ULTIMATE Deck Of Literary Devices Flashcards
Alliteration
A repetition of individual consonant sound “Power Point Presentation” “Mad Men” “Pointless Position Points” it gives the effect of emphasis to the words in the speech
Amplification
Repeating a word or expression while adding more detail to it to emphasise it “This orchard, this shady orchard, is the reason I bought this property” It adds extra detail and importance as well as an emotional element to the phrase
Anaphora
The deliberate repetition of a word or phrase “we shall fight, we shall go, we shall repeat” the effect it has is that it highlights feelings of the speaker and shows the importance of the word or phrase
Rhetorical question
A question that does not really need to be answered but is used to give emphasis and to leave the audience thinking
Antithesis
Balancing one word against another, love - hate. It gives the speaker a sense of balance to their comment and enables the listener to understand both sides.
Diacope
Repetition of a word or phrase after an intervening word or phrase. It gives the effect of further emphasis and it shows importance, significance and engages the audience. We will do it I tell you, we will do it!!
Epanalepsis
Repeats the beginning word of a sentence at the end. Our eyes saw it but we could not believe our eyes. It gives strong emphasis and shows you are paying special attention to it.
Epistrophe
Opposite of anaphora, the repetition of the word comes at the end. The reason is stubbed, honestly it’s stubbed, forever are stubbed. It shows emphasis on the last word
Hyperbole
The opposite of understatement. Totally exaggerating. “This is a million times worse.” You can’t use it to exaggerate everything or it will lose its effect
Metaphor
Used to make a relationship between 2 different things to create an image to explain something. Used to create a relationship and to persuade the listener by saying a topic is familiar with something else without using like or as
Syllogism
A type of argument used to get a conclusion from 2 premises. It persuades the listener and emphasises the logic in an argument. It consists of a major premise a minor premise and conclusion. No reptiles have fur, all snakes are reptiles, no snakes have fur.
Zeugma
Linking 2 or more parts of a speech with another example using a semicolon. It is used to show relationships between actions and ideas. Fred excelled at sports; Harvey at eating; Tom with girls.
Repair
Self correction mid sentence (I’m going to the bal, Vanilla cafe)
Tag question
A question converted from a statement eg: it’s nice out, isn’t it? (You’re Helen aren’t you?)
Dialect
Particular form of language which is peculiar to a specific region or social group
Filler
Sounds or words spoken to fill gaps in utterances
Discourse marker
Word or phrase marking a shift in conversation (Anyway, so)
Deixis/Deictic language
A term for pointing words that rely on context to give them meaning (This one here)
Hedge
A word or phrase which softens force before something is said (I hope you don’t mind me saying)
False start
Starting and then restarting an utterance to correct it (Wha (.) that book is mine)
Ellipsis
The missing out of words creating an incomplete construction giving the reader a chance to fill the gaps (Want to go to the cafe?)
Phatic Language
Utterances that have a purely social function (Hi. How are you?)
Adjacency pair
Two halves of an interaction - turn and response (What’s the time? Half past 3)
Vague language
Words without precise meaning (Whatever, sort of, like)
Colloquial language
Informal everyday language (Cool, wicked)
Jargon
Language specific to a certain profession of group
Onomatopoeia
The sounding of a word that can be associated with a sound
Pun
The pun, is a form of word play that suggests two or more meanings
Connotation
An idea or feeling that a word gives you in addition to its primary meaning
Denotation
The literal or primary meaning of the word in contrast to feelings or ideas that the word suggests
Declarative
A declarative sentence is used to convey information or make statements
Pragmatics
Pertaining a practical point of view or consideration
Complex sentence structure
A sentence that has an independent clause as well as a dependent clause. e.g. Though he was very rich, he was still very unhappy.
