Literary Devices - KAP English 1

Allusion

A reference to a well-known person, place, event, literary work, or work of art

Characterization

Way a writer creates and develops characters' personalities

Direct Characterization

The author directly states a character's traits

Indirect Characterization

Author subtly reveals the character through actions and interactions

Connotation

All the meanings, associations, or emotions that a word suggests

Denotation

Dictionary definition of a word

Euphemism

An indirect, less offensive way of saying something that is considered unpleasant

Figurative Language

A form of language use in which writers and speakers convey something other than the literal meaning of their words.

Foil Character

A character who acts as a contrast to another character

Hyperbole

Truth is exaggerated for emphasis or humorous effects

Dramatic Irony

Audience is aware of something that the characters in the story are not awarer of

Situational Irony

The exact opposite of what is meant to happen, happens; when an outcome is contrary to what is expected

Verbal Irony

When something is said, but the opposite is meant

Juxtaposition

Two things being seen or placed close together with contrasting effect

Motif

Object or idea that repeats itself throughout a literary work

Oxymoron

A figure of speech that combines opposite or contradictory terms in a brief phrase

Paradox

Seemingly contradictory or absorb statement that may nonetheless suggest an important truth

Pun

Joke comes from a play on words that are identical or similar in sound but have sharply different meanings; used for serious or comic effect

Imagery

Writing that appeal to the readers sense of sight, hearing, touch, smell, and taste

Theme

Underlying message about life or human nature that the writer wants the reader to understand

Rising Action

Events leading up to the climax

Climax

Most exciting moment of the story; turning point

Falling Action

the part of a literary plot that occurs after the climax has been reached and the conflict might have been resolved

Foreshadowing

the use of hints and clues to suggest what will happen later in a plot

Flashback

a scene in a movie, novel, etc., set in a time earlier than the main story.

Setting / Historical Milieu

The time and place of a story

Tone

Attitude a writer takes toward the audience, a subject, or a character

Mood

How the reader feels about the text while reading.

First Person POV

a character in the story is actually telling the story himself/herself

Third Person Omniscient POV

Point of view in which an all-knowing narrator who is privy to the thoughts and actions of any or all characters.

Third Person Limited POV

the narrator focuses on the thoughts and feelings of only one character

Anecdote

A short “personal” story told within a text to evoke emotion from the reader and help prove the author’s point

Stock Character

Typical characters that we see in common stories and movies

Epiphany

A sudden realization or awareness that allows someone to see things in a new light

Satire

A technique used by writers to expose and criticize a flaw in society/humanity through the sue of humor, irony, or exaggeration

Symbolism / Symbols

A word or phrase that represents something else

Diction

Style of speaking or writing, determined by the choice of words of a speaker or writer

Simile

Using “like” or “as” to directly compare two things

Metaphor

Develops an implicit comparison without the use of “like” or “as” by substituting one word for another phrase

Synecdoche

A type of metaphor in which a part is substituted for the whole

Personification

A thing, an idea, or an animal is given human attributes

Apostrophe

Talking directly to something that is not alive (object, idea, person)

Alliteration

Repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of several words

Irony

A difference between appearance and reality

In Media Res

Starting a novel in the middle of the action

Linear Plot

Events in a story are portrayed in the order in which they occur

Nonlinear Plot

Events in a story are not portrayed in the order that they occurred; may include flashbacks or an in media res beginning

Syntax

Sentence structure

Ellipsis

Omit part of a quote

Anaphora

The deliberate repetition of the first part of a sentence

Antithesis

Two opposite ideas are put together in a sentence to achieve a contrasting effect

Polysyndenton

Repetition of conjunctions in close succession for rhetorical effect

Asyndenton

The omission of conjunctions

Parallelism

The use of components in a sentence that are grammatically the same or similar in their construction, sound, or meter