English A HL Literary Devices

Allegory

A literary or visual form in which characters, events, or images represent or symbolize ideas.

Alliteration

Repetition of an identical consonant sound at the beginning of stressed words, usually close together.

Allusion

A reference to another work of literature, person, or event

Ambiguity

An event or situation that may be interpreted in more than one way.

Anachronism

something or someone out of place in terms of historical or chronological context

Analogy

Illustrating the subject under discussion by making a parallel comparison

Anaphora

Repetition of the same word or expression at the beginning of successive phrases to create emphasis

Anecdote

A short account of an particular situation or incident

Anthropomorphism

Attributing human characteristics to an animal or inanimate object (eg Queen of hearts)

Antithesis

A figure of speech in which a thought is balanced with a contrasting thought.

Apostrophe

Where a speaker addresses a person or object that is not alive or non-existent

Archaism

Intentional use of a word or expression no longer used to evoke a sense of a bygone era

Bias

Promoting on specific point of view in a text and deliberately excluding others

Cacophony

Denotes harsh, jarring noise

Cliche

A stereotypical expression which is overused

Connotation

Suggestion of a word meaning beyond what it explicitly denotes

Diction

Choice of words

Ellipsis

The omission of words necessary to complete a sentence (..) or (-) used for dramatic effect, tension, confusion, etc.

Enumeration

Listing items in order.

Euphemism

a word or phrase that is used in a place of a more direct term that might be offensive.

Euphony

Denotes pleasant, harmonious sound

Exposition

Where an author interrupts a story in order to explain something.

Figurative Language

Any use of language where the intended meaning differs from the actual literal meaning of the words themselves (inc. metaphor, simile, personification, irony, etc)

Hyperbole

An extremem exaggeration

Hypophora

a rhetorical device where a speaker or writer poses a question and then immediately provides the answer

Imagery

Words that create a picture in the reader's mind

Irony

A literary device that uses contradictory statements or situations to reveal a reality different from what appears to be true.

Oxymoron

Two apparently contradictory terms

Paradox

A statement that appears self-contradictory, but that reveals a kind of truth

Parallelism

Use of similar or identical language, structures, events or ideas in different parts of a text.

Personification

Giving human traits to inanimate objects.

Satire

The ridicule of something the writer dislikes

Sensationalize

Describing something in an exaggerated way to shock and engage the reader.

Syntax

Arrangement of words and phrases to create sentences.

Tricolon

Sentence of three parts of equal importance and length, usually three independent clauses.

Understatement

A statement that says less than what is

meant

Motif

A recurring image, symbol, concept, or phrase throughout a text.

Extended Metaphor

A metaphor that unfolds and develops across multiple lines, paragraphs, or even an entire text.

Tone

The author's attitude toward the subject (e.g., cynical, objective, reverent, mocking).

Mood

The emotional atmosphere created for the reader (e.g., tense, melancholic, claustrophobic).

Juxtaposition

Placing two contrasting ideas, images, or characters side-by-side.

Caesura

A deliberate pause in the middle of a line of poetry, usually created by a comma, dash, or period.

Chiasmus (or Antimetabole)

A rhetorical structure where words or concepts are repeated in reverse order (A -> B becomes B -> A)