Literary Devices Flashcards
Active Voice
A grammatical voice in which a subject performs the action described by a verb
Allegory
A story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one
Alliteration
The occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words
Allusion
An experience designed to call something to mind without mentioning it explicitly; an indirect or passing reference
Analogy
A comparison between two things, typically for the purpose of explanation or clarification
Antagonist
A person who actively opposes or is hostile to someone or something; an adversary
Anti-Climax
The usually sudden transition in discourse from a significant idea to a trivial or ludicrous idea
Antithesis
A person or thing that is the direct opposite of someone or something else
Apostrophe
A punctuation mark used to indicate either possession or the omission of letters or numbers
Argumentative Essay
A genre of writing that requires the student to investigate a topic, collect, generate, and evaluate evidence, and establish a position on the topic in a concise manner
Anecdotal Evidence
Evidence in the form of stories that people tell about what has happened to them
Archaic Language
The use of writing that is today considered outdated or old fashioned
Aside
A remark or passage in a play that is intended to be heard by the audience but unheard by the other characters in the play
Assonance
In poetry, the repetition of the sound a vowel or diphthong in nonrhyming stressed syllables near enough to each other for the echo to the discernible
Atmosphere
The pervading tone or mood of a place, situation, or work of art
Atmosphere
The pervading tone or mood of a place, situation, or work of art
Audience
The assembled spectators or listeners at a public event, such as a play, movie, concert, or meeting
Autobiography
An account of a person’s life written by that person
Ballad
A poem or song narrating a story in short stanzas. Traditional ballads are typically of unknown authorship, having been passed on orally from one generation to the next
Ballad Stanza
A four-line stanza, often used in ballads, in which the second and fourth lines rhyme and have three stresses each and the first and third lines are unrhymed and have four stresses each
Bias
Cause to feel or show inclination or prejudice for or against someone or something
Biography
The story of a real person’s life
Blank Verse
Poetry written in unrhymed but metered lines, almost always iambic pentameter
Cacophony
The use of a combination of words with loud, harsh sounds
Caricature
A drawing or written or spoken description of someone that usually makes them look silly by making a part of their appearance or character more noticeable than it really is
Case Study
A teaching method based on the description of a real or hypothetical situation that requires a solution or action
Catastrophe
The final action that completes the unraveling of the plot in a play, especially in a tragedy
Cause and Effect
A relationship between actions or events in which at least one action or event is a direct result of the others
Character
A person, animal, being, creature, or thing in a story
Characterization
The process by which the writer reveals the personality of a character
Character Foil
A supporting character who has a contrasting personality and set of values
Chorus
Those who perform vocally in a group as opposed to those who perform singly
Chronological Order
Described or shown in the order in which they happened
Climax
The highest or most intense point in the development or resolution of something
Colloquialism
The linguistic style to describe casual communication
Colloquial Language
The linguistic style used for casual (informal) communication
Comedy
A dramatic work that is written for the purpose to amuse or entertain the audience
Comic Relief
An amusing scene, incident, or speech introduced into serious or tragic elements, as in a play, in order to provide temporary relief from tension, or to intensify the dramatic action
Compare and Contrast
Comparison in writing discusses elements that are similar, while contrast in writing discusses elements that are different
Comparison
A rhetorical strategy and method of organization in which the writer examines similarities and/or differences between two people, places, ideas, or things
Conflict
A literary device characterized by a struggle between two opposing forces
Connotation
The wide array of positive and negative associations that most words naturally carry with them
Consonance
The repetition of similar sounds - or consonants (non-vowels) - in language
Contrast
A rhetorical device used by a writer to emphasize the differences between two people, places, or things
Couplet
A pair of end-rhymed lines of verse that are self-contained in grammatical structure and meaning
Denotation
The objective meaning of a word or phrase
Denouement
The point in a story in which the conflict is resolved
Descriptive Essay
A genre of essay that asks the student to describe something - object, person, place, experience, emotion, situation, etc.
