Honors Literary Terms in Julius Caesar Study Guide

Personification

giving human traits to non-living objects

Imagery

descriptive language that appeals to the senses

Dramatic Irony

events not known to the characters are known to the readers

Verbal Irony

presents a contrast between what is actually said and what is intended

Hyperbole

the use of great exaggeration or overstatement for emphasis

Symbolism

something which has its own meaning but is used to represent another abstract meaning

Simile

a comparison between two seemingly unlike things using like or as

Anachronism

something that is misplaced in a story because it is out of time

Allusion

a brief reference to a person, place, thinking, or idea of historical, cultural, literary, or political significance

Onomatopoeia

the use of words to imitate natural sounds they describe

Metaphor

a comparison between two seemingly unlike things which implies one thing is another

Pun

a joke exploiting the different possible meanings of a word or group of words that sound alike but have different meanings

Juxtaposition

two or more ideas, places, characters, etc. are placed side by side to develop comparisons and contrasts

Anaphora

the deliberate repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of several successive verses, clauses, or paragraphs

Alliteration

The repetition of the same consonant sound at the beginning of several words in neighboring sequence

Parallel Structure

the repetition of the same pattern of words and phrases within a sentence or passage to show that two or more ideas have the same level of importance

Aside

words spoken to the audience or perhaps to another character while other characters are on stage. The other characters pretend to not hear and the audience gets to listen in on the thoughts

Monologue

a speech or verbal presentation by a single character in order to his or her collection of thoughts and ideas aloud

Soliloquy

Discourse by a person who is talking to him/herself or who is disregardful of any hearers present

Apostrophe

a sudden turn from the general audience to address a specific group, person, or personified abstraction which may be present or absent