Literary devices

Question 1

Gothic the genre

Answer 1

Gothic fiction is characterized by mystery and suspense, settings in isolated, ancient locations, and the inclusion of psychological elements that express human emotions

Question 2

Allegory

Answer 2

An allegory is a work that conveys a hidden meaning, usually moral, spiritual, or political, through the use of symbolic characters and events

Question 3

Allusion

Answer 3

In literature, an allusion is an unexplained reference to someone or something outside of the text (like Paradise Lost in Frankenstein).

Question 4

Foreshadowing

Answer 4

Foreshadowing is a literary device in which authors hint at plot developments that don’t actually occur until later in the story. Can be directly or indirectly.

Question 5

Imagery

Answer 5

Imagery refers to descriptive language that engages the human senses. Though imagery contains the word “image,” it does not only refer to descriptive language that appeals to the sense of sight. Imagery includes language that appeals to all of the human senses, including sight, hearing, taste, touch, and smell.

Question 6

Metaphor

Answer 6

A metaphor is a figure of speech that compares two different things by saying that one thing is the other. The comparison in a metaphor can be stated explicitly, as in the sentence “Love is a battlefield.”

Question 7

Motif

Answer 7

A motif is an element or idea that recurs throughout a work of literature.

Question 8

The Romantic Movement (Romanticism)

Answer 8

Arose in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

Romanticism was a reaction against the Enlightenment and Industrial Revolution. While the Enlightenment was about reason, order, and logic, Romanticism emphasised:
1. Emotion and individual experience.
2. Nature and the sublime.
3. The imagination and the supernatural.
4. Rebellion against social norms and institutions.
5. A fascination with the outcast, the visionary, and the misunderstood.

Question 9

How does Romanticism relate to Frankenstein?

Answer 9

1. Emotion and individualism
2. The sublime in nature
3. The limits of reasons
4. The outsider

Understanding Romanticism helps you see Frankenstein as not just a horror story or science fiction, but a critique of reason, industrial progress, and isolation, urging compassion and humility.

Question 10

How does Romanticism relate to Wuthering Heights?

Answer 10

1. Wild emotion and passion
2. Nature and the sublime
3. Supernatural and the Gothic
4. Rebellion and individualism

Romanticism explains the intensity and chaos of the novel; it’s less about realism and more about the emotional and spiritual force of human experience.

Question 11

How does Romanticism relate to Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde?

Answer 11

1. The conflicted self
2. Emotion and repression
3. “Splitting the soul”: science and nature

Romanticism helps explain the psychological and moral intensity of the story—its fear of modernity, loss of self, and moral dualism.

Question 12

How does Romanticism relate to Jane Eyre?

Answer 12

1. Emotion and passion
2. Nature and symbolism
3. Independence

Romanticism helps you see Jane Eyre as more than a love story; it’s a spiritual and emotional journey of a woman claiming her independence, identity, and inner truth.