Dialect
A form of writing that shows the accent and way people talk in a particular region
Dialogue
A written or spoken exchange of words between one or more characters
Diary
Form of autobiographical writing, a regularly kept record of the writer’s activities and reflections
Diction
The linguistic choices a writer makes to effectively convey an idea, a point of view, or tell a story
Didactic
Designed or intended to teach people something
Dilemma
A conflict, problem, or situation with two possible solutions
Direct Presentation
That method of characterization in which the author, by exposition or analysis, tells us directly what a character is like, or has someone else in the story do so
Dissonance
The deliberate avoidance of assonance
Drama
A written work that tells a story through action and speech and is meant to be acted on a stage
Dramatic Irony
A literary device by which the audience’s or reader’s understanding of events or individuals in a work surpasses that of its characters
Dramatic Monologue
A poem written in the form of a speech of an individual character
Dramatic Form
A performance in which there is a distinct plot depicted by actors where the story of the work and/or words is associated and carries forward the plot and its accompanying action
Dynamic Character
A literary or dramatic character who undergoes an important inner change, as a change in personality or attitude
Editorial
An article written by the senior editorial people or publisher of a newspaper
Elegy
A sad poem or song, especially remembering someone who has died or something in the pasrt
Emotional Appeal
An emotional manipulation that is often used to win an argument using feelings and emotion rather than logic
Epic
Long narrative poem recounting heroic deeds
Epilogue
A final section that brings to an end and summarizes or comments on the action or characters of a story
Epiphany
A usually sudden manifestation or perception of the essential nature or meaning of something
Epigram
A concise poem dealing pointedly and often satirically with a single thought or event and often ending with an ingenious turn of thought
Epitaph
A short piece of writing or a poem about a dead person, especially one written on their gravestone
Euphemism
A polite word or expression that is used to refer to things which people may find upsetting or embarrassing to talk about
Euphony
Sound patterns used in verse to achieve opposite effects
Expert Testimony
A formal statement that they make about what they saw someone do or what they know of a situation
Exposition
The art of providing essential background information about the main characters and the world of your story
Expository Essay
A genre of essay that requires the student to investigate an idea, evaluate evidence, expound on the idea, and set forth an argument concerning that idea in a clear and concise manner
Extended Metaphor
A metaphor in a literary work, such as a novel or poem, that isn’t just used in one line but is extended over multiple lines or throughout the work
External Conflict
A conflict that is between a character and an external force, such as another character
Fable
A short tale to teach a moral lesson, often with animals or inanimate objects as characters
Falling Action
The elements of plot after a story’s climax and before the resolution
Fantasy
Imaginative fiction dependent for effect on strangeness of setting (such as other worlds or times) and of characters (such as supernatural or unnatural beings)
Farce
A light dramatic composition marked by broadly satirical comedy and improbable plot
Figurative Language
A literary device that uses words or phrases for effect, humorous, or exaggeration purposes, instead of their literal translation
First Person Point of View
The narrator is a character in the story telling it from their perspective
Flashback
Interrupts that chronological sequence, the front line action or “present” line of the story, to show readers a scene that unfolded in the past
Flat Character
Two-dimensional in that they are relatively uncomplicated and do not change throughout the course of a work
Foil
A character who is presented as a contrast to a second character so as to point to or show to advantage some aspect of the second character
Foreshadowing
A narrative device in which suggestions or warnings about events to come are dropped or planted
Form
The style in which a text is written
Formal Essay
A piece of writing that informs or persuades its audience
Formal Language
Less personal than informal language
Frame Story
A narrative that frames or surrounds another story or set of stories
Free Verse
Nonmetrical, nonrhyming lines that closely follow the natural rhythms of speech
Genre
A category of artistic, musical, or literary composition characterized by a particular style, form, or content
Graphic Text
Pictures, visual aids, or other images within a text used to support the author’s purpose and message
Hero
The main character in a literary work
Historical Reference
Historical people, situations, or things existed in the past and are considered to be a part of history
