Literary Terms Flashcards
Alliteration
A repetition of the same consonant sound at the beginning of closely connected words.
“Sally sells seashells by the seashore”
Allusion
a reference to a person, event, or thing from history, literature.
“He was a real Romeo with the ladies.”
Aside
A character’s dialogue spoken directly to the audience, unheard by other characters.
“But, soft! What light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun.”
Couplet
a pair of lines of poetry that rhymes.
“Good night! Good night! Parting is such sweet SORROW / That I shall say good night till it be MORROW.”
Dramatic irony
A situation where the audience knows something that the characters in a story do not.
In the play Romeo and Juliet, the audience knows that Juliet is not really dead, but Romeo does not and kills himself.
Foreshadowing
Hints or clues in a story that suggest future events.
, “A pair of star-cross’d lovers take their life.” This hints at the fact that Romeo and Juliet will both die.
Free verse
Poetry without a regular rhyme or rhythm.
“The fog comes on little cat feet. It sits looking over harbor and city on silent haunches and then moves on.”
Hyperbole
Exaggerated statements not meant to be taken literally.
“I’ve told you a (million times) not to get bad grades.”
Imagery
Descriptive language that helps create a mental picture in the reader’s mind.
“The river, reflecting the clear blue of the sky, sparkled and flowed peacefully.”
Irony
A contrast between expectation and reality. often for humorous or dramatic effect.
“I just love standing in the rain without an umbrella,” said sarcastically by someone who is clearly unhappy about getting wet
Metaphor
A comparison of two unlike things for effect. NOT USING LIKE OR AS
“Life is a journey, enjoy the ride.”
Meter
The rhythm of a poem, created by the pattern of syllables.
“To be or not to be, that is the question.”
Monologue
A speech given by one person in a play or movie.
“Oh, what a rogue and peasant slave am I!”
Onomatopeya
Words that imitate sounds.
“The buzzing bee flew past my ear.”
Oxymoron
Combine Two contradicting(opposite) words creates a unique meaning or effect.
Jumbo shrimp
Pretty ugly
Awfully good
Personification
giving human qualities to non-human things.
“The wind howled in the night.”
Pun
Play on words, often with a humorous effect
“Why did the tomato turn red? Because it saw the salad dressing.”
Rhymes
Words that have the same sound at the end of their syllables.
“I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream.”
Simile
A comparison of two unlike things using “like” or “as”.
“She is as hot as the sun”
Soliloquy
a speech given by a character alone on stage, revealing their thoughts and feelings.
“To be or not to be, that is the question”
Sonnet
A poem that have 14 lines and have a specific rhyme and meter.
“Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate.”
(Sonnet 18) by William Shakespeare
Stanza
A paragraph in a poem
“I wandered lonely as a cloud That floats on high o’er vales and hills, When all at once I saw a crowd, A host, of golden daffodils; Beside the lake,
Symbol
An object or idea that represents something else.
Dove is a symbol of peace
4leaf clover symbol of luck
