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Aphorism
A short statement of general truth, insight, or good advice Ex. If the shoe fits, wear it.
Ambiguity
An idea or situation that can be understood in more than one way Ex. I went out in the woods and found a bat (the animal or the sports equipment?)
Anachronism
When an idea, object, fashion, technology is in the wrong time Ex. People in a Medieval movie call 911.
Analogy
When two unrelated objects are compared for their shared qualities Ex. Photosynthesis does for plants what digestion does for animals.
Anastrophe
When a writer rearranges normal word order to create a new effect. Ex. He looked down at his worn and blistered feet. VS. He looked down at his feet, worn and blistered.
Blank Verse
Poetry written in unrhymed but metered lines Ex. "It is not nor it cannot come to good, / But break, my heart, for I must hold my tongue."
Chiasmus
When words, grammatical constructions, or concepts are repeated in reverse order. Ex. 'Poetry is the record of the best and happiest moments of the happiest and best minds.
Cliche
A scenario or expression that is overused Ex. He did not like the gift, but it is the thought that counts.
Allegory
A story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one. Ex: The Lorax is an example of an environmental allegory.
Allusion
An implied or indirect reference especially in literature, typically historical, mythological, literary, or religious references Ex: Chocolate cake is my Achilles heel.
Anaphora
Repetition at the beginning of a sentence or phrase. Ex. I'm sick and tired of gov. I'm sick and tired of calc. I'm sick and tired of lit.
Anecdote
A very short story that is significant to the topic at hand. Ex. Discussing a topic and a person continues the conversation with "I remember this one time..."
Antimetabole
When the words in the first half of a sentence are inverted in the second half of the sentence. Ex. When the going gets tough, the tough gets going.
Antithesis
Opposing statements or ideas written with similar grammatical structures to show contrast. Ex. That's one small step for man
Anti-hero
A protagonist or main character who does not embody traditional heroic qualities. Ex. Jay Gatsby in the Great Gatsby
Antagonist
The opposite of the protagonist (usually, but not always, a villain)
Ex. Tom Buchanan in the Great Gatsby
Apostrophe
A speech or address to a person who is not present
Ex. "Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?"
Assonance
The repetition of the same or similar vowel sound within words, phrases, or sentences
Ex. She seems to beam rays of sunshine with her eyes of green.
Cacophany
A combination of loud and harsh sounding words.
Ex. "Beware the Jabberwock, my son! The jaws that bite, the claws that catch! The frumious Bandersnatch!"
Caesura
A break or pause in the middle of a line or verse
Ex. "to be, || or not to be — that is the question"
Catharsis
A device used to simulate a release of emotions
Ex. The completely avoidable deaths of Romeo and Juliet
Climax
The highest point or peak of a story
Ex: Harry Potter's confrontation with Professor Quirrel
Comic Relief
Literary device used to introduce light entertainment in between tragic scenes. A sense of relief that makes a tragedy less tragic.
Ex: Olaf in Frozen
Conceit
A comparison that is improbable. Similar to a simile or metaphor but is different because the degree of the comparison between the two things is so unlikely
Ex. A broken heart is like a damaged clock
Conflict (External)
External A struggle between the main character and an outside force Ex. Harry Potter vs Voldemort
Conflict (Internal)
A struggle between the main character and their mind
Ex. Depression
Connotation
A meaning that is implied by a word apart from the thing which it describes explicitly
Ex. "She is a dove at heart." Dove conotates sweetness and peacefulness.
Consonance
Repetition of a consonant sound
Ex. Cats can crack Conner's car
Couplet
Two consecutive lines in poetry that have a rhyme and the same meter
Ex. For sweetest things turn sourest by their deeds;Lilies that fester, smell far worse than weeds.
Denotation
A literal dictionary definition. An objective word with no emotion
Ex. The only thing we have to fear is fear itself
Deus Ex Machina
An implausible concept or divine character is introduced to the story to resolve conflict and produce an interesting outcome
Ex: A character fell off a cliff and a flying robot suddenly appeared out of nowhere to catch them
Dramatic Irony
A literary and theatrical device in which the reader or audience knows more than the characters they are following.
Ex: In Romeo and Juliet, the reader knows that Juliet's "poison" is actually an elixir that will make her appear dead, but Romeo doesn't know that.