Hyperbole
A rhetorical and literary technique where an author or speaker intentionally uses exaggeration and overstatement for emphasis and effect
Iambic Pentameter
A rhythm structure, used most commonly in poetry, that combines unstressed syllables and stressed syllables in groups of five
Idiom
The choice of words and the way they are combined that is characteristic of a language
Image
A physical likeness or representation of a person, animal, or thing, photographed, painted, sculptured, or otherwise made visible
Imagery
A literary device used in poetry, novels, and other writing that uses vivid description that appeals to a reader’s senses to create an image or idea in their head
Indeterminate Ending
One in which the central conflict is left unresolved
Indirect Presentation
A speech which tells you what someone said, but does not use the person’s actual words
Informal Essay
Written as a reflection or a response to something, or written as a type of informational piece about a personal experience
Informal Language
More casual and spontaneous language
Interior Monologue
Speech that is casual and relaxed
Internal Conflict
A character’s inner struggle
Internal Rhyme
Rhyme between a word within a line and another either at the end of the same line or within another line
Irony
Whenever a person says something or does something that departs from what they (or we) expect them to say or do
Jargon
Words and expressions that are used in special or technical ways by particular ways by particular groups of people, often making the language difficult to understand
Juxtaposition
When you place two concepts or objects next to or near each other, thereby highlighting their innate differences and similarities
Legend
A traditional story or group of stories told about a particular person or place
Limited Omniscient Point of View
The limited omniscient third-person narrator can only see into one character’s mind
Literal Language
Exactly what is written
Lyric
A type of persona rhythmic poetry
Melodrama
A story or play in which there are a lot of exciting or sad events in which people’s emotions are very exaggerated
Metaphor
A figure of speech that describes an object or action in a way that isn’t literally true, but helps explain an idea or make a comparison
Metre
The basic rhythmic structure of a verse or lines in verse
Monologue
A speech given by a single character in a story
Mood
The mood of a piece of writing is its general atmosphere or emotional complexion
Mystery
Something not understood or beyond understanding
Myth
An ancient story or set of stories, especially explaining the early history of a group of people or about natural events and facts
Narrative
The art or practice of telling stories
Narration
The way that a story is told
Narrator
One who tells a story
Objective (language tone, etc.)
Information based on facts as opposed to personal feelings or opinions
Objective Point of View
The narrator is not involved in the action of the story
Octave
The interval between one musical pitch and another with double its frequency
Ode
A lyrical poem usually marked by exaltation of feeling and style, varying length of line, and complexity of stanza forms
Omniscient Point of View
A third-person literary perspective that offers omniscient insight into one or more character’s minds
Onomatopoeia
The use or creation of a word that phonetically imitates, resembles, or suggests the sound that it describes
Oxymoron
A figure of speech that combines contradictory words with opposing meanings
Paradox
A figure of speech in which a statement appears to contradict itself
Parallelism
Using similar words, clauses, phrases, sentence structure, or other grammatical elements to emphasize similar ideas in a sentence
Parody
An imitation of the style and manner of a particular writer or school of writers
Passive Voice
Produces a sentence in which the subject receives an action
Pastoral
A way of writing about life in countryside that emphasizes the gentle, leisurely, and often pleasurable aspects of that life
Pathos
To persuade an audience by purposely evoking certain emotions to make them feel the way the author wants them to feel
Personal Essay
A short written work that lets a writer describe a personal experience or significant event based on their experiences or worldview
Personification
One of the many literary devices writers us to make their writing more engaging
Persuasive Essay
A piece of academic writing in which you employ logic and evidence to convince a reader to accept your point of view
Persuasive Technique
A literary technique that writers use to present their ideas through reason and logic, in order to influence the audience
Plot
The sequence of events in which each event affects the next one through the principle of cause-and-effect
Point of View
What the character or narrator telling the story can see (his or her perspective)
Pro and Con Argument
Arguments for or against a particular issue
Prologue
A preface or introduction to a literary work
Propaganda
