Literary Techniques Flashcards
What is a simile?
A simile compares two things using the words ‘like’ or ‘as’.
Example: ‘Her smile was as bright as the sun.’
What is a metaphor?
A metaphor directly compares two things without using ‘like’ or ‘as’.
Example: ‘The classroom was a zoo.’
What is personification?
Personification gives human qualities to non-human things or ideas.
Example: ‘The wind whispered through the trees.’
What is alliteration?
Alliteration is the repetition of the same consonant sound at the beginning of words in a sentence or phrase.
Example: ‘Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.’
What is onomatopoeia?
Onomatopoeia is the use of words that imitate sounds.
Example: ‘The clock ticked loudly.’
What is hyperbole?
Hyperbole is an exaggerated statement not meant to be taken literally.
Example: ‘I have a million things to do today!’
What is irony?
Irony occurs when something is the opposite of what you expect.
Example: ‘A fire station burns down.’
What is an allusion?
An allusion is a reference to another work of literature, person, or event.
Example: ‘He’s a real Romeo with the ladies.’ (Allusion to Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’)
What is foreshadowing?
Foreshadowing gives hints or clues about what will happen later in the story.
Example: ‘The dark clouds hinted at the storm coming.’
What is mood in literature?
Mood is the feeling or atmosphere the author creates in the story.
Example: ‘The spooky house made everyone feel nervous.’
What is a euphemism?
A euphemism is a mild or indirect word or expression used to replace a harsher or more direct one.
Example: ‘He passed away’ instead of ‘He died.’
What is anthropomorphism?
Anthropomorphism gives human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities, often used for animals or objects.
Example: ‘The talking animals in cartoons are often examples of anthropomorphism.’
What is an understatement?
An understatement is a figure of speech where something is presented as being smaller, worse, or less important than it really is.
Example: ‘It’s just a scratch’ (when referring to a large dent on a car).
What is anaphora?
Anaphora is the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses or sentences.
Example: ‘I have a dream that one day… I have a dream that one day…’ (from Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech).
What is an allegory?
An allegory is a story or narrative in which characters and events symbolize larger themes, such as moral or political ideas.
Example: ‘George Orwell’s ‘Animal Farm’ is an allegory of the Russian Revolution.’
What is juxtaposition?
Juxtaposition is the placement of two things side by side for comparison, often to highlight their differences.
Example: ‘In the novel, the rich and the poor characters were juxtaposed to show the disparity between their lives.’
What is an oxymoron?
An oxymoron is a figure of speech that combines two contradictory or opposite words to create a paradoxical effect.
Example: ‘Bittersweet’ or ‘jumbo shrimp.’
What is a paradox?
A paradox is a statement that appears to contradict itself but may contain a truth.
Example: ‘Less is more.’
“I can resist anything except temptation.” – This means that a person might be really good at resisting things, but they can’t resist the thing they want the most.
“This statement is false.” – If the statement is true, then it must be false, but if it’s false, then it must be true. It doesn’t seem to make sense at first, right?
What is a pun?
A pun is a play on words that have multiple meanings or sound similar but have different meanings, often used for humor.
dad jokes
the duck said to the bartender, put it on my bill. grammar lovers have a lot of comma sense
What is synecdoche?
Sin-ect-a-kee
shortcut
figure of speech in which a part represents the whole or the whole represents a part.
Example: ‘All hands on deck’ (where ‘hands’ refers to people).
What is metonymy?
met-on-am-ee
“meta-name”—a different name for something related to it!Metonymy is a figure of speech in which one thing is replaced with the name of something closely related.
“The White House issued a statement today.”
“The White House” represents the President or government.
What is chiasmus?
cai-as-mes
Mirrors the other part.
But antitheis is “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” — Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities
Here, the opposites best and worst are contrasted to show the extremes.
“Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.” — John F. Kennedy
What is an apostrophe in literature?
Apostrophe is a figure of speech in which the speaker addresses someone or something that isn’t present or is unable to respond.
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William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar
- “O Julius Caesar, thou art mighty yet!”
- Here, Brutus speaks to the dead Caesar as if he can hear him.
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William Shakespeare, Macbeth
- “Is this a dagger which I see before me, the handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee!”
- Macbeth talks to a vision of a dagger, even though it isn’t real.
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John Milton, Paradise Lost
- “O loss of sight, of thee I most complain!”
- The speaker talks to “loss of sight” like it’s a person.
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William Wordsworth, London, 1802
- “Milton! Thou shouldst be living at this hour: England hath need of thee.”
- Wordsworth talks to the long-dead poet John Milton.
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Emily Dickinson, Because I Could Not Stop for Death
- “Death – He kindly stopped for me – The Carriage held but just Ourselves – And Immortality.”
- Dickinson treats “Death” like a person who can stop and give her a ride.
What is an anachronism?
An anachronism is something that is placed in the wrong time period.
Example: ‘A character in a Shakespearean play using a cell phone.’
