Literary devices Flashcards
allusion
a bread reference to a place, person or event
cliche
an expression that is overused
e.g it’s easy as pie or its raining cats and dogs
Colloquialism
a word or expression used in everyday conversation but is not formal language
e.g I’m gonna go there or what bout that?
diction
the choice of words chosen to express an idea
e.g I really despise her or I love that thing
first person narrator
when a story is told in a single person’s point of view
foreshadowing
indications of future events in the plot
hyperbole
a literary device in which exaggeration is used deliberately for effect
imagery
description and figures of speech that create pictures in the mind of the reader
irony
when the intended meaning of a statement differs from the interpreted meaning
metaphor
a word or expression that literally means one thing but is standing for another without comparison
onomatopoeia
the use of a word having a sound that suggests it’s meaning
e.g splash, boom, pow, bang
pathetic fallacy
when the weather in the text mimics the mood or events
personification
giving human feelings or characteristics to non human objects
rhetorical question
a question that is asked but not meant to be answered; used for dramatic effect
simile
two distinctly different items are compared by using “like” or “as”
