Alliteration: A special case of consonance, alliteration is the repetition of the initial consonant sound in two or more closely associated words or stressed syllables.

Allusion: A figure of speech that makes a reference to, or representation of, a place, event, literary work, myth, or work of art, either directly or by implication.

Example: “D’Oh!” (The Simpsons), “15 minutes of fame” (Andy Warhol), “Catch-22” (novel by Joseph Heller), “You’re my Romeo” (Romeo & Juliet)

Antithesis: A literary technique in which opposite or strongly contrasting statements are balanced against each other for emphasis—e.g., Alexander Pope’s “Man proposes, God disposes” from The Rape of the Lock.

Apostrophe: A talker or writer breaks off and directs speech to an imaginary person or abstract quality or idea. “Hello darkness, my old friend”

Assonance: Assonance is a type of internal rhyming in which vowel sounds are repeated. “the bowing cowi, plowed the snow.”

Atmosphere/Mood: The feeling evoked by a piece of writing.

Cacophony (pronounced “kə käf′ə nē”): Unpleasant sounds in the jarring juxtaposition of harsh letters or syllables which are grating to the ear, usually inadvertent, but sometimes deliberately used in poetry for effect. : Swear words

Connotation: The suggestion of a meaning by a word beyond what it explicitly denotes or describes; acting likke a child (can mean ur a young child- your childish

Consonance: the repetition of the same consonant two or more times in short succession

Diction: The use of words in verbal or written discourse.

Hyperbole: Literary exaggeration for the purposes of providing emphasis or creating a poetic effect.

Irony (situational, verbal, dramatic): An implied discrepancy between what is said and what is meant. (falling asleep when watching a video how to stay awake. Dramatic- Romeo drinking posion but know JUiet is dead

Juxtaposition: an act or instance of placing close together or side by side, especially for comparison or contrast.

Metaphor: a figure of speech based on a comparison that is implied rather than directly expressed.

Metonymy (pronounced “mə tän′ə mē”): Metonymy is a figure of speech in which something is referred to by using the name of something that is associated with it. For example, a crown is associated with royalty, and is often used as a metonym for royal authority. (“The edict issued today by the Crown forbids grazing in the commons.”)

Motif: a recurring idea or element of a story that serves to emphasize a theme or promote symbolic significance.(hollywood created a superstar

Onomatopoeia: The use of words in which the sense is suggested by the sound. (E.g., hiss, gurgle, sizzle, and buzz.)

Oxymoron: a phrase bringing together two contradictory terms. (E.g., pretty ugly, and wise fool.)

Paradox: An apparent contradiction that is nonetheless true.

Pathetic Fallacy: The idea of describing nature and inanimate objects with the emotions that human beings possess.

Personification: a figure of speech that endows animals, ideas and inanimate objects with human form, character or feelings.(the chair chrocked)

Prose: Spoken or written language that has no specific meter or metrical pattern. This writing resembles everyday speech.

Pun: A play on similar-sounding words.

Example: "There is nothing punny about bad puns." “I have plenty of jokes for unemployed people, but not one of them work”

Simile: A figure of speech based on a comparison that is directly expressed, typically through the use of the words “like” and “as.”

Speaker / Tone / Voice: Identify the speaker in the poem (may be different from the author). What is the tone of the poem? (use your short story handout for Tone). Whose voice is heard ‘speaking’ the poem?

Stanza: a group of lines forming the basic recurring metrical unit in a poem

Symbolism: The use of imagery whereby one object or action stands for something else. When there is a one-to-one correspondence in meaning, symbolism becomes allegory. (moon, cross)

Synecdoche: Part of something is used to refer to the whole thing, or a thing (a "whole") is used to refer to part of it. Example: A character might be consistently described by a single body part, such as the eyes, which come to represent the character.

“My heart longed for her.” (the heart represents the person)

Synesthesia: The description of one kind of sensation in terms of another.  Example: “He is wearing a loud shirt.” (senses)

Theme: A central, dominant, and unifying idea of a work. Themes are usually expressed in abstract terms, while motifs are typically concrete.

Understatement / Meiosis: A figure of speech that intentionally understates something or implies that it is lesser in significance or size than it really is.( aleak, a flood)

Verse: metrical writing