Style Devices Flashcards
A comparison between two distinctly different things using the words “like”
or “as
Simile
: an implied comparison between two different things, e.g, “a heart of
stone
Metaphor
an inanimate object or an abstract concept is spoken of as if it
were given human characteristics
Personification
A device which hint or warns of events to happen later in the story; prepares the
reader for any changes in character, for the climax, etc
Foreshadowing
audience knows something that one or more characters do not
Dramatic Irony
the reader experiences the opposite of what is expected
Situational Irony
statement in which the implied meaning is different from what is
said.
Verbal Irony
A writer’s choice of words. It can include (formal/informal, abstract/concrete, jargon,
monosyllabic/polysyllabic)
Diction
Used to emphasize character, mood or theme by projecting one character, one
setting or one point of view against another
Contrast
Emphasizing details or mannerisms help to identify specific characters. Heightens dramatic effect of an object; symbolic value may deepen reader’s
insight into theme
Repition
Sympathetic sorrow evoked for a character; engages the reader’s emotions and
helps reader to identify with a character
Pathos
Designed to amuse, create enjoyment, point out absurdities of life; based on
what a character says and does or how the character looks
Humour
Narratives or scenes which may be justified as a memory, a daydream, or a
confession by one of the characters. Represents events that happened before the point at which the literary work opened
. A flashback is not a reflection; it must be a scene that is dramatized
Flashback
Representations of the setting, dialect, customs, dress, and ways of thinking and
feeling which are characteristics or a particular region, culture, group, etc
Local Colour
A person, place, or thing that represents something beyond itself
Symbol
