Literary Devices Flashcards
(21 cards)
Alliteration
The repetition of similar sounds, generally at the beginnings of words and usually by means of consonants or consonant sound clusters in a group of words.
Ex. “The willful waterbeds help me thrall / the laving laurel turned the tide.”
Allusion
In literature, this is a reference to another work.
Ex. In the Police song “Wrapped Around Your Finger”, Sting writes, “trapped between the Scylla and Charybdis” in reference to Homer’s Odyssey.
Anecdote
A very short story that is told to make a point.
Assonance
The repetition of vowel sounds in non-rhyming words.
Ex. Hear the mellow wedding bells. – Edgar Allan Poe
Flashback
A scene in a short story, a novel, a narrative poem, or a play that interrupts the action to show an event that happened earlier.
Foreshadowing
The use of hints or clues in a narrative to suggest what action is to come. Writers use foreshadowing to create interest and build suspense.
Hyperbole
Exaggeration of fact used either for serious or comic effect.
Ex. “Her eyes opened wide as saucers.”
Imagery
Refers to the way words create or suggest pictures in the reader’s mind - what we see, hear, smell, feel, or taste.
Ex. “The stunning blue waters sparkled with brilliant clarity.”
Irony
A contrast or an incongruity between what is stated and what is meant or between what is expected to happen and what actually happens.
Verbal Irony
A writer or speaker says one thing and means something entirely different.
Dramatic Irony
A reader’s understanding of events or individuals in a work surpasses that of its characters.
Irony of Situation
The writer shows a discrepancy between the expected result of some action or situation and its actual result.
Metaphor
A comparison that is only suggested or implied, with no clear indication of a relation between the two items.
Ex. “Her face is a wrinkled leaf.”
Motif
A recurring feature, such as a name, an image, or a phrase, in a work of literature. A motif generally contributes in some way to the theme of a short story, novel, poem, or play.
Onomatopoeia
The use of a word in which the sound imitates or suggests its meaning.
Ex. Hiss, clang, snap, buzz.
Oxymoron
A phrase where two or more words are diametrically opposed.
Ex. Sweet sorrow, wise fool, honest thief, short eternity.
Paradox
A statement that reveals a kind of truth, although it seems at first to be self-contradictory and untrue.
Personification
A figure of speech in which something nonhuman is given human qualities.
Ex. “Grey mist on the sea’s face.”
Satire
A kind of writing that holds up to ridicule or contempt the weaknesses and wrongdoings of individuals, groups, institutions, or humanity in general. The aim of satirists is the set a moral standard for society, and they attempt to persuade the reader to set their point of view through the force of laughter.
Simile
An figure of speech comparing to essentially unlike things through the use of words “like” or “as”.
Ex. “My love is like a rose.”
Symbol
Any object, person, place, or action that has a meaning in itself and that also stands for something larger than itself, such as a quality, an attitude, a belief, or a value.
Ex. A rose is often a symbol of love.
