Literary Devices

Euphemism

Polite expression to replace a word that is considered harsh or impolite ("Passed away" instead of "died")

Metonymy

A type of symbol that is closely related to that particular thing, but it is not part of it ("dish" to refer an entire plate of food)

Antithesis

Using opposite phrases in close conjunction ("hope for the best; prepare for the worst")

Consonance

The repetition of identical or similar consonants in neighboring words whose vowel sounds are different ("hickory dickory dock")

Irony

Contrast or discrepancy between expectation and reality-between what is said and what is really meant; between what is expected to happen and what really does happen; or between what appears to be true and what is really true.

Dramatic Irony

The audience or reader knows something important that the main character in the story does not know

Situational Irony

An event occurs that directly contradicts the expectations of the characters, the reader or the audience

Tone

Attitude the writer takes toward the audience, a subject or a character; it is conveyed through the writer's choice of words and details; can be formal, informal, serious, playful, bitter, ironic, etc.

Paradox

Using contradiction that seems absurd, but includes an element of truth ("without laws we can have no freedom")

Synecdoche

A part representing a whole ("All hands on deck!" — uses "hands" to signify the whole sailors)

Litotes

A type of meiosis but with negatives to produce effect ("that wasn't half bad"

Pun

Play on words similar in sound but different in meaning ("I'm so punny")

Apostrophe

What a speaker detaches himself from reality to address an imaginary character or object

Onomatopoeia

The use of words that seem to imitate the sounds they refer to ("whack", "fizz", "crackle", "hiss")

Assonance

The repetition of identical or similar vowel sounds in the stressed syllables (and sometimes in the following unstressed syllables) ("Go slow over the road" repetition of the short /o/ vowel sound)

Verbal Irony

Words are used to suggest the opposite of what is meant

Allusion

Reference in a story to a statement, a person, a place, or an event from literature, history, religion, myth, politics, sports, science, or a pop culture

Alliteration

Repeating the same beginning sound of closely linked words.

Meiosis

Understatement (the opposite of exaggeration) ("the concert was a bit loud" when the concert was very loud)

Oxymoron

Words that contradict each other ("bitter sweet")