A List Literary Devices

Question 1

a general term, referring to a broad concept, as opposed to a term that refers to a specific, particular thing

Answer 1

abstract

Question 2

list of words which embody similar abstract or physical qualities or meanings with the intention to emphasize the common qualities that words hold; also an act of accumulating the scattered points

Answer 2

accumulation

Question 3

a form of hyperbole in which exaggeration is taken to a great extreme where it seems impossible; hyperbole is magnified to such extent that it is completely impossible to occur; in Greek, adunaton, meaning “impractical” or “impossible”

Answer 3

adynaton

Question 4

a symbolic narrative in which the surface details imply a secondary meaning, often taking the form of a story in which the characters represent moral qualities

Answer 4

allegory

Question 5

the repetition of similar consonant sounds in a sentence or line of poetry or prose

Answer 5

alliteration

Question 6

a reference to another work of literature, or to art, history, or current events

Answer 6

allusion

Question 7

in metrical verse, the omission of an unaccented syllable at the beginning of a line

Answer 7

anacrusis

Question 8

a comparison between two things that helps explain or illustrate one or both of them

Answer 8

analogy

Question 9

a metrical foot in a line of a poem that contains three syllables wherein the first two syllables are short and unstressed followed by a third syllable that is long and stressed

Answer 9

anapest

Question 10

repetition of an initial word or words to add emphasis

Answer 10

anaphora

Question 11

any force in a story that is in conflict with the protagonist; may be another person, an aspect of the physical or social environment, or a destructive element in the protagonist’s own nature

Answer 11

antagonist

Question 12

a figure of speech in which someone absent or dead, or something nonhuman, is addressed as if it were alive or present and could reply

Answer 12

apostrophe

Question 13

words that were once common but that are no longer used

Answer 13

archaic language

Question 14

literally “the art of poetry;” a form of poetry written about poetry

Answer 14

ars poetica

Question 15

that condition of a successful literary work whereby all its elements work together for the achievement of its central purpose; in an artistically unified work, nothing is included that is irrelevant to the central purpose, nothing is omitted that is essential to it, and the parts are arranged in the most effective order for the achievement of that purpose

Answer 15

artistic utility

Question 16

omission or absence of a conjunction between clauses of a sentence

Answer 16

asyndeton

Question 17

short lesson of life; a concise, expressive observation that contains a general truth

Answer 17

aphorism

Question 18

words spoken by an actor directly to the audience which are not “heard” by the other characters on stage during a play

Answer 18

aside

Question 19

the repetition of similar vowel sounds in a sentence or a line of poetry or prose

Answer 19

assonance

Question 20

aka mood; the feeling created for the reader by a work of literature; can be generated by many things, but especially style, tone, and setting

Answer 20

atmosphere

Question 21

a love lyric in which the speaker complains about the arrival of the dawn, when he must part from his lover

Answer 21

aubade