Literary devices Flashcards
alliteration
when initial consonant sounds in neighboring words repeat
allusion
a reference to an historical event or another literary work
anthropomorphism
when something that isn’t human becomes human.
assonance
when vowel sounds in neighboring words repeat.
cliché
a phrase that is overuse and lacks creative thought.
connotation
implied meaning of a work by what’s suggested by a word
consonance
repetition of final consonant sounds in neighboring words.
denotation
the dictionary definition of a word.
flashback
when old events become related after later events.
foreshadowing
hinting things to come in a story
hyperbole
great exaggeration used for rhetorical effect
hypophora
a question is asked and then immediately answered.
imagery
term used to describe an author’s visual images or sounds
juxtaposition
the act of setting something side by side
metaphor
a comparison of two unlike objects
mood
the emotional response that a work creates
onomatopoeia
the use of words that imitate the sound they refer to
ontogenetic metaphor
when a character goes through stages in the life cycle.
oxymoron
when two contradictory words as juxtaposed
paradox
a statement that seems contradictory but is true
parallelism
a similar repeated grammatical structure
personification
when objects or animals are given human traits.
rhetoric
the art of writing or speaking persuasively
rhetorical question
a question asked for effect rather than to get an answer
sarcasm
It is the use of irony to show contempt.
simile
a comparison using like or as
tricolon
a rhetorical device that uses three items
understatement
when a writer minimizes the importance of something
