literary devices

Anadiplosis

when the end of one line is repeated to begin the next
Ex: Wherein I die, not live ; for life is straight,
Straight as a line, and ever tends to Thee,

Apostrophe

direct address to an abstraction, inanimate object, or person who is not present

Asynartete

a poem or stanza that contains two different kinds of meter

Asyndeton

The omission of a conjunction, often within a sentence. Often used to make a sentence fit meter.

Assonance

repeated vowel sounds

Bildungsroman

coming of age story

Chiasmus

words or concepts repeated in purposefully inverted order

Conceit

extended metaphor. Primary literary device of the Metaphysical Poets

Consonance

repeated consonant sounds

Cumulative Sentence

an independent clause followed by a large number of modifiers

Denouement

the resolution of a story

Didactic

an adjective describing types of literature intended to impart a moral lesson. Fell out of favor in modern literature.

Enallage

the substitution of one grammatical form for another
Ex: She is to be wived.

Epic simile

a simile developed and explained across a series of lines

Epithet

a nickname or sobriquet, often used as an invective

Epigram

a pithy saying or remark
Ex: An apple a day keeps the doctor away.

Epiphany

a sudden realization, moment of clarity

Epizeuxis

the repetition of words of phrases in immediate succession within a sentence

English/Shakespearian Sonnet

14 lines divided into 3 quatrains + a couplet

Irony

when what is written signifies the opposite

Verbal irony

when what is said is opposite of what is intended

Situational irony

a contrast between what is expected and what happens

Dramatic irony

the reader knows something the characters do not know

Jeremiad

A long, mournful, sometimes passionate, complaint or lamentation. Named for the biblical prophet Jeremiah. Regularly applied to non-religious text.

Joycean prose

stream of consciousness, laden with wordplay

Kafkaesque

used to describe a surreal, nightmarish milieu that produces disorder and resignation

Litotes

an understatement, often used to create irony

Malapropism

The mistaken use of a word in place of a similar sounding one

Metonymy

When a term is used for something similar to what is intended

Mise en abyme

a story within a story, a framed story, particularly that emphasizes or summarizes the larger story
Ex: "The Haunted Palace" in "The Fall of the House of Usher"

Motif

repeated element that supports the theme of a work

Peripeteia

a sudden reversal of fortunes

Petrarchan Sonnet

14 lines divided into an octave and sestet

Polysyndeton

repetition of conjunctions in rapid succession
Ex: We have ships and men and money.

Rhyme

effect of having words with similar vowel sounds

Slant rhyme

words with similar, but not identical sounds

Feminine rhyme

a rhyme between stressed syllables followed by unstressed syllables

Internal rhyme

rhymes involving words in the middle of lines

Eye rhyme

a similarity between spelling, but not sound
Ex: Love / Move

Masculine rhyme

rhyme of final stressed syllables

Rich rhyme

rhyme produced not only by vowels, but also consonants (often homophones)

Synecdoche

when a term is used to represent the whole

Tmesis

the separation of a compound word with intervening words
Ex: Shove it back any-old-where in the pile

Telegraphic sentence

a sentence of five or less words

Volta

the "turn" in a poem, when the tone or ideas suddenly shift

Zeugma

a word applies to two others in different senses
Ex: John and his license expired last week

Light verse

poetry about trivial, amusing, unimportant things
Ex: TS Eliot's Cats

Free verse

no rules, but still contains some sort of structure

Blank verse

contains meter, lacks rhymes

Alliterative verse

the organizing principle for lines is alliteration

Rhyming verse

contains meter and rhyme

Prose

not in verse, structure doesn't matter. Book writing.

