English Literary Devices Vocab

Question 1

alliteration

Answer 1

the repetition of an initial consonant sound in two or more words of a line

example: Tony the tiger is terrific!

Question 2

anaphora

Answer 2

The repetition of the same word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses or verses

Example: “with malice towards none, with charity for all” – Abraham Lincoln

Question 3

antagonist

Answer 3

the character who initiates the conflict; the character who is in direct conflict with the protagonist

An antagonist may not even be a person. It is also possible for the antagonist and
protagonist to be the same person.

Question 4

antithesis

Answer 4

a figure of speech in which opposing or contrasting ideas are balanced against each other in grammatically parallel syntax

example: Fair is foul; foul is fair - Shakespeare

Question 5

apostrophe

Answer 5

address to a person or personified object not present

example: O’ world! Tell me thy pain

Question 6

assonance

Answer 6

the repetition of vowel sounds in two or more words of a line that end with different consonants

example: Look at my new blue shoes. (repetition of “oo” vowel sound)

Question 7

chiasmus

Answer 7

the verbal pattern in which the second half of an expression is balanced against the first but with the parts reversed

example “Love as if you would one day hate,
and hate as if you would one day love.” – Bias

Question 8

connotation

Answer 8

the emotional implications that a word may carry; the implied or associated meaning for a particular word

example: thin (positive connotation) versus skinny (negative connotation)

Question 9

denotation

Answer 9

the dictionary definition of a word; the specific, exact meaning of a word

Question 10

diction

Answer 10

word choice; an author’s choice of words

Question 11

euphemism

Answer 11

substitution of an inoffensive term for one considered offensively explicit

example: You’re becoming a little thin on top (bald)

Question 12

flashback

Answer 12

an interruption in the chronological sequence of work in order to describe or present an event that occurred prior to the main time frame

Question 13

foreshadowing

Answer 13

hinting at future events in a story

Question 14

hyperbole

Answer 14

a deliberate exaggeration or overstatement for effect

example: There were a million people in front of me in the checkout line.

Question 15

imagery

Answer 15

essentially the creation of a visual picture with words and phrases that appeal to the senses – sight, sound, taste, touch, and smell

Question 16

irony

Answer 16

when the opposite of what is expected occurs, demonstrating a contrast between reality and expectation

• situational irony: a situation where what happens is the opposite of what is expected
• verbal irony: a figure of speech in which there is a contrast between what is said and what
  is actually meant
• dramatic irony: an occurrence in a play or narrative where the audience or reader possesses
  knowledge that the character(s) do not know

Question 17

litotes

Answer 17

understatement in which the affirmative is expressed through negation

example: A marathon is no stroll in the park.

Question 18

metonymy

Answer 18

figure of speech in which a word or phrase is substituted for another with which it is closely associated

example: The White House issued a press release.

Question 19

metaphor

Answer 19

a direct comparison of two unlike objects without using the words like or as

example: She is a fox!

Question 20

onomatopoeia

Answer 20

the use of words that imitate the sounds they describe

examples: pow, bang, meow, poof, slap

Question 21

oxymoron

Answer 21

a figure of speech that fuses two opposite or contradictory ideas

examples: jumbo shrimp, pleasing pain, wise fool, living dead

Question 22

paradox

Answer 22

a statement that seemingly contradicts itself but is true

example: “I never found the companion that was so companionable as solitude.” - Thoreau

Question 23

parallelism

Answer 23

the use of similar grammatical constructions – words, phrases, or clauses – to clearly express similar ideas

example: “To err is human; to forgive is divine” - Pope

Question 24

personification

Answer 24

a form of comparison that gives human qualities to an animate or inanimate object

example: The bright headlights of the car stared back at us.

Question 25

point of view

Answer 25

the way in which a story is told

• first person: one of the characters (usually the main character) is the narrator telling the
  the story as it occurs or did occur using the pronoun “I”
• third person objective: the narrator is an outside reporter of the story
• second person: the narrator uses the indefinite pronoun “you” or the placement of the
  reader within the story to involve him/her on a deep level (uncommon!)
• example: children’s “Choose Your Own Adventure” tales

Question 26

protagonist

Answer 26

the character who is the object of the conflict, usually the main character

example: Sanger Rainsford from “The Most Dangerous Game”

Question 27

Pun

Answer 27

a play in words

example: “Not I, believe me. You have dancing shoes with nimble soles; I have a sole of
lead” – Romeo from The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet

Question 28

simile

Answer 28

a direct comparison of two unlike objects using the words like or as

Question 29

symbol

Answer 29

an object, person, place, or action that represents something in addition to its literal meaning, such as a quality, attitude, belief, or value

Conventional symbols include colors, nature, plants, and weather.

Question 30

synecdoche

Answer 30

a comparison where a part of something is used to represent the whole

example: All hands on deck.

Question 31

syntax

Answer 31

sentence structure; the arrangement of words in a sentence; the grammar of the sentence

Question 32

understatement (also
known as “meiosis”)

Answer 32

a form of under-exaggeration in which something is purposely represented as being far less
important than it actually is for ironic effect

example: Hurricane Wilma was just a little thunderstorm.