually limited to the professional world to which they belong. In literature the technicalities refer mostly to literary devices.

The 19 main technicalities of literature

1- Anaphora

This is a fairly common device in poetry. It consists of the repetition of a word or concept at the beginning of the sentence or verse.

It gives the sentences sound and rhythm, which is why it is useful as an aesthetic element to attract the reader.

It should not be confused with the anaphora concept of linguistics. The poem Someone by Teresa Ternavasio is a good example of anaphora:

"Someone comes

someone is leaving

someone says to hope

that he will return soon."

2- Polysyndeton

It is a literary device that is also based on repetition, specifically prepositions. With this repetition the tension is accentuated as the end of the text approaches.

It is a device commonly used in poetry, but it is also present in narrative.

The following sentence is a good example of polysyndeton: "I am not a communist or socialist or liberal or anarchist or developmentalist or progressive or conservative: I just am."

3- Epithet

They are qualifying adjectives that are distinguished by defining or describing an intrinsic aspect of the subject.

That is, it does not seek to make it stand out through the description, but only to characterize it. It usually precedes the subject it describes.

The exception that contradicts these two characteristics is when an epithet is used in the name of some great ruler, such as Alexander the Great. In this case the function of the epithet is to highlight and it is placed after the name.

The following verses, written by Garcilaso de la Vega, contain examples of epithets:

«For you the green grass,

the fresh wind,

the white lily

and the red rose

and sweet spring wished…».

4-

This is a phonic resource that consists of the use of similar sounds in the same sentence. It is commonly used in tongue twisters and riddles, although it is also common in poetry.

For example, the following verse by Rubén Darío uses an alliteration: "With the aleve wing of the slight fan."

5- Asyndeton

While the polysyndeton consists of the repetition of prepositions and conjunctions, the asyndeton tries to omit them even when they correspond when using enumerations.

Prepositions are replaced with commas. In this way, the text acquires a certain fluidity when it is read.

An example of this resource is the following phrase by Abraham Lincoln: "The government of the people, by the people, for the people."

6- Irony

Irony is a literary figure that consists of implicitly implying the opposite of what is explicitly said.

It is based on the combination of context references to communicate the implicit meaning. For this reason it is necessary that both the reader and the writer handle similar references so that their intention is fulfilled.

7- Onomatopoeia

Onomatopoeia is the representation of sounds, not words. These sounds are natural expressions foreign to the language, but they communicate messages through their own code.

8-

Paranomasia consists of the repetition of words with similar sounds in a sentence or text. For example: "Counties win with dice."

9- Paradox

It is a rhetorical form that consists of affirming a fact based on another contrary fact. The important thing is that the claim is true even though the arguments are contradicted.

For example, the saying "peace is achieved through violence" implies achieving peace through its opposite.

10- Ellipsis

It is the omission of words that must be used syntactically, but without these the sentence still makes sense.

11- Simile

This literary device consists of the association of two objects through an abstract resemblance. It is also called a comparison.

12- Antithesis

The antithesis seeks to create contrast in the text by exposing two ideas or arguments that are contrary and confronting them.

13- Hyperbaton

The hyperbaton is the change of position in the sentence of certain words, not in order to modify the meaning of the sentence, but for metric and aesthetic purposes.

For example, say "beautiful is your new house in the country" instead of saying "your new house is beautiful."

14- Personification

This is the assignment of human traits to inanimate objects. It is very common in children's stories and fables, as well as in poetry as a metaphorical device. For example, "the sun smiles at us."

15- Euphemism

These are used to substitute terms that may be offensive or of lewd meaning.

It is also commonly used to substitute for words that are so sacred that they cannot be pronounced. To refer to an elderly person as an "older adult" is an understatement.

16- Allegory

These are the conceptualizations of abstract themes in tangible figures for the social understanding of the term. They are made through metaphorical associations.

For example, the image of a woman with a blindfold and a scale in her hand to represent justice.

17- Parallelism

As a narrative resource, it consists of the narration of two events that occur at the same time.

In poetry it is broader, since they can be emotional, physical descriptions and even two metaphors treated in parallel. The following verse is an example of this resource: "While it rains outside, inside here I cry."

18- Metonymy

This resource works by substituting a word for a different one, provided that both have the same meaning.

An example of common use is the saying "bring daily bread" to refer to household food.

19- Epiphora

This is another resource that is based on the repetition of words. These are placed at the end of each verse unlike anaphoras, which can be placed anywhere in the sentence.

References

1. The technicalities of creative writing part I. (2015) writersblockmagazine.com
2. Technicality. (2017) collinsdictionary.com
3. Technicality. (2017) vocabulary.com
4. The Greek lexicon; technicalities and hellenisms. resources.cnice.mec.es
5. Example of technicalities c. (2017) examplesde.org