Literary Device Glossary Flashcards
Alliteration
Repetition of initial consonant sounds
Allusion
A reference to another work of literature, person, or event
Ambiguity
An event or situation that may be interpreted in more than one way.
Anaphora
The repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of a sentence.
Antithesis
Direct opposite
Apostrophe
A figure of speech that addresses an imaginary person or a personified abstraction.
Aside
A line spoken by an actor to the audience but not intended for others on the stage
Assonance
Repetition of a vowel sound within two or more words.
Asyndeton
The absence of a conjunction between parts of a sentence.
Cacophony
A harsh, discordant mixture of sounds
Caesura
A natural pause or break in a line of poetry
Chiasmus
A reversal in the order of words in two otherwise parallel phrases
Connotation
An idea or feeling that a word invokes in addition to its literal or primary meaning.
Consonance
Repetition of a consonant sound within two or more words
Couplet
Two consecutive lines of poetry that rhyme
Denotation
The literal meaning of a word
Diction
A writer’s or speaker’s choice of words
Enjambment
the continuation of a sentence without a pause beyond the end of a line, couplet, or stanza.
Euphony
pleasant, harmonious sound