The dissemination of information - facts, arguments, rumours, half-truths, or lies - to influence public opinion
Protagonist
The character who drives the action - the character whose fate matters the most
Proverb
A short, pithy statement that usually offers life advice, wisdom, or a truth
Purpose
Something set up as an object or end to be attained
Pun
A play on words in which a humorous effect is produced by using a word that suggests two or more meanings or involving words with similar sounds
Quatrain
A piece of verse complete in four rhymed lines
Question and Answer
Similar to hypophora - figure of reasoning in which one or more questions is/are asked and then answered, often at length, by one and the same speaker
Refrain
A word, line, or phrase that is repeated within the lines or stanzas of the poem itself
Repetition
A literary device in which a word or phrase is used multiple times
Research
The acquisition of information within a specific literary work
Resolution
The end of the story
Rhetorical Question
An inquiry that ends in a question mark but is asked for effect rather than to elicit an answer
Rhyme
The repetition of syllables, typically at the end of a verse line
Rhyme Scheme
The formal arrangement of rhymes in a stanza or a poem
Rhythm
The patterned recurrence, within a certain range of regularity of specific language features, usually features of sound
Rising Action
The second of six essential plot elements, which comes right after the opening of a story, otherwise known as the exposition
Round Character
A character that is nuanced and well thought-out. They usually play an important role in the story, written specifically so audiences can pay attention to them for a specific reason
Sarcasm
A literary device that uses irony to mock someone or something or convey contempt
Satire
The art of making someone or something look ridiculous, raising laughter in order to embarrass, humble, or discredit its targets. Normally used politically
Sestet
A six-line stanza, or the final six lines of a 14-line Italian or Petrarchan sonnet
Setting
The time and place in which a story is told
Simile
A figure of speech comparing two unlike things that is often introduced by “like” or “as”
Slang
Unconventional words or phrases that express either something new or something old in a new way
Soliloquy
A monologue that is delivered when the character is alone
Sonnet
A 14-line poem with a variable rhyme scheme originating in Italy
Speaker
The voice of the poem, similar to a narrator in fiction
Stanza
A division of a poem consisting of two or more lines arranged together as a unit
Stream of Consciousness
A narrative style that tries to capture a character’s thought process in a realistic way
Statistical Evidence
The kind of data people tend to look for first when trying to prove a point
Static Character
A character that does not undergo important change in the course of the story, remaining essentially the same at the end
Stereotype
Cliched or predictable characters or situations
Stock / Stereotyped Character
A character in a drama or fiction that represents. a type and that is recognizable as belonging to a certain genre
Story Within a Story
A character within a story becomes the narrator of a second story (within the first one)
Style
The way in which an author writes and/or tells a story
Stylistic Technique
Any of a variety of techniques to give an additional and/or supplemental meaning, idea, or feeling
Subjective (Language tone, etc.)
Something that is based on a person’s opinions, individual experienced, and biased influences instead of facts
Surprise Ending
A literary technique that introduces a radical change in direction or expected outcome of the plot in a story
Suspense
The anticipation of the outcome of a plot or of the solution to an uncertainty, puzzle, or mystery
Symbol
An object, person, situation, or an action that. has a literal meaning in a story but suggests or represents other meanings
Symbolism
Something that stands for or suggests something else
Theme
A universal idea, lesson, or message explored throughout a work of literature
Thesis
Focuses your ideas for the paper; it’s your argument or insight or viewpoint crystallized into a single sentences that gives the reader your main idea
Thesis Statement
A sentence or two that summarizes the main point that an essay, research paper, or speech is making
Third-Person Point of View
The narrator exists outside. the events of the story, and relates the actions of the characters by referring to their names. or by the third-person pronouns: “he”, “she”, or “they”
Tone
A literary device that reflects the writer’s attitude toward the subject matter or audience of a literary work
Tragedy
Branch of drama that treats in a serious and dignified style the sorrowful or terrible events encountered or caused by a heroic individual
Understatement
The description of something. as having much less of a particular quality than it does
Voice
The mixture of tone, word choice, point of view, syntax, punctuation, and rhythm that makes up sentences and paragraphs
