PREAP

Alliteration

The repetition of the same consonant sound at the beginning of nearby words, used to create rhythm or emphasis.

Ambiguity

A word, phrase, or situation that can be interpreted in more than one way, creating uncertainty or multiple possible meanings.

Aposiopesis

A rhetorical device in which a sentence is deliberately left unfinished or breaks off mid-thought.

Colloquialism

Informal, everyday language or expressions used in casual conversation, often regional or culturally specific.

Abstract

Ideas, concepts, or qualities that cannot be directly perceived by the senses.

Concrete

Language that refers to specific, tangible things that can be perceived through the senses.

Antimetabole

A figure of speech in which words or phrases are repeated in reverse order to create contrast or a deeper meaning.

Archetype

A universal character type, symbol, or situation that recurs across literature and human experience.

Allusion

An indirect reference to a person, place, event, or work of literature, history, or culture that the author expects readers to recognize.

Protagonist

The main character of a story, typically the one whose journey or conflict drives the plot forward.

Antagonist

A character, force, or entity that opposes or creates conflict for the protagonist.

Asyndeton

The deliberate omission of conjunctions between words, phrases, or clauses in a series.

Diction

An author's deliberate choice of words, influencing tone and meaning.

Analogy

A comparison between two things for the purpose of explanation or clarification.

Antithesis

The juxtaposition of contrasting ideas in parallel grammatical structures.

Climax

The turning point or moment of highest tension in a narrative.

Epistrophe

The repetition of the same word or phrase at the end of successive clauses or sentences.

Anaphora

The repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses or sentences.

Apostrophe

A figure of speech in which a speaker directly addresses an absent or imaginary person, an abstract idea, or a personified object.

Conflict

The struggle between opposing forces that drives a story's plot.

Epizeuxis

The immediate repetition of a word or phrase with no other words in between.

Foreshadowing

Hints or clues given early in a narrative that suggest events that will occur later.

Dramatic Irony

A situation in which the audience or reader knows something that a character does not.

Situational Irony

A discrepancy between what is expected to happen and what actually occurs.

Verbal Irony

When what is said is the opposite of what is meant.

Metonymy

A figure of speech in which a closely associated object or concept is used to represent something else.

Polysyndeton

The deliberate use of many conjunctions in close succession.

Imagery

Descriptive language that appeals to the five senses.

Mood

The overall emotional atmosphere of a literary work.

Hyperbole

Deliberate exaggeration used for emphasis or comic effect.

Motif

A recurring element that contributes to a work's larger meaning.

Parody

A work that imitates the style or content of another work for comic or satirical effect.

Juxtaposition

Placing two contrasting elements side by side to highlight their differences.

Magical Realism

A literary style in which magical elements are presented as a normal part of an otherwise realistic world.

Parallelism

The use of grammatically similar structures in a series to create balance, rhythm, and clarity.

Point of View

The perspective from which a story is narrated.

Litotes

A form of understatement in which something is affirmed by negating its opposite.

Metaphor

A direct comparison between two unlike things, stating that one thing is another.

Personification

Giving human qualities to non-human objects, animals, or abstract concepts.

Paradox

A statement that appears self-contradictory or absurd but contains a deeper truth.

Satire

The use of irony, humor, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize human vices.

Synecdoche

A figure of speech in which a part is used to represent the whole or the whole to represent a part.

Understatement

Deliberately describing something as less significant than it actually is.

Style

The distinctive way an author uses language, including diction, syntax, tone, imagery, and structure.

Resolution

The part of a story following the climax in which conflicts are resolved and loose ends are tied up.

Zeugma

A figure of speech in which a single word governs or modifies two or more other words in different ways.

Simile

A comparison between two unlike things using the words 'like' or 'as.'

Oxymoron

A figure of speech that combines two contradictory terms to create a paradoxical effect.

Syntax

The arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences.

Theme

The central message or insight about human experience that a literary work explores.

Symbolism

The use of an object or concept to represent something beyond its literal meaning.

Tone

The author's attitude toward the subject matter, conveyed through diction, imagery, and style.