English 2 H Final Exam Review (Literary terms/ Rhetorical devices)

Anecdote

A brief story or tale with a carefully crafted purpose told by a character or speaker.

Hyperbole

Overstatement using exaggerated language.

Metaphor

A figure of speech in which a word or phrase literally denoting one kind of object or idea is used in place of another to suggest a likeness or analogy between them (doesn’t use like or as).

Simile

A figure of speech comparing two unlike things that is often introduced by like or as.

Alliteration

The repetition of usually initial consonant sounds in two or more neighboring words or syllables.

Oxymoron

A combination of contradictory or incongruous words for the sake of emphasis.

Rhetorical question

A question asked with no expectations of an answer, but asked with the purpose of controlling the readers thoughts.

Syntax

The study of how words form in sentences (sentence structure).

Diction

The choice and use of words in a written work (author’s language).

Tone

The attitude a narrator takes toward its subject and theme.

Repetition

The repeated sound of certain words or phrases to help emphasize an important idea or concept.

Foreshadowing

A literary device in which a writer gives an advance hint of what is to come later in the story.

Irony

A contrast between what is expected and what actually happens.

Verbal Irony

A character says one thing, but means the opposite.

Situational Irony

There is a very different outcome, than what was expected.

Dramatic Irony

Happens when the audience or reader knows more than the characters.

Paradox

A sentence phrase that seems contradictory, but is in fact profoundly true.

Aphorism

A concise statement of a principle.

Idiom

An expression that holds a different meaning to its literal meaning.

Allusion

A brief and indirect reference to a person, place, thing or idea of historical, cultural, literary or political significance.

Aside

A line spoken by an actor to the audience, but not intended for others on the stage.

Imagery

Creating a picture in the reader’s minds by making the reader see, hear, taste, smell or touch what is being described.

Motif

A unifying element that helps to develop a theme, especially any recurrent image, symbol, character type, subject or narrative detail.

Symbolism

When an author uses an object to represent an abstract idea.

Comic Relief

A humorous scene or speech in a serious drama which is meant to provide relief from emotional intensity and, by contrast to heighten the seriousness of the story.

Mood

The feeling the readers get, after reading a piece of a text.

Connotation

The feeling behind a word. It is the way culture flows around a word.

Denotation

The dictionary definition of a word.