Figures of Speech and Literary Devices

Flashcards covering essential figures of speech, literary devices, sound devices, and poetry types and terms.

Allegory

A story or poem that relies upon symbols to teach a lesson.

Allusion

A reference to something or someone from literature, religious lore, or history.

Apostrophe

To address a person or thing not present as if it were present.

Atmosphere

The emotional feeling created by elements in literature.

Cliche

A familiar word or phrase that is used so often that it is no longer meaningful.

Connotation

The field of associations which surround a word.

Denotation

The exact dictionary definition of a word.

Diction

The use of words in a literary work.

Dramatic irony

When the audience knows something that the character does not.

Situational irony

A contrast between what is expected and what actually happens.

Enjambment

The continuation of a sentence without a pause beyond the end of a line of poetry.

Euphemism

The use of a pleasant-sounding word or phrase to avoid talking about the unpleasant reality.

Extended Metaphor

An implied analogy or comparison that is carried throughout a stanza or entire poem.

Foreshadowing

Indicating or suggesting something before it happens.

Hyperbole

Obvious exaggeration of the facts for comic or serious effect.

Imagery

A description that is used to convey a certain mood.

Juxtaposition

Placing two characters or ideas side by side to highlight their similarities or differences.

Metaphor

A direct comparison between two things not using like or as.

Metonymy

An object is given the name of another thing with which it is associated.

Mood

The emotional atmosphere created by the setting, tone, and style.

Oxymoron

An expression that combines opposite or contradictory ideas.

Paradox

An apparently contradictory statement that has an element of truth.

Personification

Attributing human characteristics to inanimate objects, animals, or ideas.

Pun

A play on words that have similar sounds but different meanings.

Satire

Literature exposing the follies or weaknesses of a person or institution.

Simile

A comparison between two things using like, as, or than.

Symbolism

Something that suggests or stands for something else.

Synesthesia

The merging of two sensory experiences to create an image.

Tone

The author/creator’s attitude towards the subject of his/her writing.

Litotes/Understatement

Saying less about something than is true to minimize the importance.

Alliteration

The repetition of initial sounds in words.

Assonance

Repetition of the same vowel sounds in a line of poetry.

Cacophony

Harsh or unpleasant sounds in literature.

Slant Rhyme

A near rhyme that is not exact.

Internal rhyme

Rhyme that occurs within a line.

End Rhyme

Rhyme that occurs at the end of lines.

Rhythm

The recurrence of stressed and unstressed syllables.

Onomatopoeia

The sound of the word mimics the sound it refers to.

Consonance

Repetition of an interior consonant sound.

Stanza

A grouping of lines in a poem.

Ballad Stanza

A stanza of four lines with a rhyme scheme of ABCB.

Catalog Verse

A technique in poetry used to describe people, things, places, or ideas.

Couplet

A two-line stanza that contains end rhyme.

Quatrain

A four-line stanza that may or may not rhyme.

Meter

Emphasizes the musical quality of the language, each unit is known as a foot.

Sonnet

A type of poem that is typically 14 lines with a specific rhyme scheme.

Tercet

A grouping of three consecutive lines of poetry that may or may not rhyme.