Literary Devices—Techniques and Elements Flashcards
Flashcards to aid in your understanding of literary Devices- Techniques and Elements
Alliteration
The repetition of consonant sounds within close proximity, usually in consecutive
words within the same sentence or line.
“the slippery snake slithered past the slippery slide.”
Anthropomorphism:
Where animals or inanimate objects are portrayed in a story as people,
such as by walking, talking, or being given arms, legs and/or facial features. (This technique is
often incorrectly called personification.)
Example: The King and Queen of Hearts and their playing-card courtiers.
Blank verse: Non-rhyming poetry, usually written in iambic pentameter.
Non-rhyming poetry, usually written in iambic pentameter.
Example: Much of Shakespeare’s dialogue is written in blank verse, though it does occasionally rhyme.
Dialogue:
Where characters speak to one another; may often be used to substitute for exposition.
Example: “We were engaged once, weren’t we?”
Dramatic irony:
Where the audience or reader is aware of something important, of which the
characters in the story are not aware.
Example: Macbeth responds with disbelief when the weird sisters call him Thane of Cawdor; ironically,
unbeknownst to him, he had been granted that title by king Duncan in the previous scene.
Figurative language:
Any use of language where the intended meaning differs from the actual
literal meaning of the words themselves. There are many techniques which can rightly be called
figurative language, including metaphor, simile, hyperbole, personification, onomatopoeia,
verbal irony, and oxymoron. (Related: figure of speech)
Foreshadowing:
Where future events in a story, or perhaps the outcome, are suggested by the
author before they happen. Foreshadowing can take many forms and be accomplished in many
ways, with varying degrees of subtlety. However, if the outcome is deliberately and explicitly
revealed early in a story (such as by the use of a narrator or flashback structure), such
information does not constitute foreshadowing.
Hyperbole:
Hyperbole: A description which exaggerates.
The author uses hyperbole to describe Mr. Stevens, calling him “the greatest human being ever
to walk the earth.”
Iambic pentameter:
Iambic pentameter: Poetry written with each line containing ten syllables, in five repetitions of
a two-syllable pattern wherein the pronunciation emphasis is on the second syllable.
Imagery:
Language which describes something in detail, using words to substitute for and create
sensory stimulation, including visual imagery and sound imagery. Also refers to specific and
recurring types of images, such as food imagery and nature imagery
Irony:
Where an event occurs which is unexpected, and which is in
absurd or mocking opposition to what is expected or appropriate. See also Dramatic irony;
Verbal irony
Metaphor
A direct relationship where one thing or idea substitutes for another.
Shakespeare often uses light as a metaphor for Juliet; Romeo refers to her as the sun, as “a rich
jewel in an Ethiop’s ear,” and as a solitary dove among crows.
Onomatopoeia:
Where sounds are spelled out as words; or, when words describing sounds
actually sound like the sounds they describe
Oxymoron:
A contradiction in terms.
Romeo describes love using several oxymorons, such as “cold fire,” “feather of lead” and “sick
health,” to suggest its contradictory nature
Paradox:
Where a situation is created which cannot possibly exist, because different elements of it cancel each other out.
