Literary Terms w/ Crime and Punishment Examples

Assonance refers to repetition of sounds produced by vowels within a sentence or phrase.

In this regard assonance can be understood to be a kind of alliteration. What sets it apart from alliterations is that it is the repetition of only vowel sounds.
C&P Pg.1 “He had been lucky ENOUGH to ESCAPE an ENCOUNTER…”
Pg.9 “….REPLIED the young man, SURPRISED partly at being so DIRECTLY addressed…”

Consonance refers to repetition of sounds in quick succession produced by consonants within a sentence or phrase. The repetitive sound is often found at the end of a word.
C&P “”…occupied a FLAT on the FLOOR below…”

A synecdoche is a literary devices that uses a part of something to refer to the whole or vice versa
C&P throughout he novel, “it” is used to describe the murder. Pg. 60 “…when IT was all over, put it back again.”

Exposition is a literary device used to introduce background information about events, settings, characters etc.

to the audience or readers.
C&P pg. 25-33 the letter gives a lot of detail about the Raskolnikov’s financial past and how much is being sacrificed for Rodin. It also gives info into Dunya and Luzhin’s relationship and all the drama involving Svidrigaylov.

Jargon is a literary term that is defined as a use of specific phrases and words by writers in a particular situation, profession or trade. These specialized terms are used to convey hidden meanings accepted and understood in that field.

a humorous or satirical imitation of a serious piece of literature or writing

an anachronism is an error of chronology or timeline in a literary piece. In other words, anything that is out of time and out of place is an anachronism.

the resolution of the issue of a complicated plot in fiction. Majority of the examples of denouement show the resolution in the final part or chapter that is often an epilogue. Denouement is usually driven by the climax.
C&P pg 465 is representative of the resurrection of Roskolnikov. “but that is the beginning of a new story, the story of a gradual renewal of a man, of his gradual regeneration, of his slow progress from one world to another….”

Hubris is extreme pride and arrogance shown by a character that ultimately brings about his downfall. Hubris is a typical flaw in the personality of a character who enjoys a powerful position
C&P pg 182 “He sets a high value on himself, not, I think, without some justification”.

A paradox refers to the use of concepts or ideas that are contradictory to one another, yet, when placed together hold significant value on several levels.
C&P pg. 463 ” But at once…she understood..she no longer doubted that he loved her, loved her for ever…” Sonya and Roskolnikov’s relationship is a paradox as he’s a murderer and she’s a perfect Christian women. She essentially resurrects him and renews him.

Anaphora is the repetition of a certain word or phrase at the beginning of successive lines of writing or speech. It can be used in novels and short stories, but it’s most commonly seen in poetry, essays, and formal speeches.

Alliteration is a literary device where words are used in quick succession and begin with letters belonging to the same sound group. Alliterations are also created when the words all begin with the same letter.
C&P Pg. 1 “HE HAD been lucky enough to escape…”
Pg. 1 “He went past each time with an uneasy, almost FRIGHTENED, FEELING….”

Diction is the distinctive tone of an author’s writings. Diction includes the writer’s choice of words,mood, attitude, dialect and style of writing.
C&P pg. 1 “His little room, was tucked away under the roof of the five storied building…” He literally moves from high to low. High being high morality and low being low morality.

a type of metaphor in which an object is used to describe something that’s closely related to it.

it means that that character serves to highlight one or more attributes of another character, often the protagonist, by providing a contrast.
C&P Razumikhin is Raskolnikov’s foil. Pg. 44 ” With Razumikhin, indeed, it was impossible to be otherwise. He was unusually lively and talkative fellow, so good hearted as to seem simple.”

The term euphemism refers to polite, indirect expressions which replace words and phrases considered harsh and impolite or which suggest something unpleasant.
C&P pg. 2: “numerous houses of ill fame.”
Nice talk for ***** house
Pg.26 ” Mr. Svidrigaylov…was under the influence of Bacchus.
Nice talk for drunk

A simile is a figure of speech that makes a comparison, showing similarities between two different things with the help of the words “like” or “as”.
C&P pg. 59 “…stealthily as a cat..”

Metaphor is a figure of speech which makes hidden comparison between two things that are unrelated but share some common characteristics.

A writer or a speaker, using an apostrophe, detaches himself from the reality and addresses an imaginary character in his speech.
C&P pg. 51 ” God…is it possible, that I shall take an axe and strike her on the head..”

Pathos is a quality of an experience in life or a work of art that stirs up emotions of pity, sympathy and sorrow. Pathos can be expressed through words, pictures or even with gestures of the body. Pathos is an important tool of persuasion in arguments.
C&P pg. 46-50 The dream Raskolnikov had was deeply disturbing, and the way the horse was brutally murdered, tied with the fact that Raskolnikov killed the women in he same manner, was cringe worthy.

syntax determines how the chosen words are used to form a sentence.

Malapropism is the act of using an incorrect word in place of one that is similar in pronunciation.

Juxtaposition is a literary technique in which two or more ideas, places, characters and their actions are placed side by side in a narrative or a poem for the purpose of developing comparisons and contrasts.
C&P Raskolnikov feels immense guilt throughout the entire novel, to the point of becoming physically ill, but refuses to confess for quite some time
C&P Sonya is a prostitute presented as being basically a pure virgin

Hyperbole involves an exaggeration of ideas for the sake of emphasis.
C&P pg. 28 Marfa Petrovna went around town practically preaching about how sorry she was for treating Dunya so poorly. “It is my opinion that a great deal..of all this was unnecessary, but Marfa Petrovna is like that.”

Foreshadowing is a literary device in which a writer gives an advance hint of what is to come later in the story.
C&P pg. 48 “Take an axe to her! Finish her off in one go!”
The mare from the dream was killed he same way Raskolnikov killed Alyona and her sister. This dream was foreshadowing of the terrible events to come.

Personification is a figure of speech in which a thing, an idea or an animal is given human attributes.

Onomatopoeia is defined as a word, which imitates the natural sounds of a thing.
C&P pg. 287 “…he’ll keep making circles around me, narrowing the radius more and more, and-whop!”

Verisimilitude is the extent to which the literary text is believable, or the extent to which it imitates life.

Imagery is the literary term used for language and description that appeals to our five senses.
C&P pg. 51 “… That I really shall take an axe and strike her on the head, smash open her skull.. That my feet will slip and warm, sticky blood, and that I shall break the lock, and steel and tremble and Hyde, all covered in blood….with the axe..”

Irony is a figure of speech in which words are used in such a way that their intended meaning is different from the actual meaning of the words.
C&P pg. 15,18 “I lay there tipsy…from that time my daughter,Sonya Semënovna, has had to carry a prostitute’s yellow card…..” “I went to see Sonya this morning and asked her for money to get something for my thick head.” Marmeladov is placing the parent role on Sonya almost by asking her for money.
C&P pg 50 “Thank God it was only a dream.” This is in reference to Raskolnikov’s dead horse dream. It ironic b/c he was disgusted by the way the horse was brutally killed, but kills Alyona in the same manner.