Literary Devices Flashcards
(27 cards)
Imagery
Representing or appealing to the 5 senses
Dictation
choice of words
Alliteration
series of words beginning with the same letter
Assonance
repetition of vowel sounds
Eg: “And the gulls scream over the beach”
Consonance
repetition of constant sounds
Eg: “the mistress of the Mississippi”
Euphony
pleasant flowing sounds
Eg: “Softly as the cloud we go”
Cacophony
Harsh unpleasant sounds
Eg:“a grotesque mask of death, with hands like claws about his begging bowl”
Onomatopoeia
the suggesting or reproduction of the meaning of a word through
Eg:“hiss, moan, gurgle”
Figurative Language
the imaginative use of words to imply more than their literal meaning.
Smilie
a stated comparison using “like” or “as”
Eg:“My love is like a red, red rose.”
Metaphor
an implied or suggested comparison, not using “like” or “as”
Eg: “The road was a ribbon of moonlight.”
Personification
giving an inanimate object human qualities
Eg:“night arrived” “The trees lifted their stark limbs in petition.”
Symbol
an object which stands for another
Eg:maple leaf = Canada
colours – red = love, war, passion, death
Oxymoron
apparently contradictory terms appear in conjunction
Eg: bittersweet, living death, deafening silence
Techniques
method of presentation
Irony
saying one thing but meaning the opposite
e.g. “You’re a bright boy!” when the tone of voice suggests he’s not.
Satire
lending criticism and humor
e.g. “All handsome hunting men
Fire your little gun . . . . . . Oh what fun!”
Pun
a play on words based on the similarity of sounds between two words with different meaning
e.g. “Would you like some cheese for your whine (wine)?”
Hyperbole
extreme exaggeration (usually clichés) e.g. “rolling in money”
Cliché
an expression that has been used so often that it has become
meaningless.
e.g. “better late than never,” “last but not least”
Rhyme
repetition of similar or identical sounds in the end-stressed syllables of words.
e.g. “Ah, distinctly remember, it was in the bleak
December.”
(middle and end rhyme)
Rhythm
the pattern produced by accented and unaccented syllables.
Mood
the emotional tone or feeling of the poem - sad, bold, happy, bitter, etc.
Form
arrative - tells a story
lyric - tells of the poet’s personal feelings
free verse - no regular rhyme or rhythm.
sonnet - fourteen-line poem (Shakespeare wrote many)
