Literary Devices (American Literature CLEP)

Alliteration

Repetition of initial consonant sounds

Allusion

Direct or indirect reference to familiar figure, historical place or event, literature, mythology, etc.

Anaphora

Repetition of words or phrases at beginning of consecutive lines or sentences (ex. "What the hammer? What the chain? / In what furnace was thy brain?")

Anapest / Anapestic Meter

Two unaccented syllables followed by one accented syllable, two short syllables followed by one long syllable (ex. "seventeen")

Apostrophe

Figure of speech in which a person not present is addressed

Assonance

Repetition of similar vowel sounds (usually in stressed syllables) (ex. "Men sell the wedding bells")

Cacophony

Harsh sounds used for poetic effect / words difficult to pronounce

Cliche

Overused expression

Connotation

Emotional suggestions attached to words beyond their strict definitions

Consonance

Repetition of identical consonant sounds before and after different vowels (ex. "Rap rejects my tape deck, eject projectile / Whether Jew or Gentile, I rank top percentile")

Contrast

Comparison/juxtaposition of different things

Couplet

Pair of successive rhymed lines in poetry

Dactyl / Dactylic Meter

One accented syllable followed by two unaccented syllables, one long syllable followed by two short syllables (ex. "different")

Denotation

Dictionary meaning of words

Dissonance

Juxtaposition of harsh jarring sounds in one or more lines

Dramatic Irony

Allowing audience or reader to know something that character in drama or story is unaware of

Epithet

Adjective phrase used to set apart, describe, and typify character, place, or thing

Euphemism

Indirect, less offensive way of saying something considered unpleasant

Euphony

Agreeable sounds easy to articulate--such as long vowels, harmonious consonants ("l, m, n, r," and "f, v"), and soft consonants or semi-vowels ("w, s, y, th, wh") (ex. "Success is counted sweetest / By those who ne'er succeed")

Extended Metaphor

Implied, lengthy comparison between dissimilar or opposite things

Figurative Language

Emphasis of words' connotations to bring insight and feeling to subject

Hyperbole

Exaggeration, overstatement

Iamb / Iambic Meter

Unstressed syllable followed by stressed syllable, short syllable followed by long syllable (ex. "Come live / with me / and be / my love")

Idiom

Term or phrase that refers to figurative meaning understood through common use (ex. "a clean bill of health")

Imagery

Lingual representation of sense experience

Irony

Indication, as through character or plot development, intention or attitude opposite to that actually or ostensibly stated

Jargon

Language specific to particular trade, profession, or group

Juxtaposition / Contrast

Overlapping or mixing of opposite or different situations, characters, settings, moods, or points of view in order to clarify meaning, purpose, or character or to heighten certain moods

Litotes

Understatement in which something is said by denying the opposite (i.e. writing in the negative) (ex. "not bad at all" rather than "good")

Local Color

Specific details describing speech, dress, customs, and scenery associated with particular region or country

Metaphor

Implied comparison between dissimilar or opposite things

Metonymy

Use of closely related idea for idea itself (ex. "crown" for "royalty")

Octave

Eight lines of verse grouped together

Onomatopoeia

Word which imitates the natural sound of a thing (ex. "buzz")

Oxymoron

Combination of contradictory or incongruous terms (ex. "cruel kindness")

Paradox

Statement in which apparent contradiction actually true

Personification

Applying human attributes to animal, object, or idea

Quatrain

Stanza of four lines

Simile

Direct comparison between dissimilar or opposite things

Spondee / Spondaic Meter

Two long syllables, two stressed syllables (ex. "downtown")

Stanza

Group of related lines in a poem forming a division in the poem's structure

Synecdoche

Part of something represents whole or whole of something represents part (ex. "suits" represents "businessmen")

Trochee / Trochaic Meter

Stressed syllable followed by unstressed syllable, long syllable followed by short syllable (ex. "season")

Understatement

Deliberate presentation of something as lesser in magnitude than actually is

Versimilitude

Appearance of truth without its substance