Literary Terms and Devices

Question 1

Acrostic

Answer 1

An acrostic is a piece of writing in which a particular set of letters—typically the first letter of each line, word, or paragraph—spells out a word or phrase with special significance to the text. Acrostics are most commonly written as a form of poetry, but they can also be found in prose or used as word puzzles.

Question 2

Allegory

Answer 2

An allegory is a work that conveys a hidden meaning—usually moral, spiritual, or political—through the use of symbolic characters and events. The story of “The Tortoise and The Hare” is a well-known allegory with a moral that a slow and steady approach (symbolized by the Tortoise) is better than a hasty and overconfident approach (symbolized by the Hare).

Question 3

Alliteration

Answer 3

Alliteration is a figure of speech in which the same sound repeats in a group of words, such as the “b” sound in: “Bob brought the box of bricks to the basement.” The repeating sound must occur either in the first letter of each word, or in the stressed syllables of those words.

Question 4

Allusion

Answer 4

In literature, an allusion is an unexplained reference to someone or something outside of the text. Writers commonly allude to other literary works, famous individuals, historical events, or philosophical ideas, and they do so in order to layer associations and meanings from these sources onto their own work. Allusions can also occur in media other than literature, such as film, visual arts, or even casual conversation. If you’ve ever responded to betrayal with a dramatic cry of “Ettu, Brute?” (“You too, Brutus?”), then you’ve made an allusion—to a famous line from Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar.

Question 5

Anachronism

Answer 5

An anachronism is a person or a thing placed in the wrong time period. For instance, if a novel set in Medieval England featured a trip to a movie-theater, that would be an anachronism. Although the device can be used for many different purposes, authors often use anachronisms to make it easier for audiences to relate to other historical periods, or to add an element of humor and surprise to a story

Question 6

Anadiplosis

Answer 6

Anadiplosis is a figure of speech in which a word or group of words located at the end of one clause or sentence is repeated at or near the beginning of the following clause or sentence. This line from the novelist Henry James is an example of anadiplosis: “Our doubt is our passion, and our passion is our task.”

Question 7

Analogy

Answer 7

An analogy is a comparison that aims to explain a thing or idea by likening it to something else. For example, a career coach might say, “Being the successful boss or CEO of a company is like being an orchestra conductor:
just as the conductor needs to stand up front where everyone—even the musicians in the back row—can see him, a good CEO needs to make sure he or she is visible and available to all of the company’s employees.” The career coach is not saying that CEOs are exactly like orchestra conductors in every way. Rather, comparing CEOs to conductors through analogy allows the coach to articulate an important leadership quality in a memorable way.

Question 8

Anapest

Answer 8

An anapest is a three-syllable metrical pattern in poetry in which two unstressed syllables are followed by a stressed syllable. The word “understand” is an anapest, with the unstressed syllables of “un” and “der” followed by the stressed syllable, “stand”: Un-der-stand.

Question 9

Anaphora

Answer 9

Anaphora is a figure of speech in which words repeat at the beginning of successive clauses, phrases, or sentences. For example, Martin Luther King’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech contains anaphora: “So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania…”

Question 10

Antagonist

Answer 10

An antagonist is usually a character who opposes the protagonist (or main character) of a story, but the antagonist can also be a group of characters, institution, or force against which the protagonist must contend. A simple example of an antagonist is the Queen in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, who opposes and wants to destroy Snow White.

Question 11

Antanaclasis

Answer 11

Antanaclasis is a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is repeated within a sentence, but the word or phrase means something different each time it appears. A famous example of antanaclasis is Benjamin Franklin’s statement that: “We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately.” In this example, the first time “hang” appears it means
“stay” or “stand,” while the second time it refers to being “hanged.”

Question 12

Anthropomorphism

Answer 12

Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human characteristics, emotions, and behaviors to animals or other non-human
things (including objects, plants, and supernatural beings). Some famous
examples of anthropomorphism include Winnie the Pooh, the Little Engine
that Could, and Simba from the movie The Lion King.

Question 13

Antimetabole

Answer 13

Antimetabole is a figure of speech in which a phrase is repeated, but with the order of words reversed. John F. Kennedy’s words,
“Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your
country,” is a famous example of antimetabole.

Question 14

Antithesis

Answer 14

— Antithesis is a figure of speech that juxtaposes two contrasting or opposing ideas, usually within parallel grammatical structures. For instance, Neil Armstrong used antithesis when he stepped onto the surface of the moon in 1969 and said, “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.” This is an example of antithesis because the two halves of the sentence mirror each other in grammatical structure, while together the two halves emphasize the incredible contrast between the individual experience of taking an ordinary step, and the extraordinary progress that Armstrong’s step symbolized for the human
race.

Question 15

Aphorism

Answer 15

An aphorism is a saying that concisely expresses a moral principle or an observation about the world, presenting it as a general or universal truth. The Rolling Stones are responsible for penning one of the most catchy aphorisms of all time: “You can’t always get what you want.” Aphorisms are often (though not always) witty or humorous, and they’re used everywhere, from philosophical texts and great works of literature, to pop songs and everyday conversation

Question 16

Aphorismus

Answer 16

Aphorismus is a type of figure of speech that calls into question the way a word is used. Aphorismus is used not to question the
meaning of a word, but whether it is actually appropriate to use that word in a particular situation. For instance, in Shakespeare’s Richard II, King Richard asks “How can you say to me I am a king?” as a way of expressing that, although he is technically a king, he doesn’t feel he actually possesses the qualities of a king and that therefore perhaps the word should not apply to him.

Question 17

Aporia

Answer 17

Aporia is a rhetorical device in which a speaker expresses uncertainty or doubt—often pretended uncertainty or doubt—about something, usually as a way of proving a point. An example of aporia is the famous Elizabeth Barrett Browning poem which begins, “How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.” Browning’s pretense that she might not remember all “the ways” is what gives her an opportunity to enumerate them.

Question 18

Assonance

Answer 18

Assonance is a figure of speech in which the same vowel sound repeats within a group of words. An example of assonance is: “Who gave Newt and Scooter the blue tuna? It was too soon!”

Question 19

Asyndeton

Answer 19

An asyndeton (sometimes called asyndetism) is a figure of speech in which coordinating conjunction —words such as “and”, “or”, and “but” that join other words or clauses in a sentence into relationships of equal importance—are omitted. The use of asyndeton can speed up the rhythm of a phrase, make it more memorable or urgent, or offer other stylistic effects. For instance, take the sentence: “I expect my dog to chew my pillows, my cat to claw my furniture.” Here, the writer omits the “and” from between “pillows” and “my”. This omission transforms the sentence from one that merely states what the pets often do, to one that implies exasperation as well as a fatalistic sense that the pets’ actions are inevitable and unchangeable.