Literary Techniques

Simile (direct comparison)

 a figure of speech involving the comparison of one thing with another thing of a different kind,
used to make a description more emphatic or vivid (e.g., as brave as a lion, crazy like a fox ).

Metaphor (indirect comparison)

 a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not
literally applicable. (e.g., her eyes were diamonds, he is a shining star, the snow is a white
blanket)

Personification
 a poetic literary device in which non-living things are given human traits. (e.g., the wind is
blowing, the sun is smiling, the moon is shining)

Alliteration
 conspicuous repetition of initial consonant sounds of nearby words in a phrase, often used as
a literary device. (e.g., peter piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, a good cook could cook as
many cookies as a good cook who could cook cookies)

Assonance
 the repetition of the same or similar vowel sounds within words, phrases, or sentences. (e.g.,
penitence, reticence)

Consonance
 a stylistic literary device identified by the repetition of identical or similar consonants in
neighboring words whose vowel sounds are different. (e.g., mike likes his new bike, I will crawl
away with the ball, he stood on the road and cried)

Irony (situational, verbal, dramatic)

 a type of figurative language that refers to the clash between expectations and reality.

Situational Irony is when the outcome is the opposite or completely different from what was
expected. Situational irony involves the result of a situation not matching with your expectations. (e.g., a
baker being allergic to flour)

Verbal Irony occurs when the literal meaning of what someone says is different from—and often
opposite to—what they actually mean. (e.g., when there's a hurricane raging outside and someone
remarks "what lovely weather we're having,")

Dramatic Irony is a literary device by which the audience's or reader's understanding of events or
individuals in a work surpasses that of its characters. Dramatic irony occurs when the audience knows
something that the characters don't. (e.g., if you're watching a movie about the Titanic and a character
leaning on the balcony right before the ship hits the iceberg says, "It's so beautiful I could just die,")

Onomatopoeia
 the formation of a word from a sound associated with what is named. (e.g., cuckoo, sizzle)
  is the process of creating a word that phonetically imitates, resembles, or suggests the sound
that it describes. Common onomatopoeias include animal noises such as oink, meow, roar,
and chirp.

Allusion
 a figure of speech, in which an object or circumstance from unrelated context is referred to
covertly or indirectly. It is left to the audience to make the direct connection. (e.g., "Chocolate
cake is my Achilles heel." - The allusion here is to "Achilles' heel," or the Greek myth about the
hero Achilles and how his heel was his one weakness. In this case, the speaker's "weakness" is
chocolate cake.)

Narrative Techniques

Characters
 a person in a novel, play, or movie.

Plot – narrative structure

 is the sequence of events in which each event affects the next one through the principle of
cause-and-effect

Flashback - show readers a scene that unfolded in the past

Foreshadowing - giving hint on what may possibly happen
Flash forward - what will going to happen is already given
Cliffhanger - main character confronted with a shocking revelation at the end of a story)
Epiphany - sudden realization
Plot Twist - unexpected things happen
Red Herring - when the writer diverts the reader’s attention
Author Surrogate - representation of author in the story
Frame Story - a story within a story
Multiperspectivity - employs multiple narrators, often in opposition to each-other or to illuminate
different elements of a plot

Setting
 the place or type of surroundings where something is positioned or where an event takes
place.

Style (diction, figures of speech)

 literary element that describes the ways that the author uses words — the author's word
choice, sentence structure, figurative language, and sentence arrangement all work together
to establish mood, images, and meaning in the text.

Diction is a writer or speaker's distinctive vocabulary choices and style of expression in a poem or
story.

Figures of speech a word or phrase that intentionally deviates from ordinary language use in order
to produce a rhetorical effect.
 Tone
 expresses the writer's attitude toward or feelings about the subject matter and audience.

Theme
 main idea or underlying meaning a writer explores in a novel, short story, or other literary
work.

POV
 the vantage point from which a story is presented.

First person point of view - one of the characters is narrating the story. This is generally revealed
by the “I” sentence construction and relies on first person pronouns.

Second person point of view - is structured around the “you” pronoun, and is less common in
novel-length work.

Third person point of view - the author is narrating a story about the characters and refers to
them with the third person pronouns “he/she.” (“He was hungry.”) This point of view is subdivided into
third person omniscient (multiple characters' emotions and inner thoughts are available to the reader)
and third person limited (the narrator tells the story from the perspective of a single protagonist,
referring to them by name or using a third person pronoun such as they/she/he). Third person point of
view is sometimes referred to as third person POV.

Mood
 a feeling that can refer to the emotional state of mind of a person/character or the
atmosphere of a story.

Rhetorical Strategies
 words or word phrases that are used to convey meaning, provoke a response from a listener
or reader and to persuade during communication. It can be used in writing, in conversation or
if you are planning a speech .

Rhetorical Strategies:
 Storytelling
 Definition
 Description
 Illustration
 Comparison and Contrast
 Cause and Effect
 Reasons and Result
 Argumentation and Persuasion
May Day Eve summary

In the late 1840’s, when it was already May Eve they said that the dancing should stop at 10
o’clock in the evening. Until the celebration was over, the guests started to decamp but the girls just
went to their bedroom while the boys just continued what they are doing and finished their drink.

Then there was this woman named Anastasia, who used to tell stories about witches and that
made all the girls afraid. Anastasia instructed Agueda how to do the ritual involving the mirror. As
Agueda knew what she will do, she went to the mirror in their sala and said “Mirror, Mirror, show to me
him whose woman I will be.” Unfortunately, she saw a devil. And it was a guy named Don Badoy, he was
in loved with Agueda.

Recently, it was their marriage; until they had a daughter. Agueda told the story to her daughter
and she warned her to never admire herself in the mirror or else she will see something frightening.
After that, Agueda started comparing the devil to Don Badoy then her stories continued.

Don Badoy, has his grandson named Voltaire. Don Badoy caught his grandson doing the ritual in
the mirror. He also started telling his stories about him doing the ritual and said that he saw a witch.
Likely, he also warned this grandson to never do that again because he might see a witch. His stories
continued as he compared the witch to Agueda.

Title: May Day Eve (1947)

Author: Nick Joaquin aka Quijano de Manila

Characters:
Anastasia - the one who taught the incantation
Agueda - the one who did and try the incantation
Badoy - arrogant man who came from Europe
Daughter of Agueda and Badoy
Voltaire - grandson of Dona Agueda and Don Badoy

Style (Diction): Pedantic Diction, in which the author uses big words that readers are unfamiliar with.
Descriptive.

Tone: Nick Joaquin uses flashback and flash forward for us to be Nostalgic and Regret what happened in
the marriage of the two.

POV: Third Person limited because it reveals what emotion and feelings the characters had.

Mood: Ominous feeling & Melancholy

Rhetorical strategies: Description and Narration.

Conflict: Man Vs Man (Agueda vs Badoy), Man vs Self (Agueda vs Herself & Badoy Vs Himself), and Man
vs Supernatural (Agueda/Badoy Vs the mirror)