Literary Devices Flashcards
1
Q
Hook
A
what grabs the reader’s attention
2
Q
Theme
A
statement of meaning (complete sentence; not one word)
3
Q
Thesis
A
statement of what the author attempts to prove
4
Q
Verbal Irony
A
gap between what is said and what is meant
5
Q
Pathos
A
sympathy created by writing devices
6
Q
Metaphor
A
implied comparison
7
Q
Symbol
A
making something stand for something else
8
Q
First person narrative
A
telling a story from “I” or “we” point of view
9
Q
Simile
A
comparison using “like” or “as”
9
Q
Personification
A
giving human traits to something which is not human
10
Q
Resolution
A
tie-up at the end of the story
10
Q
Complication
A
even which sends the plot in a new direction
11
Q
Third person narrative
A
telling a story from “he”, “she”, “it”, or “they”
12
Q
Characterization
A
methods by which character traits of fictional people are suggested (flat, dynamic, etc.)
13
Q
Foreshadowing
A
hint of future occurrences
13
Q
Rising action
A
series of events leading towards a climax
14
Q
Persona
A
put-on or assumed personality
14
Q
Anachronism
A
placing a person, thing or event out of its correct time or period
15
Q
Setting
A
time and place of the action
16
Q
Anti-hero
A
main character who nevertheless displays no traditional noble virtues
17
Q
Sarcasm
A
saying the opposite of what you mean, intending to wound the target
18
Q
Leitmotif
A
a recurring word, image, or theme that unifies a literary work
19
Q
Wit
A
surprise in language or idea
20
Q
Aside
A
remark made by a stage character which others on stage do not hear
21
Soliloquy
speech made by character alone on the stage
22
Comic relief
amusing material inserted in serious plays
23
Catharsis
purging of emotions like pity and fear
24
Monologue
speech by one person
25
Drama
a literary form designed for the theatre
26
Dramatic irony
situation in which the audience knows more than at least one character
27
Tragic hero
person in a drama with good and bad traits who falls from a high position
27
Rhyming couplet
a pair of rhymed lines, usually showing end of act or scene
28
Hamartia
error of judgment or tragic flaw which leads to downfall of a tragic hero
29
Hubris
pride which leads to fall
30
Protagonist
main character in play, novel, or other work
31
Exposition
type of writing in which the writer explains, informs or persuades
32
Plot
sequence of plot events
33
Rhetorical question
question to which the answer is obvious and implied
34
Paragraph hook
device in topic sentence of paragraph connecting new topic to what has gone on before
35
Tone
the speaker’s or writer’s attitude to audience, character or material
36
Genre
a literary form such as a play, novel, poem, etc
37
Pun
a play on words
38
Anecdote
a brief, illustrative, usually humorous narrative
39
Atmosphere
a feeling the writing creates by words, symbols, setting
39
Contrast
juxtaposition of two elements to emphasize their differences
40
Allegory
a story in which characters and events have a continuing underlying message
40
Satire
critical writing which holds society up to ridicule in order to improve it
41
Citing authority
referring to important people to support ideas
42
Denotation
the primary dictionary definition of a word
43
Connotation
the felt meaning of a word, what it suggests
44
Allusion
a brief reference to something
45
Diction
choice of words for a particular purpose
46
Alliteration
repetition of initial consonants in a sequence of words
47
Imagery
sensual mind-pictures created by author’s words, something forming clusters when similes/metaphors are repeated
48
Rhythm
recognizable pattern in the beats or stresses in poetry
49
Poetic license
poet’s freedom to depart from strict rules of grammar, style, fact
50
Oxymoron
two words side by side but opposite in meaning
51
Paradox
apparently contradictory, but true upon closer inspection
52
Onomatopoeia
meaning of a word is suggested by its sound
53
Pathetic fallacy
natural phenomena seem to respond emotionally to human situations
54
Juxtaposition
placing side by side
55
Rhyme
regular occurrence of similar sounds, usually at the ends of lines
56
Euphony
use of sweet sounds to create a pleasant effect
57
Cacophony
use of harsh sounds to create an unpleasant effect
58
Iambic pentameter
pattern of stressed/unstressed syllables repeated 5 times in a line of poetry
59
Lyric
usually short, non-narrative poem showing single speaker, in presence of another, delivers a speech which becomes a poem
60
Ballad
song-like narrative
61
Sonnet
14 line poem with a problem and a solution
62
Stanza
grouping of lines into a verse paragraph
63
Anti-climax
let-down of expectations at the end of a build-up
64
Parable
story containing deep, moral truth
65
Allusion
(historical, literary, Biblical) a figure of speech that refers to an historical, Biblical, literary or topical figure, event or object
- it is direct
- it taps the knowledge and memory of the reader to get an
emotional effect for an association already in the reader's mind
66
Analogy
an extended metaphor (comparison of two things)
67
Antithesis:
a figure of speech characterized by strongly contrasting words, clauses, sentences or ideas; balances one term against the other for emphasis
68
Citing authority
attempting to prove something by the endorsement of a 'higher power' (religious, government, law enforcement, an expert)
69
Colloquialism
an expression used in informal conversation but not accepted universally in formal speech or writing (between formal and slang)
70
Connotative language
language with emotional implications, either private, group or general in nature
71
Direct address
directing comments to the reader
72
Euphemism
a figure of speech in which indirectness replaces directness of statement; usually in an effort to avoid offensive bluntness in a subject involving delicacy or taboo
73
Exaggeration
to make something seem greater than it actually is; to overstate
74
Figurative language
similie, metaphor, personification
75
Humour
the quality of anything that is funny or appeals to the comic sense
76
Inversions
the placing of a sentence element out of its normal position to gain emphasis or give poetic effect
77
Irony
the recognition of a reality different than appearance
78
Loose sentence
a sentence grammatically complete at some point before the end
79
Parallelism
the arrangement of parts of a sentence, sentences, paragraphs and larger units of composition such that one element of equal importance with another is similarly developed and phrased. Coordinate ideas have coordinate presentation.
80
Periodic sentence
a sentence not grammatically complete before its end; its construction throws the mind forward to the idea that will complete its meaning; holds idea in suspense before final revelation
81
Repetition
the repeating of a key word or phrase to give emphasis and rhythm
82
Sarcasm
a form of verbal irony which, disguised as praise, is a bitter expression of strong personal disapproval
83
Rhetorical question
a question used for its rhetorical effect and not requiring a reply.
- used in persuasion
- the question is obvious and only one answer is possible
- deeper impression is that speaker is making a direct statement
84
Sentence structure
using loose and periodic sentences; using abnormal word order; a variation of the subject-verb-object sentence pattern
85
Sentence variety
length - using short and long sentences; kind - using simple, compound, complex, compound-complex sentences to gain variety in prose
86
Statistics
quantitative data, pertaining to a subject or group, especially when systematically gathered and collated
87
Typography
the style and appearance of printed matter
