What Is Horatian Satire? | Definition & Examples

Horatian satire is a form of satire that playfully criticizes human behavior through gentle and lighthearted humor. The main purpose of this literary device is to provide entertainment to its audience while also offering them useful insights into their own shortcomings.

Horatian satire example
Late-night variety shows featuring comic skits and impersonations are often considered an example of Horatian satire. They poke fun at politicians, celebrities, and current trends, intending to entertain while also critiquing social issues.

Horatian satire can be found in literature, movies, cartoons, and television shows.

Continue reading: What Is Horatian Satire? | Definition & Examples

What Is Juvenalian Satire? | Definition & Examples

Juvenalian satire is a form of satire that criticizes contemporary individuals and institutions with severity and contempt. The main goal of this literary genre is to make the audience feel angry and frustrated with the current state of the world and thereby inspire social reform.

Juvenalian satire example
South Park, the animated series known for its vulgar and crass humor, is a quintessential example of Juvenalian satire. The show uses exaggerated scenarios and provocation to deal with various controversial and taboo topics while also providing social and political commentary on current events. True to its Juvenalian form, it aims to provoke strong emotions such as anger or disgust, ultimately exposing social evils.

Juvenalian satire can be found in literature, film, and animated television series.

Continue reading: What Is Juvenalian Satire? | Definition & Examples

What Is Asyndeton? | Examples & Definition

Asyndeton is the deliberate omission or absence of words like “and,” “but,” and “or” from a series of clauses or sentences. This has various effects such as speeding up the rhythm, changing the tone, and adding emphasis.

Asyndeton examples
She wakes up, goes to work, eats, sleeps, goes to work again.

Our administration has provided the economically challenged with jobs, with opportunities, with self-respect.

We went for a walk. We had some ice cream. We fed the ducks. We came back.

Watch, absorb, understand.

We can encounter asyndeton in various forms of writing, including plays, poems, speeches, and everyday language.

Continue reading: What Is Asyndeton? | Examples & Definition

What Is Polysyndeton? | Definition & Examples

Polysyndeton is the repeated use of conjunctions like “and”, “or,” and “but” in close succession, particularly where these are not necessary. This is to create emphasis, rhythm, and a feeling of urgency in a text.

Polysyndeton example
He went to church, and walked about the streets, and watched the people hurrying to and fro, and patted children on the head, and questioned beggars, and looked down into the kitchens of houses, and up to the windows and found that everything could yield him pleasure.

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

Polysyndeton is used in various forms of writing, including novels, poems, and song lyrics.

Continue reading: What Is Polysyndeton? | Definition & Examples

Literary Devices | List & Examples

Literary devices are the techniques and strategies authors use to enrich their writing and take it beyond the literal meaning of words. They serve various purposes and can operate at the sentence level or even permeate an entire literary work. Common literary devices include metaphors, similes, and irony.

Examples of literary devices
After a long trek, the cold water was inviting me to jump in. [personification]

All our requests for a budget increase have been met with deafening silence. [oxymoron]

The fire crackled and hissed. [onomatopoeia]

Continue reading: Literary Devices | List & Examples

What Is Satire? | Definition, Examples & Meaning

Satire is the use of humor, exaggeration, irony, or other similar techniques to criticize people, institutions, or society as a whole. The purpose of satire is to expose human flaws, often with the intent to inspire change.

Satire example
Satirical news programs like The Daily Show and Last Week Tonight use humor, irony, and exaggeration to engage viewers while providing a critical perspective on current affairs.

Satire can be found in various forms of artistic expression, including literature, film, and television shows.

QuillBot Paraphraser Tool

Continue reading: What Is Satire? | Definition, Examples & Meaning

What Is Personification? | Definition & Examples

Personification is the attribution of human qualities to nonhuman entities, such as animals, objects, or even abstract concepts. This technique is used to create more vivid and engaging descriptions, set the mood, or convey emotions.

Personification examples
My phone died. (My phone ran out of battery.)

That piece of cake is calling my name. (That piece of cake looks delicious. I want to eat it.)

The flowers were begging for water. (The flowers needed water.)

The train sighed as it came to a halt. (The train braked as it came to a halt.)

Personification can be found in various forms of literature, including poetry, prose, and drama, as well as everyday language.

Try QuillBot’s free Paraphrasing Tool

Continue reading: What Is Personification? | Definition & Examples

What Is Litotes? | Definition & Examples

Litotes is a phrase that expresses an idea by negating its opposite. Examples include the common expressions “not half bad” to mean “good” and “not hard” to mean “easy.” Litotes is often used in everyday conversations and literature. It serves various purposes, such as conveying modesty, softening criticism, expressing irony, or subtly emphasizing a point.

Litotes examples
Running a marathon in under two hours is no small accomplishment.

I don’t dislike it.

She is not the sharpest tool in the shed.

It’s not a Matisse.

Continue reading: What Is Litotes? | Definition & Examples