Symbolism: A symbol or object
that represents something else.
1. "You'll find
a scorpion in one box and a grasshopper in the other, both very well
imitated in Japanese bronze. They're animals that say yes and no"
(311). Erik asks Christine to marry him and says turning the
grasshopper (which means no) will result in something bad for
everyone. However, the reader does not know if he is being truthful
and it creates a mystery.
2. "It seemed to
me that I'd just stepped into a funeral room. The walls were hung
with black...and under the canopy was an open coffin" (168).
When Christine sees Erik's room for the first time, she is shocked
because it looks like a funeral. His bed being a coffin symbolizes
death, and Erik has been described as "living dead".
Simile: Comparison using like
or as.
3. "If you loved
me, I'd be gentle as a lamb" (278). Erik compares himself to a
lamb using the word "as". It conveys to the readers that he
only wants someone to love him, and then his entire personality would
change.
4. "La
Sorelli is...a beautiful woman with a grave, voluptuous face and a
body as supple as a willow branch" (13). The author compares the
character's body using "as" to a willow branch. It helps
the reader imagine the gracefulness her dancing instead of just
saying she is beautiful.
Foreshadowing: Words or phrases
that hint at future events that will unfold in the story.
5. "...he
told me the body of a stagehand had just been found, hanged, in the
third cellar, between a flat and a set piece from Le
Roi de Lahore"
(18). In the beginning, a stagehand is found dead and the author
repeats that it was between the "flat and a set piece". It
is said several times which hints to the readers that something else
will happen there.
Imagery: Words or phrases that
appeal to the senses and help the reader visualize the story.
6. "The man in scarlet, with
the death's-head and the plumed hat, dragged behind him an immense
red velvet cloak...and on that cloak, embroidered in gold letters,
were the words that everyone read... I am the Red Death" (120).
The author vividly describes the mysterious character at the ball so
that the readers can imagine him as he's meant to be, and not just
imagine what it might have looked like with little detail in mind.
Hyperbole: Words that
exaggerate or overemphasize for a more powerful effect.
7. "She had seen him ill,
half dead from terror and cold after that night in the Perros
graveyard" (122). The author claims that Raoul was once "half
dead from terror" which was not literal. He was very scared, but
no where close to being dead; however, it makes it seem more serious
when it is exaggerated.
Personification: Giving
lifelike characteristics to a nonliving thing.
8. "The shadow had come out
behind them and continued following them, flattening itself on the
roof, stretching itself out with movements of black wings"
(148). The shadow is acting like a human--it is following, moving,
and stretching itself--even though a shadow cannot do these things.
It creates suspense because the readers do not know what or who is
causing the shadow to move and follow Christine and Raoul.
Metaphor: Comparison using
without using like or as.
9. "I held that innocent
little soul in my naive hands and naively offered it to the man's
voice" (151). Christine says that she held her soul in her
hands, which she did not literally hold her soul, but she trusted her
heart with the "man's voice". This device makes the story
more dramatic instead of just saying something simple.
Irony: An expression that would
normally be expected to say or mean the opposite of what the author
implies.
10. "He's a demon!...It would
be too cruel...Let him hear me sing tomorrow night, one last time,
and then we'll go" (149). Christine talks about Erik and at
first describes him as a "demon". But when Raoul begs her
to run away, she says it would be cruel on her part, and wants to
sing to Erik one last time. This causes some confusion to the readers
because we don't understand her way of thinking. Usually, if someone
was so evil, people would want to run away from them, not feel guilty
for doing so.
