Introduction
Model Paragraphs of Definition
Some assignment and exam questions will ask you to define particular literary terms and cite examples from your readings that demonstrate their use. A typical question might state:
In a brief paragraph for each, define and provide two examples of the following literary terms:
- metaphor
- satire
- parody
- allegory
- pastoral
Here’s a paragraph with a definition and supporting examples that would receive full credit.
- metaphor–A metaphor is a figure of speech in which one thing is spoken of as though it were something else. The identification suggests a comparison between the two things that are identified. In John Greenleaf Whittier’s poem “Snowbound” he uses a metaphor when he says, “The cattle shake their walnut bows.” He’s making a comparison between the cattle’s size, color, and movement, and the front of a large wooden ship (walnut bows). A second example of use of metaphor is found in Henry David Thoreau’s essay “Civil Disobedience” when he compares success in overcoming political obstacles to the bounciness of a rubber ball: “Trade and commerce, if they were not made of India rubber, would never manage to bounce over the obstacles which legislators are continually putting in their way…”
Compare that answer with the weaker paragraph below. While the writer somewhat defines metaphor, there are no supporting examples.
- metaphor–A metaphor is when an author makes a comparison without using like or as. The author just says it.
