Literary Devices Flashcards
polysyndeton
conjunctions between clauses
asyndeton
no conjunctions between clauses
synecdoche
whole represented by parts / parts represented by whole
metonymy
naming something via its attributes
caesura
a short break IN POETRY (-)
end-stopped poetry
pause @ end of line
enjambment
pause @ middle, run-on ideas
epithet
using a quality to describe the actual thing
euphemism
nice way of saying something bad
juxtaposition
contrasting ideas, side-by-side
Italian/Petrarchan sonnet
octave (situation, question) + volta (turn) + sestet (solution)
English/Shakespearean Sonnet
quatrains + rhymed couplet
colloquialism
vernacular, slang
telegraphic sentences
concise sentences with 5 words or less
parentheses
used to show personality
direct address
addressing the reader
irony
something with 2 levels of meaning
verbal irony
something stated other than what is expected
rhyme/meter
accentuates what you’re trying to say
syllogism
transitive property, with words
scansion
counting syllables to assign rhyme and meter
foil
a lesser character that draws out characteristics of a main character
analogy
expression of a relationship between 2 objects
double entendre
a word or phrase with 2 meanings