Literary Terms & Devices Flashcards
Allegory
story or poem in which characters, settings, and events stand for other people or events or for abstract ideas or qualities
Alliteration
repetition of the same initial consonant sound of words that are close in proximity
Allusion
reference to someone/something that is known from history, literature, religion, politics, sports, science, or another branch of culture; an indirect reference to something, usually from literature
Analogy
comparison made between two things to show how they are alike
Ambiguity
deliberately suggesting two or more different, and sometimes conflicting, meanings in a work
Anaphora
a deliberate repetition of a word, phrase, or clause at the beginning of two or more sentences in a row to help make the writer’s point more coherent
Anastrophe
inversion of the usual, normal or logical order of the parts of a sentence in order to create rhythm, emphasis or euphony
Anecdote
brief story, told to illustrate a point or serve as an example of something, often shows character of an individual
Antagonist
opponent who struggles against or blocks the protagonist in a story; not always a human
Antimetabole
a figure of speech in which words or clauses from the first half of a sentence are repeated in the second half of the sentence in reverse order, (“fair is foul and foul is fair”)
Antithesis
figure of speech in which a thought is balanced with a contrasting thought in parallel arrangement (e.g it was the best of times, it was the worst of times; Keep your mouth closed and your eyes open; Speech is silver, but silence is gold. Keep your friends close and keep your enemies closer)
Antihero
Central character who lacks all the qualities traditionally associated with heroes. may lack courage, grace, intelligence, or morality (Jay Gatsby, Deadpool)
Anthropomorphism
A type of personification where human characteristics are attributed to an animal; fables almost always use this literary technique (the tortoise and the hare, Mickey & Minnie Mouse)
Aphorism
A brief, cleverly worded statement that makes a wise observation about life or of a principle or general truth (e.g “the journey of a thousand miles begins with one step -Lao Tau; “He who hesitates is lost.” “Easy come, easy go.” “The early bird gets the worm.” “ ‘Tis better to have loved and lost/ than never to have loved at all.”) also known as maxim or epigram
Apostrophe
calling out to an imaginary, dead, or absent person, or to a place or thing, or a personified abstract idea as if they/it can hear you or answer you; if the character is asking a deity or supernatural power for help or inspiration, it is called invocation (e.g. “O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?” Juliet believes she is alone and addresses Romeo, thinking that he is absent.)
Assonance
the repetition of similar vowel sounds of words that are close proximity; usually only recognized in verse (e.g. “His tender heir might bear his memory”, No pain, no gain - Repetition of the /ai/ vowel sound)
Asyndeton
commas used without conjunction to separate a series of words, thus emphasizing the parts equally (e.g. “are all thy conquests, glories, triumphs, spoils/ Shrunk to this little measure?” “I came, I saw, I conquered.”
Cacophony
the usage of several unharmonious or dissonant sounds in a line or passage; include the explosive consonants k, t, g, d, p and b, and the hissing sounds ch, sh and s; this is the opposite of euphony, (e.g. “to be, or not to be: that is the question/ Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer/ The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,/ Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,/ And by opposing end them? To die: to sleep,” “Klarissa Klein drives an old, grumbling Cadillac which has a crumpled bumper and screaming, honking horn.”
Caesura
a pause for effect in the middle of a line of poetry, usually marked with a period, dash or semi-colon, (e.g. “And I - I took the road less travelled by,” “To be, or not to be — that is the question”