Simple sentence structure
A sentence that only has one clause. e.g. “A man walks to the station”
Consonance
Refers to repetition of sounds produced by consonants within a sentence or phrase eg: pitter, patter
Assonance
Two (plus) words close to one another that repeat the same vowel sound (weak and weary)
Abstract noun
A noun denoting an idea, quality, or state rather than a concrete object
Symbol
Something used for or regarded as representing something else
Grammatical Utterance
Incomplete sentence or word
Concrete noun
A noun which can be identified through someone’s senses such as touch, sight, smell. For example a phone is a concrete noun, you can touch it, feel it.
Modal verb
An auxiliary verb that expresses necessity or possibility. English modal verbs include must, shall, will, should, would, can, could, may, and might.
Varied sentence length
A comparison of the visual and literal structure of two sentences
Syntax
The arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences in a language.
Ambiguity
Doubtful need or uncertainty of meaning or intention
Chiasmus
When two or more clauses are balanced against each other by the reversal of their structures in order to produce an artistic effect “I am not what I am” The second half is inverted grammatically and logically
Epithet
Describes a thing or person in a way that makes their characteristics more permanent than they actually are
Irony
The use of words to convey the opposite of their literal meaning for the purpose of ridicule
Leitmotif
(Leading motive) - the theme associated throughout a literary work WITH A CERTAIN CHARACTER, EVENT, or EMOTION
Paradox
A statement which though appears to be self contradictory, nevertheless involves truth (your enemy’s friend is your enemy)
Parallelism
Similarity of syntactical structure of successive phrases, clauses, or sentences
Rhythm
The measured flow of words and phrases, A strong, regular repeated pattern of movement or sound.
Synecdoche
A part of something which represents the whole (calling a car “wheels”)
Satire
Use of ridicule, irony, sarcasm for the purpose of exposing some moral or social vice
Synesthesia
A technique when writers present ideas, characters, or places in a manner that they appeal to more than one sense at a time (loud colours, frozen silence, bitter cold, ocean blue)
Anachromism
An error of chronology or timeline in a literary piece - anything that is out of time and out of place
Foreshadowing
When a writer gives an advance hint as to what is to come later in the story
Dramatic irony
When a situation is understood by an audience but not grasped by the characters
Aphorism
A brief sentence or phrase that expresses an opinion or makes a statement of wisdom. (All the world’s a stage, all we learn from history is that we learn nothing from history)
Denouement
The solution, clarification, or unravelling of the plot of a piece of writing. The unwinding of the action
Oxymoron
When apparently contradictory terms appear in conjunction (the same difference)
Personification
A figure of speech in which a thing, an idea or an animal is given human attributes. The non-human objects are portrayed in such a way that we feel they have the ability to act like human beings. For example, when we say, “The sky weeps”
Extended metaphor
A comparison between two unlike things that continues throughout a series of sentences in a paragraph or lines in a poem.
Temporal connective
Am expression which relates an event to a point or interval in time “as soon as”
Caesura
Pause in a line of poetry that is formed by the rhythums of natural speech rather than by metrics
Climax
The particular point in a narrative when the conflict or tension reaches its highest point
Malapropism
The use of an incorrect word in place of a similar sounding word that results in a nonsensical and humorous expression
Allegory
A composition which has two levels of meaning. The characters, images, and/or events act as symbols which all can be interpreted to have a deeper meaning. An author may use allegory to illustrate a moral or spiritual truth, or political or historical situation.
Juxtaposition
When two or more ideas, places, characters, actions are placed side by side with a comparing or contrasting effect
Sibilance
Alliteration but with “s” sounds
Enjambment
One line moving to the next without a terminating punctuation mark
Symploce
Figure of repetition that combines Anaphora and Epistrophe in which the first and last word or words in one phrase, clause, or sentence are repeated in one or more successive phrases, clauses, or sentences; repetition of the first and last words in a clause over successive clauses.
Simile
The comparison of one thing to another using like or as
Allusion
in which the writer or refers either directly or indirectly to a person, quote, event, or thing in history or to a work of art or literature.
Bathos
A ludicrous descent from the elevated to the commonplace
Motif
Object or idea that repeats itself through the piece
Repetition
When the same words or phrases are repeated a few times to make an idea clearer
Prose
Written or spoken language in its ordinary form, without metrical structure
