Theme is the underlying message or meaning that an author or artist wants to communicate through his work. Whereas mood is a literary tool that writers or artists use to evoke an emotional response from their audience.
A dichotomy in literature is essentially a representation of opposing forces or ideas. Whereas a juxtaposition involves ‘positioning’ two contrasting forces together. Discover more about the difference between dichotomy vs. juxtaposition here!
An idiom is an expression or a saying that has a figurative rather than a literal meaning. Whereas a euphemism is a type of idiom that softens an otherwise blunt, harsh, provocative, or sensitive topic.
A narrator is one who tells a story or narrative. A speaker, on the other hand, is the active “voice” or character behind a poem or story.
Vernacular is essentially one’s mother tongue or a language that’s spoken by people in a specific region. Whereas colloquial is a term given to words or informal expressions spoken in casual conversations.
An epigraph is typically a short quote, line, or paragraph from an existing literary work. An epigram is a witty, catchy, pointed statement made to leave a lasting impression on the reader or audience.
Hyperbole is the deliberate use of unrealistic exaggeration as a literary technique. Exaggeration is typically used in daily conversations to describe something in an excessive manner.
A periodic sentence leads up to the main point (the independent clause). A loose sentence starts with the main point instead.
A theme is basically what the piece is trying to say, the main message. Tone reflects the narrator’s attitude. Tone also has an intimate connection to mood.
An allegory involves representing an abstract principle with a concrete image of some kind. In contrast, an analogy simply compares two or more subjects frequently for the purpose of explanation.
A masculine rhyme occurs when a single syllable at the end of the word, which is stressed, rhymes. A feminine rhyme matches two or more syllables, with the last syllable being unstressed.
A monologue is a long uninterrupted speech that a character gives to another character. A soliloquy is a long speech that a character gives to the audience to express their deepest thoughts and emotions. An aside is directed at the audience too, but unlike a soliloquy, an aside is typically a quick comment.
Sonnets are formal 14-line poems that are written with very exacting rhyme and meter standards. English (or Shakespearian) sonnets and Italian (or Petrarchan) sonnets are the most common classifications of sonnets. Italian and English sonnets differ in origin, structure, rhyme scheme, and meter.
The key difference between personification and pathetic fallacy is the scale. Personalization can refer to any instance in literature where a nonhuman displays human characteristics. The pathetic fallacy involves attributing emotional reactions to something inanimate.
Overtones are more conscious and intentional. Undertones can be unconscious and even unwitting. Over- and undertones are accompanying characteristics to a thing and not the thing itself.
Paradoxes are literary devices that contradict themselves while containing a kernel of truth. Oxymorons are words that have opposite meanings in combination. Paradoxes are oppositions of ideas or themes, while oxymorons are contradictions between two words only.