Literary Devices Flashcards
Alliteration
The repetition of consonant sounds, especially at the beginning of words or of stressed syllables
Allusion
A brief, historical, mythological, biblical, or literary reference assumed to be sufficiently well known to be recognized by the reader
Archetype
A symbol, character, situation, or image that evokes a deep universal response
Euphemism
The substitution of an inoffensive word or phrase for an unpleasant one. Ex. He is at peace= he is dead
Hamartia
Aka. Tragic flaw- it’s the false step that leads to the protagonist to the downfall
Hyperbole
An exaggeration for the sake of emphasis
Imagery
The use of language to evoke sense impressions in the reader
Metaphor
An implied comparison of two or more unlike things, without the use of like or as.
Metonymy
The use of a closely related idea for the idea itself. Ex. I gave you my heart. Ex. sword = violence, just psychological response.
Onomatopoeia
The use of words that seem to imitate the sound they refer to.
Oxymoron
The combination of two usually contradictory terms, ex. “Love, hate” and “Jumbo shrimp”
Paradox
A statement or expression so self- contradictory as to provoke us into seeing another context or meaning in which it would be true
Personification
The attribution of human qualities to an inanimate object
Simile
A comparison between two different things including the words “like” or “as”.
Symbol
Anything that stands for, or represents something else beyond it- usually evokes an image.
Balanced Sentence
A compound sentence where each part has a parallel form. For ex. I had expected to climb to the mountaintop of my profession but I had stumbled- into the valley- of enforced labor.
Chiasmus or Reversal
A sentence in which the order of the words in the first group is reversed in the second group. Ex: Ask not what your country can do for you, but ask what you can do for your country”.
Climatic word order
Presents facts in order from least to most important.
Repetition
Used for emphasis; Ex. I hated her with a hatred that surpassed all other hatreds I had ever experienced.
Sentence fragment
An incomplete sentence (grammatically incorrect but used for emphasis or dramatic effect).
Allegory
A story or visual image with a second distinct meaning partially hidden behind its literal or visible meaning in a story, so that its person and events correspond to their equivalents in a system of ideas or chain of events external to the tale.
Analogy
Comparison of two things to explain something unfamiliar through its similarities to something familiar. Similes and metaphors are types of analogies.
Antithesis
The opposition or contrast of ideas in a balanced or parallel construction. The opposite of the thesis, someone intentionally contradicting their point. Can overlap with other devices.
Apostrophe
The speaker addresses a dead or absent person, or an abstraction (the quality of dealing with ideas rather than events) or an inanimate object.
Assonance
The repetition of identical or related vowel sounds, especially in stressed syllables.
Atmosphere
A mood pervading a literary work
Cacophony
Language which strikes the ear as harsh, rough and unmusical
Catharsis
Purging or cleansing of emotion that occurs in drama
Connotation
What a word suggests beyond its meaning, its overtones of meaning
Dramatic Irony
The audience knows more about the character’s situation than the character does thereby foreseeing an outcome contrary to the experience of the character.
Elegy
Lyric poem lamenting the death of a friend or public figure
Euphony
Language which strikes the ear as smooth, pleasant and musical.
Figurative Language
The use of figures of speech to depart from the literal sense.
Foil
A character in literature whose physical or psychological qualities contrast strongly with, and therefore highlight, the qualities of another character.
Genre
A recognized and established category of written work
Hubris
Extreme pride
Iambic Pentameter
A line of poetry consists of five feet, each containing an iambus. An iambus is a foot in which there are two syllables alternately unstressed and stressed.
Irony
A subtly humorous perception of inconsistency.
Juxtaposition
The place of events, characters, setting, colours etc. side by side for the purpose of comparison and contrast.
Lyric Poem
A short poem presenting a single speaker (not necessarily the poet) who expresses a state of mind involving thought and feeling.
Motif
Images, words, objects, places, actions, statements or structures that interconnect to form a pattern of meaning.
Nemesis
Retribution or punishment for actions
Pathos
Feelings of sorrow, pity, and compassionate sympathy.
Pathetic Fallacy
Natural phenomena which cannot feel as humans do are described as if they could. When in alignment with events and themes.
Pun
A play on words similar in sound, but different in meaning, often used for humor.
Rhetorical Question
A question asked for the sake of persuasion- the answer is obvious.
Satire
A mode of writing that exposes the failings of individuals, institutions or societies to ridicule or scorn- often for the purpose of entertainment.
Theme
Short statement about the value system implicit in a work
Tone
Implied attitude of the writer
Understatement
Stating less than the truth (opposite of hyperbole).
Voice
A specific group of characteristics displayed by the narrator or “poetic speaker” assessed in terms of tone, style or personality
Wit
Amusing verbal cleverness- quick intelligence
Abnormal Word Order
Changes the usual subject-verb sentence pattern
Opposites
Contrasting two ideas in the same sentence
Parallelism
Repeats specific words, phrases, or clauses
Periodic Sentence
An independent clause is placed by the end of a sentence
