21ST CENTURY LITERATURE FROM THE PHILIPPINES AND THE WORLD

0.3 LITERARY TECHNIQUES

WHAT IS A LITERARY DEVICE?

-is any specific aspect of literature, or a particular work, which we can recognize, identify, interpret and/or
analyze. Both literary elements and literary techniques can rightly be called literary devices.

WHAT IS LITERARY TECHNIQUE?

-are specific, deliberate constructions of language which an author uses to convey meaning. An author’s use of a
literary technique usually occurs with a single word or phrase, or a particular group of words or phrases, at
one single point in a text. Moreover, in movies this may occur in a specific scene or episode. Unlike literary
elements, literary techniques are not necessarily present in every text.
- likely, literary techniques depend on the necessity of the author to bring his/her own style of composition.

LITERARY TECHNIQUES
PLAYFULLNESS/DARK HUMOR

• A.k.a Irony, absurdity, & black humour

• Treating serious subjects as a joke, sometimes with emotionally distant authors.
• Playful use of language (e.g. the characters of The Crying Lot of 49: Mike Fallopian, Stanley Koteks, Dr.
Hilarius)
• The technique is seen in movies such as Deadpool, 50/50, Death at a Funeral
INTERTEXTUALITY

• A sophisticated literary technique making use of a textual reference within some body of text, which
reflects again the text used as a reference.
• Quotations, references and allusions, designed to make apparent that every text absorbs and transforms
some other text somewhere
• Such examples include Shrek and Into the Woods as to how beloved fairy tale characters are referenced or
the allusion of Romeo and Juliet to Taylor Swift’s Love Story.

Intertextual Figures:
1. Allusion
2. Quotation
3. Calque
4. Plagiarism
5. Translation
6. Parody
7. Pastiche
PASTICHE

• Means pasting together

• (mixing genres) as an homage to or a parody of past literary styles
• Imitates a famous literary work by another writer to embody a new literary work.
• Such examples include the similarities of Spirited Away with Alice in Wonderland
METAFICTION

• The act of writing about writing or making readers aware of the fictional nature of the very fiction they
are reading.
• A fiction that systematically draw attention to itself as a literary work
• Example of such in films is breaking fourth wall in Deadpool and awareness of the characters on horror
tropes and rules in Scream.
• In dramatic plays, Aside is a similar way implied when a character speaks to an audience.
TEMPORAL DISTORTION

• The use of non-linear timelines and narrative techniques in a story.

• Jumps forward or backward in time.
• Example of such films are Men in Black 3, Avengers: Endgame and Project Almanac.
• In the field of written works, Stephen King wrote 11/22/63 wherein a time traveler attempts to prevent the
assassination of United States President John F. Kennedy.
MAGIC REALISM
• A magic insight into reality; the art of capturing something in the real world that would not be possible
and manufacturing it to be believable.
• While there is magic going on, the world is not into it and remains real.
• Examples include Birdman, Shape of Water, Age of Adeline and Paddington.
• In Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel, rose petal sauce is the magic poured into Tita’s food that
seduces Pedro to be drawn to her.
TECHNOCULTURE

• A neologism which refers to the interaction between, and politics of, technology and culture.
• Culture as influenced by technology.
• Also known as Cyberculture.
• Examples include Her, Robocop and Wall-E
• Blade Runner shows what technology has influenced in the fictitious 2019 and 2049.
• Unlike hyperreality, technoculture examines society, politics, and culture with the effects of
advancements.
HYPERREALITY
• The inability of consciousness to distinguish reality from fantasy, especially in technological advanced
postmodern culture.
• Physical Reality vs Virtual Reality
• Unlike technoculture, it examines themes of consumerism and inability to distinguish reality similar way as
to how we see advertisement products and the real product.
• Matrix is an example as to how reality is suspended to reprogram the consciousness in the real world.
• All films are example of hyperreality in terms of how they are all made to simulate reality.
PARANOIA

• The belief that there is something out of the ordinary, while everything remains the same.
• Examines psychology and the mind of a subject’s reality.
• A recent example of paranoia is observed in the 2019’s film, Joker, wherein Arthur and her encounters with
Sophie are just delusions.
• Other examples include Doctor’s Sleep, Winnie The Pooh, Black Swan, and Fight Club.
MAXIMALISM

• Denotes fictional works that are unusually long and complex, are digressive in style, and make use of a
wide array of literary devices and techniques.
• It takes seven books and eight films to unfold the fate of Harry Potter and three books and films for the Lord
of the Rings.
• Other examples include: DCEU and MCEU comics & films, Narrative Serials and Chaptered narratives such as
novels and novelettes.
MINIMALISM

• Short, ‘slice-of-life’ stories where readers have to use their own imaginations to create the story.
Unexceptional characters, economywith words. Spare style, lacking adjectives, adverbs and meaningless
details.
• Less is more
• Examples include Room, The Shallows, The Breakfast Club, Saw