Dynamic Character
A dynamic character is one who changes significantly throughout the story
Ex: Dynamic-ebemnezer scrooge
Static Character
A static character is a type of character who remains largely the same throughout the course of the storyline
Static-atticus finch
Direct Characterization
Direct characterization is when an author describes a character in a straightforward manner as if telling the reader directly
Ex: Old man Humphrey never liked children
Elegy
An elegy is a sad poem, usually written to praise and express sorrow for someone who is dead
Ex: Fugue of Death by Paul Celan
Enjambment
Enjambment is the continuation of a sentence or clause across a line break
Ex: "I went out and / Lost my way,"
Epiphany
The moment when a character is suddenly struck with a life-changing realization which changes the rest of the story”
Epithet
A descriptive literary device that describes a place, a thing, or a person in such a way that it helps in making its characteristics more prominent than they actually are. Also, it is known as a "by-name," or "descriptive title."
\n Ex: "The earth is crying-sweet"
Epistrophe
Stylistic device that can be defined as the repetition of phrases or words at the ends of the clauses or sentences
Ex: "Where Now? Who Now? When Now?"
Euphenism
Figure of speech commonly used to replace a word or phrase that is related to a concept that might make others uncomfortable
Ex: Put to sleep (euthanize)
Euphony
Use of words and phrases that are distinguished as having a wide range of noteworthy melody or loveliness in the sounds they create (repeated vowels/consonants)
Ex: "Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness"
Falling Action
Occurs right after the climax, when the main problem of the story resolves its loose ends, and leads toward the closure
Ex: "The falling action of Romeo and Juliet begins following rising action and climax, which is reached when the lovers are killed. Then the parents and Prince discover the bodies of two lovers, and they agree to put aside their animosity in the best interest of peace."
Figurative Language
Go beyond the literal meanings of the words to give readers new insights and appeal to the senses of the readers
Ex: "He has learned gymnastics, and is as agile as a monkey." (simile metaphor alliteration etc)
Flat Character
Type of character in fiction that does not change too much from the start of the narrative to its end
Ex: Jafar from Aladdin
Flashback
Device used in stories, films, television episodes, etc., that interrupts the flow of the plot to "show" readers/viewers an event that happened previously
Ex: In all the light we cannot see it starts with Werner stuck in a collapsed building or whatever and then we get a flashback to his childhood
Foil
Literary device designed to illustrate or reveal information, traits, values, or motivations of one character through the comparison and contrast of another character
Ex: "in Frankenstein, Mary Shelley utilizes the creature as a foil for his creator, Victor Frankenstein. Frankenstein isolates himself from others to pursue his obsession with creating a living being and then he abandons his creation and all responsibility. The creature Frankenstein creates searches for companionship and connection with others as a result of his creator's rejection and abandonment, leading to violence and destruction."
Foreshadowing
Indicate or hint to readers something that is to follow or appear later in a story
Ex: "What could possibly go wrong?"
Hyperbole
Creates heightened effect through deliberate exaggeration Ex: I'm so hungry that I could eat a horse
Imagery
Evoke a sensory experience or create a picture with words for a reader by utilizing effective descriptive language
Ex: The autumn leaves are a blanket on the ground.
Internal Rhyme
Metrical lines in which its middle words and its end words rhyme with one another
Ex: "Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary"
Inversion
Also known as "anastrophe," is a literary technique in which the normal order of words is reversed, in order to achieve a particular effect of emphasis or meter.
Ex: "What a beautiful picture it is!"
Irony (Verbal)
Speaker speaks something contradictory to what he intends to say.
Ex: "Today was a very cold and bitter day, as cold and bitter as a cup of hot chocolate if the cup of hot chocolate had vinegar added to it and were placed in a refrigerated for several houts
Irony (Situational)
Form of irony in which something takes place that is different or the opposite of what is expected to happen
Ex: A dentist with severe tooth decay
Juxtaposition
Two entities side by side to create dramatic or ironic contrast
Ex: good and evil
Litotes
Utilizes negative wording or terms to express a positive assertion or statement
Ex: "The novel is not bad"
Lyric Poem
The poet either expresses his feelings and emotions through a character in first person. It is a private and personal expression of a person. It is based on music with a good rhyme scheme and metrical pattern. It is categorized into three major types, vision, thought, and emotions
Metaphor (Implied)
Device used in prose and poetry to compare two unlikely things, with common characteristics without mentioning one of the objects of comparison
Metaphor (Extended)
Comparison between two, unlike things that continue throughout a series of sentences in a paragraph, or lines in a poem. It is often comprised of more than one sentence and sometimes consists of a full paragraph.
