language devices

allegory

a story that is used to represent a more general message about real life issues and events (historical)

allusion

when an author makes an indirect reference to a figure place event or idea from outside the text

anaphora

when a word or phrase is repeated at the beginning of multiple sentences

personification

giving human characteristics to something inanimate

assonance/consonance

repetition of vowel sound/ repitition of consonant sounds

ambiguity

when a text/phrase lacks a clear and singular interpretation

colloquialism

the use of informal language and slang

epistrophe

when a word is repeated at the end of successive statements

euphemism

when a more mild or indirect word or expression is used in place of another

simile

a comparison using like or as

metaphor

a direct comparison (no like/as)

alliteration

repetition of starting sounds

onomatopoeia

words that sound like their meaning (“bang”, “crash”)

rhetorical question

question not meant to be answered

caesura

pause in the middle of a line

hyperbole

an exaggeration

oxymoron

two opposite words together

paradox

statement that seems contradictory

motif

repeated idea or image

semantic field

a group of related words

pathetic fallacy

weather reflecting emotions