Lesson 7: Hyperbole, Apostrophe, Assonance, Alliteration

Vocabulary flashcards covering key literary terms and distinctions from the lesson on hyperbole, apostrophe, assonance, and alliteration.

Hyperbole

A figure of speech that deliberately exaggerates for vivid imagery, emphasis, or humor (e.g., “Millions of birds cry for help”).

Apostrophe (literary device)

A direct address to someone absent, inanimate, or abstract to evoke emotion or rhetorical effect (e.g., “O fresh air, where are you?”).

Assonance

The repetition of vowel sounds anywhere within nearby words to create musicality (e.g., “seas do gleam… so beautiful they seem”).

Alliteration

The repetition of initial consonant sounds or stressed syllables in close proximity (e.g., “Pearl of the Pacific, a paradise pure”).

Sound Devices

Techniques, such as assonance and alliteration, that poets use to produce specific auditory effects and musical qualities in their writing.

Figures of Speech

Literary expressions (e.g., hyperbole, apostrophe) that convey meaning or effect through non-literal or imaginative language.

Assonance vs. Alliteration

Assonance repeats vowel sounds anywhere in words, while alliteration repeats consonant sounds at the beginnings of words.

Exaggeration (in literature)

A stylistic overstatement used chiefly in hyperbole to intensify description or add humor.