literary devices

alliteration

repetition of initial consonant sounds within a group of words

onomatopoeia

word that imitates, suggets, or resembles the sound its describing

foreshadowing

advance warning about something that’s going to happen in the future

hyperbole

exaggeration that is not meant to be taken literally

oxymoron

figure of speech where seemingly contradictory terms appear together

flashback

scene set in an earlier time than the main story

point of view

perspective of which the story is told from

euphemism

polite way of describing something indirectly eg. they passed away

colloquialism

word or phrase that’s not formal or literary; tends to be used in ordinary or familiar conversation instead

personification

give human traits, emotions, or intentions to non human creatures or things

anaphora

rhetorical device where you repeat a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses

anachronism

chronological inconsistency where you juxtapose people, things, or sayings from different time periods eg. colonial americans talking about cars

figurative language

language that is colorful, evocative, or dramatic to engage readers

dramatic irony

irony that occurs when an audience understands the context more than the character in a story

verbal irony

when a person says one thing but means another

figure of speech

any word or phrase that’s used in a non-literal sense to create a dramatic effect

metaphor

figure of speech that compares two different things in an interesting way

similie

figure of speech that compares two different things in an interesing way usually “like” or “as”

metonymy

figure of speech in which a thing or concept is referred to by the name of something closely associated with that thing or concept eg. that car hit me

aphorism

concise statement of a general truth or principle eg. if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it

rhetorical question

question asked for effect and not asked for an answer

consonance

repeat consonant sounds through a particular word of phrase

assonance

repeating vowel sounds

epistrophe

repetition of the same word or words at the end of successive phrases, clauses, or sentences

word choice

the author’s choice of words for a particular phrase

repetition

the repeating of a word or phrase