Shakespeare Literary Devices Flashcards
Alliteration
Repetition of the same initial consonant sound throughout a line of verse.
Allusion
A reference to a person, place, thing, event, or other literary work that the reader is presumably familiar with.
Apostrophe
A speaker directly addresses someone or something that isn’t present or cannot respond in reality, like an imaginary/dead person, an inanimate object like the stars and ocean, or a being such as God.
Aside
Remark of comment directed to the audience that is not heard by other characters on stage.
Chiasmus
Two corresponding pairs are arranged in parallel inverse order. “…to weep at joy than to joy at weeping.”
Dramatic irony
Where the audience knows more than a character does.
Malapropism
Use of words where a word is misused or replaced by another similar-sounding word.
Metaphor
Comparing two things without using like or as.
Monologue
A long, uninterrupted speech given in the presence of other characters that can also be heard by them.
Pun
A humorous play on words.
Simile
Comparing two things using like or as.
Soliloquy
A speech given by a character to the audience that other characters can’t hear.
