English Literary Devices

Question 1

Allegory

Answer 1

a narrative (Story) which has another meaning/suggested story beneath the surface. The lion king is an allegory of the story Hamlet; Avatar is an allegory of the colonization of the Americas

Question 2

Alliteration

Answer 2

the repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of successive words. The slimy snake slithered

Question 3

Allusion

Answer 3

a reference to someon or something well-known in history. Allusion can be used to enrich a text and support and argument

Question 4

Assonance

Answer 4

the repetition of vowel sounds in words that are close together. I lie down by the side of my bride. Assonance can be used to reinforce the meanings of words, emphasize an idea or to set a mood

Question 5

Connotation

Answer 5

associations that a word carries

Question 6

Denotation

Answer 6

the literal definition of a word

Question 7

Foreshadowing

Answer 7

a writing technique that gives readers clues about events that will happen later in the story

Question 8

hyperbole

Answer 8

massive exaggeration for effect. I ate so much I nearly exploded

Question 9

Imagery

Answer 9

the use of descriptive detail that appeals to the senses

Question 10

Situational Irony

Answer 10

takes place when the opposite of what is expected occurs. Olympic swimmer drowns in the bathtub

Question 11

Verbal irony

Answer 11

takes place when someone says the opposite of what they mean

Question 12

dramatic irony

Answer 12

takes place when the audience knows more than characters in the story or on stage

Question 13

metaphor

Answer 13

an implied comparison of two unlike things, not using like or as. The moon is night’s flashlight

Question 14

Narrative POV

Answer 14

the narrator is the character in the story who tells/relates the story’s events and comments on them.

Narrative point of view can be first person-I, if the a character in the story tells the tale from his/her own perspecive.

Can be third person limited- if the narrator is a character who can see only part of the whole wstory (the thoughts and feelings of one other character)

Point of view is omniscent if the narrator presents the thoughts and feelings of all characters in the story

Question 15

Onomatopoeia

Answer 15

the use of words that by their sound suggest their meaning (snap, crackle, pop)

Question 16

oxymoron

Answer 16

a self-contradictory group of words (bitter sweet, o loving hate)

Question 17

pathos

Answer 17

pity/sorrow felt by a reader/audience member for a character who suffers

Question 18

personification

Answer 18

giving the attributes of a human being to a non-human entitiy (the sun smiled down on the earth)

Question 19

pun

Answer 19

a play on words in which more than one meaning is conveyed (I meant to look for my missing watch but couldn’t find the time)

Question 20

satire

Answer 20

the ridicule or mockery of a person, style, institution etc. with the intent of reform (simpsons is a satire of the american family)

Question 21

similie

Answer 21

a comparion using like or as

Question 22

suspense

Answer 22

techniques used by an author to keep readers interested in the story and wondering what will happen next.

Details of the setting, withholding information, drawing out of events, pathos (pity) for a character who suffers

Question 23

symbol

Answer 23

something concrete that stands for represents something abstract (ring represents eternal love)

Question 24

theme

Answer 24

main idea message or observation of life people or society that an author communicates through a written text