Literary Devices Flashcards
Metaphor
Implies a comparison
Simile
Comparison (like than)
Personification
Human characteristics given to inanimate objects
Paradox
Self-contradictory statement that may prove to be true
Pun
A humorous play on words
Pathetic Fallacy
Human emotion is reflected in nature
Synecdoche
Wheels to represent a car
Oxymoron
Self-contradictory back to back
Hyperbole
An over exaggeration
Allusion
An indirect reference the audience is expected to know
Rhetorical question
A question not meant to be answered
Anaphora
Repeating the same word at the beginning of successive phrases
Epiphora
Repeating the same word at the end of successive phrases
Polysyndeton
Repeating conjunctions (not, or, and)
Balance
Two balanced words or phrases
Antithesis
Contrasting ideas for effect (opposites)
Chiasmus
Balance but in reverse
Parallelism
…running, cycling, and swimming
..because they.. because they… because …
Verbal irony
A contrast between what is said and what happens
Dramatic irony
When the audience knows more than the character
Situational irony
A fire station burning down in a fire
Alliteration
Same letters/sounds at the beginning of close words
Assonance
Repetition of vowel sounds
Consonance
Repetition of consonant sounds
Onomatopoeia
Words that describe the sound of something (splat, splutter, zoink)
