stylistic devises Flashcards
allusion
A reference, sometimes indirect, to a person, place, theory etc. which the reader is assumed to have some knowledge of.
irony
A device where words conveying a meaning different from the apparent meaning are used, sometimes to emphasise a point or a situation.
rhetorical question
This is a literary device used to indicate a question to which no answer is expected.
cliche
A stereotyped expression which is overused, e.g. “the dawn of a new era”.
choice of words
The selection of individual words to create specific effects.
personification
A device whereby an inanimate object is given a human quality. e.g. The coals settled comfortably in the fireplace.
parallelism
A balance of two or more similar words, phrases, or clauses. Parallelisms may also be known as parallel structure or parallel construction
metaphor
A comparison but this time one thing becomes another in every sense, except the literal. There is no “like” or “as” acting as links. e.g. The man was a mountain.
enumeration
list of words connected by a comma. e.g. They had to think of the laws, the consequences, the public, their economy
hyperbole/ exaggeration
The use of intentional hyperbole to create an effect. e.g. … heard thousands of fans beating on the doors, ready to die if they did not set eyes on their idol.
onomatopoeia
A device whereby the sound of the word accords with the meaning. e.g. Splash!
alliteration
e.g. The silken ship sailed silently through the sea.
repetition
The simple repetition of a word, within a sentence or a poetical line, with no particular placement of the words, this is to make emphasis.
register
high/ low (formal or informal language)
simile
A literary device whereby two things are compared to each other, linked by words “as” or “like”. e.g. The litter drifted round the playground like butterflies lost in flight.
