Literary devices

Allegory

– A story with a hidden moral or political meaning. Ex: Animal Farm = Russian Revolution.

Alliteration

– Repetition of initial consonant sounds. Ex: “She sells sea shells.”

Ambiguity

– A word or phrase with multiple meanings. Ex: “I saw her duck.”

Anachronism

– Something out of its time period. Ex: A smartphone in ancient Rome.

Anadiplosis

– Repeating the last word of one clause at the start of the next. Ex: “Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate.”

Analogy

– Comparison to explain something unfamiliar. Ex: “Life is like a box of chocolates.”

Antecedent

– The noun a pronoun refers to. Ex: Jane lost her book → “Jane” is the antecedent of “her.”

Antimetabole

– Repetition of words in reverse order. Ex: “Ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country.”

Antithesis

– Opposing ideas in parallel form. Ex: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.”

Aphorism

– Short, witty truth or saying. Ex: “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

Apostrophe

– Addressing something absent or nonhuman. Ex: “O Death, where is thy sting?”

Chiasmus

– Reversal of grammatical structure. Ex: “Never let a fool kiss you or a kiss fool you.”

Colloquial

– Informal, everyday language. Ex: “Y’all come back now.”

Conceit 

– Extended, clever metaphor. Ex: Comparing love to a compass

Didactic

– Intended to teach a moral or lesson. Ex: Aesop’s fables.

Enumeration

– Listing details or causes. Ex: “I love her eyes, her hair, her smile.”

Epithet

– Descriptive phrase for a person or thing. Ex: “Swift- footed achilles”

Expletive

– Word or phrase used for emphasis. Ex: “It is indeed a great day.”

Generic Conventions

– Features defining a genre. Ex: Detectives in mystery novels.

Genre

– Type or category of literature. Ex: Poetry, drama, fiction.

Homily

– A sermon or moral speech. Ex: A priest’s Sunday message.

Inference evidence

Logical conclusion from evidence. Ex: Seeing smoke → infer there’s fire

Invective

– Harsh or insulting language. Ex: “You worthless, lazy fool!”

Litotes 

– Understatement using a negative. Ex: “Not bad” = “Good”

Metonymy

– Substituting a related term. Ex: “The White House” = the U.S. government.

Mood

– Reader’s emotional reaction. Ex: Dark, eerie mood in The Tell Tale Heart.

Onomatopoeia

Word that imitates sound. Ex: “Buzz,” “Bang,” “Splash.”

Oxymoron

– Two contradictory words. Ex: “Deafening silence.”

Sibilance 

– Repetition of “s” or “sh” sounds. Ex: “Softly she sighed in the silent sea.”

Sarcasm

– Mocking, ironic tone. Ex: “Oh great, another test!”