Rhetorical Devices and Literary Terms for English Literature

anaphora

Repetition of a word, phrase, or clause at the beginning of two or more sentences in a row. This is a deliberate form of repetition and helps make the writer's point more coherent.

antithesis

Balancing words, phrases, or ideas that are strongly contrasted, often by means of grammatical structure.

asyndeton

Commas used without conjunction to separate a series of words, thus emphasizing the parts equally: instead of X, Y, and Z... the writer uses X,Y,Z....

apostrophe

calling out to an imaginary, dead, or absent person, or to a place or thing, or a personified abstract idea.

colloquialism

a word or phrase in everyday use in conversation and informal writing but is inappropriate for formal situations

chiasmus

In poetry, a type of rhetorical balance in which the second part is syntactically balanced against the first, but with the parts reversed

didactic

form of fiction or nonfiction that teaches a specific lesson or moral or provides a model of correct behavior or thinking

dynamic character

A character who grows, learns, or changes as a result of the story's action

round character

A round character is a literary character who is complex, multifaceted, and realistic, with a fully developed personality, inner conflicts, and believable motivations that make them seem like a real person.

foil

A character who acts as contrast to another character. Often a funny side kick to the dashing hero, or a villain contrasting the hero

flat character

A character who embodies a single quality and who does not develop in the course of a story

static character

A character that does not change from the beginning of the story to the end

indirect characterization

the author reveals to the reader what the character is like by describing how the character looks and dresses, by letting the reader hear what the character says, by revealing the character's private thoughts and feelings, by revealing the characters effect on other people (showing how other characters feel or behave toward the character), or by showing the character in action

direct characterization

the author tells us directly what the character is like: sneaky, generous, mean to pets and so on. Romantic style literature relied more heavily on this form.

ellipsis

three periods (...) indicating the omission of words in a thought or quotation

enjambment

the continuation of a sentence without a pause beyond the end of a line, couplet, or stanza.

frame device

a story within a story

hyperbole

a figure of speech that uses an incredible exaggeration or overstatement, for effect

irony

a discrepancy between appearances and reality

juxtaposition

poetic and rhetorical device in which normally unassociated ideas, words, or phrases are placed next to one another, creating an effect of surprise and wit.

litotes

is a form of understatement in which the positive form is emphasized through the negation of a negative form

metonymy

a figure of speech in which a person, place, or thing, is referred to by something closely associated with it

motif

a recurring image, word, phrase, action, idea, object, or situation used throughout a work (or in several works by one author), unifying the work by tying the current situation to previous ones, or new ideas to the theme

paradox

a statement that appears self-contradictory, but that reveals a kind of truth

pedantic

characters or writing that are excessively concerned with minor details, formal rules, or academic knowledge, often to the point of being tiresome or arrogant

polysyndeton

sentence which uses a conjunction with NO commas to separate the items in a series. Instead of X, Y, and Z... Polysyndeton results in X and Y and Z

satire

a type of writing that ridicules the shortcomings of people or institutions in an attempt to bring about a change

syllepsis

a rhetorical device where a single word (often a verb or adjective) governs two or more words in a sentence, with different meanings or implications for each

symbol

a person, place, thing, or event that has meaning in itself and that also stands for something more than itself

synecdoche

a figure of speech in which a part represents the whole. "If you don't drive properly, you will lose your wheels." The wheels represent the entire car.

synesthesia

a rhetorical device where sensory experiences are blended, allowing authors to describe one sense in terms of another to create vivid, multi-dimensional imagery and evoke stronger emotional responses in readers