Literary Devices (All 40 Terms)

Allegory

a narrative story in which the characters/events have symbolic meanings and are used to convey a hidden meaning

Alliteration

repetition of the same letter or sound at the beginning of a series of words

Allusion

an implied or indirect reference to a person, place, event, or other work of literature

Anaphora

the repetition of words or phrases in a group of sentences, clauses or poetic lines

Anecdote

a brief story about something funny or interesting in someone's life

Antagonist

the person, group, force or idea that opposes or works against the protagonist

Antithesis

two contrasting ideas juxtaposed against each other using parallel sentence structure

Apostrophe

addressing someone or something absent, dead, or non-human as if they were present

Archetype

a universal symbol/pattern that recurs in myths, stories, and other forms of literature across different cultures and time periods

Assonance

the repetition of similar vowel sounds in a series of words or phrases

Colloquialism

an informal or casual word or phrase

Cliche

an overused expression

Connotation

the implied meaning of a word

Consonance

the repetition of consonant sounds

Denotation

the literal meaning of a word

Dialect

a regional variety of a language distinct from the standard in pronunciation, grammar, or vocabulary.

Dichotomy

separating something into two contrasting ideas

Dramatic Irony

when the reader/audience knows something the character(s) don't

Euphemism

figurative language that replaces a harsh or impolite phrase

Foreshadowing

when the author hints about something that will happen later in the story

Hyperbole

using exaggeration for emphasis

Hypophora

when a speaker asks a question and then immediately answers it

Idiom

a phrase that conveys a figurative meaning different from its literal meaning

Irony

when something is the opposite of what is expected (remember verbal/situational)

Malapropism

use of an incorrect word in place of a word with a similar sounding word

Metaphor

a comparison of two unlike things without using like or as

Metonymy

when a word that is associated with something is used to refer to that thing

Mood

the emotions that a text evokes from the reader

Motif

an object/idea that repeats itself throughout a text

Onomatopoeia

a word that sounds like the noise it describes

Oxymoron

a figure of speech that combines contradictory words with opposite meanings

Portmanteau

blending two or more words together to create a new word

Paradox

a self contradictory statement that expresses a truth

Personification

giving human attributes to something non-human

Plot

exposition -> rising action -> climax -> falling action -> resolution

Satire

the use of humor, irony, or ridicule to criticize something or someone

Simile

a comparison of two unlike things using like/as

Symbol

a concrete image that represents an abstract idea

Theme

a universal idea, lesson, or message explored in a text

Tone

the author's or speaker's attitude or feelings