Literary Devices Flashcards
Onomatopoeia
Onomatopoeia is the process of creating a word that phonetically imitates, resembles, or suggests the sound that it describes.
ALLITERATION
In literature, alliteration is the repetition of identical initial consonant sounds in successive or closely associated syllables within a group of words.
Foreshadowing
Foreshadowing is a literary device in which a writer gives an advance hint of what is to come later in the story. Foreshadowing often appears at the beginning of a story, or a chapter, and it helps the reader develop expectations about the upcoming events.
By looking back at the moments that led to the present, you can begin to see the hints that were hidden on the path along the way. Some of these hints you (or the character) might have noticed at the time, and some may only be visible in hindsight.
Colloquialism
A colloquialism is phrase, slang, word or expression characteristic that people use when speaking to others. The difference is that colloquialisms are used in familiar conversations as opposed to formal speech or writing. A prime example would be a greeting between two real good friends. In formal greetings, one would say “Hello, how are you doing?” to greet someone. However, if you were using colloquialisms, you would instead say “What’s up?.” Other forms of colloquialisms would be someone saying you ‘wanna get outta here?’ to someone instead of ‘want to get out of here.?
Diction
Diction is a literary device that’s the choice of words or style used by the writer in order to convey their message. Basically, that’s a fancy way of saying that diction is the way in which the author wants to write to a specific audience.
Pathetic
The phrase pathetic fallacy is a literary term for the attribution of human emotion and conduct to things found in nature that are not human. When the weather imitates human emotion.
Simile
A comparison using LIKE or AS
Your love is LIKE a red rose
His eyes are AS blue AS the sky
Metaphor
A Comparison WITHOUT using like or as
John’s suggestion was just a Band-Aid for the problem
Her lovely voice was music to his ears.
The world is a stage.
Oxymoron
An oxymoron is a figure of speech that juxtaposes concepts with opposing meanings within a word or phrase that creates an self-contradiction.
Small crowd
Old news
Open secret
Living dead
Deafening silence
Only choice
Pretty ugly
Awfully good
Personification
The attribution of a personal nature or human characteristics to something nonhuman, or the representation of an abstract quality in human form.
Lightning danced across the sky.
The wind howled in the night.
The car complained as the key was roughly turned in its ignition
Allusion
Allusion is a figure of speech, where a reference is made directly or indirectly to a person, event, or thing. They generally refer to something political, religious, pop culture, historical etc.
Chocolate is his Kryptonite
If I’m not home by midnight, my car might turn into a pumpkin
Cliche
A phrase or opinion that is overused and betrays a lack of original thought
every cloud has a silver lining
He has his tail between his legs.
First Person Narrative
A first-person narrative is a mode of storytelling in which a storyteller recounts events from their own point of view using the first person such as “I”, “us”, “our” and “ourselves”.
I opened the window to get some fresh air.
Hyperbole
Exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally.
I’m so hungry I could eat a horse.
She’s as old as the hills.
I walked a million miles to get here
Irony
A state of affairs or an event that seems deliberately contrary to what one expects and is often amusing as a result.
A fire station burns down.
A marriage counselor files for divorce.
The police station gets robbed.
