Unit 7 Devices Flashcards
Anaphora
The repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses
Epistrophe
The repetition of a word at the end of successive clauses or sentences
Symploce
Use of anaphora and epistrophe
Amplification
Adding more detail to a piece of writing for it to become stronger or emphasized
Adnomination
Creates a certain effect by repeating words with the same root word
Zeugma
A figure of speech in which a word applies to others in different senes (John and his license expired last week)
Repetition
Repeating words for an effect
Assonance
Repetition of vowel sounds in words of close proximity for a musical effect
Alliteration
Repetition of beginning consonant sounds
Homonym
Words that sound or spelt alike but have different meaning
Chiasmus
words or phrases are repeated in reverse order for emphasis
Ex:
“Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.”
Parallelism
Similar grammatical structures for balance
Ex: Easy come, easy go
Antithesis
A rhetorical device that contrasts two opposing ideas or concepts in a parallel manner
Ex: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.”
Idiom
A phrase or expression that has a figurative meaning different from its literal interpretation.
Ex: “Break a leg!”
Allusion
A brief or indirect reference to a person, place, event, or work of art, which relies on the reader’s familiarity
Foreshadowing
A literary device in which the author hints or suggests future events or outcomes in a story
Flashback
A device to depict an event or scene that occurred before the current time in the story
Apostrophe
Addressing absent or imaginary subjects
Metaphor
A figure of speech that makes a comparison between two unlike things
Metonym
Word for related concept
Simile
A figure of speech that directly compares two unlike things using “like” or “as” or “than”
Synecdoche
Part representing whole or vice versa
Ex: Pizza representing food
Symbolism
Using symbols for deeper meaning.
Hyperbole
A figure of speech that involves exaggeration for emphasis or dramatic effect
Oxymoron
Combining contrasting words for effect.
Example: “Living dead”
Paradox
Contradictory yet revealing truth.
Ex: Less is more
Personification
Giving human traits to non-human things
Mood
Emotional tone or atmosphere
Tone
Authors attitude or perspective
Diction
word-choice
Syntax
Word arrangement and structure
POV
narrator perspective
Plot
Sequence of story events
Setting
story’s time, place, and atmosphere
Character
Individual in a story
Punctuation
marks used in writing for clarity
Stanza (form)
Group of lines in a poem
Foot
Basic unit of rhythm in poetry (stressed an unstressed syllables)
Meter
Rhythmic pattern in poetry (basic plural version of foot)
Enjambment
sentence continuance across lines in poetry
Caesara
Line pause or break
