Literary Terms Flashcards
Allegory
A story within a story. A surface story with another story hidden underneath ex. two neighbors are throwing rocks at each other homes, but the hidden story is war between countries
Alliteration
words that begin with the same sound are placed close together. Repetition of sounds ex. Phillip’s feet
Allusion
A reference to something else. Mentioning some other work, or referring to the earlier part of the current work ex. Alluding to a bible story or Greek myth
Anaphora
when a certain word or phrase is repeated at the beginning of clauses or sentences that follow each other ex. “I am sick and tired of you letting me down. I am sick and tired of your attitude, and I am sick and tired of you doing such silly things”
Anastrophe
Changing the usual order of words or clauses. Out of order sentence. ex. “excited the children were when Santa entered the room”
Antithesis
The opposite of a statement, concept, or idea. Statements where one reverse the other. ex. “keep your friends close and your enemies closer”
Apostrophe
A speaker directly addresses someone (or something) that is not present or cannot respond ex. “O Romeo O Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo”
Assonance
Repetition of the same or similar sounds within words, phrases, or sentences ex. “She sEEms to bEAm rays of sunshine in her eyes of grEEn”
Asyndeton
Skipping one or more conjunctions (and, or, but, for, nor, so, yet) ex. “We went to the park, played on the jungle gym, ran around, had a picnic… that was about it”
Chiasmus
You say one thing, and then you say something very similar but flipped around ex. “Living simply so others might simply live”
Conceit
Unconventional, logically complex, or surprising metaphor that are more intellectual. An extended metaphor ex. “A broken heart is like a damaged clock”
Consonance
The same consonant sound appears repeatedly in a line or sentence, a rythmic effect. ex. “Are you asKing me to Come up with eXamples of Consonance? I’ll seeK it out in lyriCs and booKs”
Diction
word choice or phrasing in any written or spoken text. Literally the words ex. “Hello, young lady.”
Dramatic Irony
When the audience knows something the character doesn’t ex. Everyone on the Titanic thinks it’s unsinkable, but we know it isn’t
Ethos
Element of argument and persuasion through which a speaker establishes their credibility and knowledge ex. Anything the speaker says or does to ensure that the audience knows and remembers these qualifications
Euphemism
polite, mild phrases that substitute unpleasant ways of saying sad or uncomfortable ex. “She’s a curvy woman”
Figurative Language
words or phrases that are meaningful, but not literally true ex. An athlete is doing a good job, you say “you’re on fire”
Foreshadowing
giving signs or hints about the future it usually does not directly give away the outcome, but it suggests it. ex. “She finds her keys, gets in the car and begins backing out of the driveway, and then slams on the breaks “I feel like I’m forgetting something’ she says “
Hyperbole
purposely and obviously exaggerating to an extreme ex. “She’s going to die of embarrassment”
Imagery
figurative and metaphorical language to improve the readers experience through their senses ex. “The night was blocked as ever, but stars lit up the sky”
Litotes
An understatement in which a positive statement is expressed by negating its opposite ex. Not bad, not bad at all.”
Logos
Appeal to the senses of reason and logic ex. “All men are mortal, my dad is a man”
Metaphor
Makes a comparison by directly relating one thing to another unrelated thing ex. “The football player is really putting the players on his back this evening”
Meter
A regular pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables that defines the rhythms of some poetry ex. “Twas the night before Christmas when all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse”
Metonymy
replaces words with related or associated words ex. “the pen is mightier than the sword”
Onomatopoeia
words that sounds like what they describe ex. BOOM! POW! WHOOSH! BAM!
Oxymoron
puts together opposite elements ex. “organized mess”, “controlled chaos”, “same difference”
Paradox
A statement that contradicts itself. More sophisticated than an oxymoron ex. “Nobody goes to Murphy’s bar anymore… it’s too crowded”
Parallel Construction
words or phrases are written in the same form ex. “my dog not only likes TO play fetch but he also likes TO chase cars”
Pathos
the appeal to emotion ex. “A bag of chips can bring the whole family together”
Personification
Describing an inatimate object, abstract thing, or non-human animal with human characteristics ex. “That piece of chocolate cake is calling my name”
Perspective (POV)
what the character or narrator telling the story can see ex. any book you read ever
Polysyndeton
uses multiple repetitions of the same conjunctions. ex. “And we’re going to Oregon and Washington and Michigan, etc”
Repetition
repeating a word or phrase ex. “Breathe, breathe, breathe, i told myself”
Rhyme
words whose endings match ex. Spy, fly bat, hat pit, mit
Simile
A metaphor using “like” or “as” ex. “He’s as thin as a rail”
Situational Irony
A striking reversal of what is expected or intended. ex. A fire station burning down
Symbol
Any image or thing that stands for something ex. Poseidon is a symbol for the sea
Syndeton
Two conjuncts are joined by a conjunction ex. “I will have eggs and ham”
Synechdoche
Allows a part to stand for a whole or vice versa ex. “All hands on deck”
Syntax
the way words are put together to make phrases ex. Subject + verb + direct object “Jill hit the ball”
Theme
Central idea, topic, or part of a story, essay, or narrative ex. Danger of excessive pride
Verbal Irony
A person says/writes one thing but means another. ex. “Just what I needed” after spilling coffee on themselves
