Literacy Stuff Blah Blah Blah

Allegory

A whole story that represents a bigger real-life message or issue. *Story = bigger meaning*

Alliteration

Repeating the same beginning sound in nearby words. *Alliteration = Alike beginnings*

Authorial Choice

A deliberate choice an author makes to affect or engage the audience. *Author chooses SO audience reacts*

Allusion

An indirect reference to a famous person, event, place, text, or idea. Allusion = “I’m hinting at something else”

Anachronism

Something appears in a time period where it doesn’t belong. *Wrong time*

Colloquialism

Informal, everyday speech or slang.

Epigraph

A quote or short passage placed at the beginning of a text to introduce a theme. *Epi = opening quote*

Euphemism

A softer/politer way to say something unpleasant or harsh.

Flashback

The story goes back to an event that happened earlier.

Foreshadowing

A hint that something will happen later.

Hyperbole

An extreme exaggeration that isn’t meant literally.

Imagery

Descriptive language that appeals to the five senses.

Irony

There’s a difference between what is said/expected and what is actually meant or happens.

Juxtaposition

Putting contrasting things side-by-side to highlight their differences.

Malapropism

Accidentally using the wrong word because it sounds similar to the correct one, often humorously.

Metaphor

Comparing two things without “like” or “as.”

Simile

Comparing two things using “like” or “as.”

Metonym

Replacing something with a related word associated with it.

Onomatopoeia

A word that sounds like the sound it describes.

Oxymoron

Two contradictory words placed together.

Paradox

A statement that seems contradictory or illogical but may contain a truth/idea.

Personification

Giving human qualities or actions to something nonhuman.

Repetition

Repeating a word or phrase for emphasis, rhythm, or effect.

Soliloquy

A character speaks their thoughts aloud, usually alone, so the audience hears their inner thoughts.

Symbolism

An object/action/image represents a deeper or broader meaning.

Synecdoche

Using a part to represent the whole, or the whole to represent a part.