Foot

a unit of syllables in a poem

Iamb

unstressed, stressed

Trochee

stressed, unstressed

Spondee

stressed, stressed

Common Meter

a line of iambic followed by a line of iambic trimeter

Couplet

pairing of two lines

Quatrain

pairing of four lines

Allegory

type of narrative that uses characters and plot to depict abstract ideas and themes. Things represent more than they appear to on the surface, like morality

Alliteration

a series of words that all start with the same letter or sound

Allusion

a passing or indirect descriptive reference to something

Anachronism

when something happens or is attributed to a different era than when it actually existed
Ex: Cassius in Julius Caesar says that "the clock has stricken three," even though mechanical clocks had not been invented in 44 A.D.

Anaphora

repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of a series of clauses or sentences
Ex: Martin Luther King's 1963 "I Have A Dream" speech

Anastrophe

figure of speech wherein the traditional sentence structure is reversed
Ex: "Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing." — The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe

Anthropomorphism

apply human traits or qualities to a non-human thing in a literal sense
Ex: the servants of Beauty & the Beast

Aphorism

universally accepted truth stated in a pithy way
Ex: "To err is human, to forgive divine." — Alexander Pope

Archetype

"universal symbol" that brings familiarity and context to a story. It can be a character, a setting, a theme, or an action. Archetypes represent feelings and situations that are shared across cultures and time periods, and are therefore instantly recognizable to any audience
Ex: Superman is a heroic archetype

Colloquialism

use of casual and informal language in writing, which can also include slang

Cumulative Sentence ("loose sentence")

starts with an independent clause, but then has additional or modifying clauses
Ex: "He dipped his hands in the bichloride solution and shook them--a quick shake, fingers down, like the fingers of a pianist above the keys." Sinclair Lewis, Arrowsmith

Euphemism

indirect, "polite" way of describing something too inappropriate or awkward to address directly
Ex: "put out to pasture" when an old person is forced to retire

Exposition

narrative provides background information in order to help the reader understand what's going on

Flashback

cuts to previous events that split up present-day scenes in a story, usually to build suspense toward a big reveal

Foreshadowing

when the author hints at events yet to come in a story

Frame story

any part of the story that "frames" another part of it
Ex: The Turn of the Screw

Hyperbole

exaggerated statement that emphasizes the significance of the statement's actual meaning
Ex: "I'm so hungry I could eat a horse"

Hypophora

similar to a rhetorical question, a person raises a question and answers it immediately themselves
Ex: "Do you always watch for the longest day of the year and then miss it? I always watch for the longest day in the year and then miss it." — Daisy in The Great Gatsby

Imagery

appeals to readers' senses through highly descriptive language

In medias res

Latin term that means "in the midst of things," beginning a story without context
Ex: The Illiad begins in the middle of the Trojan War

Isocolon

two or more phrases or clauses have similar structure, rhythm, and length
Ex: Veni, vidi, vici ("I came, I saw, I conquered")

Juxtaposition

places dissimilar concepts side by side, and the profound contrast highlights their differences
Ex: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times" Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens

Metaphor

compares two similar things by saying that one of them is the other

Onomatopoeia

word that sounds like what it represents

Oxymoron

two contradictory words that describe one thing
Ex: "Parting is such sweet sorrow." — Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare

Paradox

statement that contradicts itself yet is true
Ex: "War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, Ignorance is Strength." George Orwell's 1984

Personification

human traits applied to non-human things

Point of view

mode of narration in a story

Repetition

repeated words or phrases

Satire

make fun of some aspect of human nature or society — usually through exaggeration, ridicule, or irony

Simile

comparison using "like" or "as"

Soliloquy

character speaking their thoughts aloud to themselves

Symbolism

represent abstract concepts and ideas

Tautology

sentence or short paragraph repeats a word or phrase, expressing the same idea twice
Ex: Polonius: "What do you read, my lord?"
Hamlet: "Words, words, words."

Tone

writer's attitude towards the subject

Tragicomedy

blend of tragedy and comedy

Zoomorphism

take animal traits and assign them to anything that's not an animal, can be physical or figurative
Ex: "busy bee," vampires turning into bats

three feet

trimeter.

four feet

tetrameter.

five feet

pentameter.

six feet

hexameter.