English literary terms

Foreshadowing (Prolepsis)

A hint about what will happen later.

Flashback (Analepis)

Going back to something that happened earlier.

Figurative speech

Words that are not meant literally. (I’m dying of laughter)

Figure of speech

A way of using words to make something more expressive. (She is a shining star)

Metaphor

Saying something is something else.

"Time is money."

Simile

Comparing things using like or as.

"She is as brave as a lion."

Motif

Something that appears repeatedly in a story and has meaning.

A bird appears often to represent freedom.

Allegory

A story that has a hidden, deeper meaning.

A story about animals representing politics.

Hyperbole

Making something sound bigger or more extreme than it is.

"I've told you a million times!"

Oxymoron

Two opposite words placed together.

"Deafening silence."

Alliteration

Words close together starting with the same sound.

"Peter Piper picked peppers."

Onomatopoeia

A word that sounds like the noise it describes.

"Boom!" or "Buzz!"

Euphemism

A nicer way of saying something unpleasant.

"Passed away" instead of "died."

Colloquialism

Informal language used in everyday conversations.

"Gonna" instead of "going to."

Anthropomorphism

Giving animals or objects human qualities.

A talking dog wearing clothes.

Anachronism

Something that doesn't belong in a certain time period.

A medieval knight using a smartphone.

Dramatic Irony

The audience knows something a character doesn't.

We know there's a monster behind the door, but the character doesn't.

Verbal Irony

Saying the opposite of what you actually mean.

"Great weather!" during a storm.

Rhetorical Question

A question that doesn't need an answer.

"Who doesn't want to be happy?"

Epigraph

A short quote at the beginning of a book or chapter.

A famous quote before Chapter 1.

Dedication

A message saying who a book is written for.

"To my mother, with love."