Literary Techniques Flashcards
(23 cards)
Alliteration
The repetition of the same consonant sound in word occurring near one another
Ex/ peter piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.
Assonance
The repetition of similar vowel sounds in words that are close together
Ex/ go and mow the lawn
Allusion
An indirect reference to a famous historical or literary fugue or event
Ex/ If it doesn’t stop raining, I’m going to build an ark
Connotation
The various feelings, images, and memories that surround a word
Ex/ Thrifty vs penny pincher
Foreshadowing
The use of hints or clues that suggest what will happen later in literature
Imagery
When a writer uses that 5 senses go create feelings.
Ex/ The smell reminded him of rotting tomatoes
Dramatic Irony
A situation with in which the reader/ audience knows something that characters do not.
Ex/ In Romeo and Juliet when Romeo thinks Juliet is dead, the audience knows she’s not.
Verbal irony
A statement in which the meaning that a speaker implies differs sharply from the meaning that is expressed.
Situational Irony
When the characters are in a situation you would not expect
Ex/ a fire station burned down
Metaphor
A comparison of two unlike thinks without using the words ‘like’ or ‘as’.
Ex/ She was a mother hen
Onomatopoeia
A word that imitates a sound
Ex/ crash, boom, crunch
Oxymoron
Two opposite terms
Ex/ Jumbo shrimp
Personification
Giving human qualities to an object or animal
Ex/ the cat laughed
The news paper headline glared at me
Motif
An incident, device, reference, or formula which occurs frequently in works of literature.
Ex/ Daggers in Macbeth
Repetition
When you repeat something like a phrase or word several times. Typically close together to emphasize a particular idea
Simile
When you compare using ‘like’ or ‘as’
Ex/ He ran like a cat
Symbolism
When you use an object or action that means something more than its literal meaning
Ex/ Pink- fight against breast cancer
Paradox
Reveals something which is true, but at first may seem contradictory
Ex/ he was a brave coward
Hyperbole
An obvious exaggeration or overstatement
Ex/ I’m so hungry I could eat a horse
Idiom
An expression with a meaning different from the literal meaning of the words
Ex/ I got cold feet before my speech
Euphemism
A polite wad of saying a word or phrase that may be very direct or harsh.
Ex/ pass away- large
Cliché
An overused expression that has lost its power or origionality from overuse.
Ex/ quiet as a mouse
Pun
A play on words, often having double meanings.
Ex/ when a clock is hungry it goes back four questions