Metaphor (Dead)
A figure of speech that readers or listeners are so familiar with that it ceases to surprise or conjure an image in their minds, thereby becoming ineffective as an actual metaphor
Ex: "head over heels"
Metaphor (Mixed)
The linking of two or more disparate elements, which can result in an unintentionally comic effect produced by the writer's insensitivity to the literal meaning of words or by the falseness of the comparison
Ex: Its not rocket surgery,its not brain surgery
Metonymy
One object or idea takes the place of another with which it has a close association
Ex: "I need to decide if I will go Greek in college next year."
Mood
Emotional response that the writer wishes to evoke in the reader through a story
Motif
An object or idea that repeats itself throughout a literary work
Motivation (of a character)
Defined as a reason behind a character's specific action or behavior. (intrinsic and extrinsic)
Objective POV
The narrator is not involved in the action of the story
Omniscient POV
While the narration outside of any one character, the narrator may occasionally access the consciousness of a few or many different characters
Onomatopoeia
Word that sounds like what it refers to or describes
Ex: "Boom"
Oxymoron
A figure of speech that combines opposite or contradictory terms in a brief phrase.
Ex: Pretty ugly
Paradox
A statement that seems self-contradictory or absurd but in reality expresses a possible truth
Parallelism
Repetition of grammatical elements in writing and speaking. Parallelism influences the grammatical structure of sentences but can also impact the meaning of thoughts and ideas being presented.
Ex: "No pain, no gain"
Paraphrase
Express an idea or somebody's message in our own words, by maintaining the meaning of the original material
Ex: "Every Sunday morning, Tammy's grandmother bakes fresh apple pie" → "Tammy's grandma makes apple pie ever Sunday."
Personification
Idea or thing is given human attributes and/or feelings or is spoken of as if it were human
Ex: "The sun smiled down on us."
Plot
(Exposition, Rising Action, Climax, Resolution/ Denouement)
Exposition
the beginning
Rising action
events leading up to the climax
Climax
the turning point of the plot
Resolution/denouement
the conclusion to tie up any loose ends
1st person
A character in the story is the narrator
3rd person
An outside viewer is narrating the story
Pun
A literary device that plays on words
Ex. DENIAL IS A RIVER IN EGYPT
Quatrain
A four lined poem that must have a rhyme scheme
Refrain
A verse, line, set, or group of lines at the end of a stanza
Repetition
Intentionally using a word in a phrase two or more times
Ex. time after time
Rhetorical Question
A question asked for the effect
Ex. Are you stupid?
Round Character
Character that changes throughout the story
Ex: Harry Potter
Satire
Using humor or exaggeration to criticize something
Ex. Alice in wonderland criticizes uperclass intellectualism with humor
Setting
Time, place, situation
Ex. Plot takes place in a family house in southern California in 1959
Simile
Compares two things using "like" or "as"
Ex. The man was running like a cheetah
Soliloquy
A speech given by a character in a play who is either alone on stage or everyone else is silent
Stanza
Group of lines formed together in a paragraph
Stream of consciousness
An attempt to capture the natural flow of a character's thoughts and feelings
Ex. vivid descriptions, looking into the character's psychological state
Symbol
Something that represents or stands for something else
Ex. heart is symbol for love
Synecdoche
Uses a part of something to represent a whole
Ex. "Hired hands" instead of "workers"
Syntax
Arrangement of words in a sentence
Ex. Jack went to the store
Theme
Universal lesson explored in a text
Ex. Power corrupts humanity
Tone
Writers attitude towards a text
Ex. Ironic, modest, condescending
Tragedy
Genre of literature that explores human suffering and downfall
Ex. Romeo and Juliet
Understatement
To make something smaller or lesser than it really is
Ex. When describing an intense flooding event: it rained a bit more than usual.
Indirect Characterization
Indirect characterization shares details through a character's actions, dialogue, or internal monologue.
Ex: Old man Humphrey stiffened the moment the child came close. "Get out of here!" he snapped abruptly.