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Literary devices
practice with literary devices and terms
| Definition | Literary device |
|---|---|
| repeated consonant sound at the beginning of words or within words; used to establish mood and rhythm in a story; true alliteration has three words beginning with the same sound | alliteration |
| a reference in one story to a well-known character or event from another story, history, or place | allusion |
| when a single event or expression can mean two different things to two different people | ambiguity |
| comparing one thing to another very different thing in order to explain it better | analogy |
| a brief statement expressing some truth as shown is a story; it can be a moral, or proverb, or maxim. | aphorism |
| mood or feeling developed through descriptions of the setting and senses (how things feel, taste, smell, sound, look) | atmosphere |
| exaggeration or distortion of a physical trait or behavior, to make a character appear comic or ridiculous | caricature |
| a person or player (it can also be an animal, an imaginary creature) in a story; character can also be used as a word meaning “personal traits,” as in “Write a paragraph about the character of the Big Bad Wolf.” | character |
| a story which begins and ends at the same place, usually following a character through different adventures or events; although the character arrives back where he/she started, he or she should now have a different perspective or feeling based upon experiences | circular story |
| the most exciting moment of the story, where the main character faces his/her ultimate challenge | climax |
| the problem, or challenge, that the main character faces | conflict |
| spoken lines between characters, set with quotation marks; each new speaker’s lines appear in a new paragraph; when one person speaks for an extended time (to himself or the audience) it is called a monologue | dialogue |
| when the reader knows things that the characters in a story do not | dramatic irony |
| a small event that is part of a larger story; it can stand alone as almost a “mini-story” (events which repeat are typically called episodes) | episode |
| an action in a story that moves the story forward; usually something happens to the main character, or the main character takes action against someone or something else | event |
| information from the text that supports, or proves, an inference or fact | evidence |
| interruption of the present action to insert an episode that took place earlier; this gives the reader needed information to understand a current event, or a character’s motivation | flashback |
| a sudden jump forward in time, usually used to eliminate unnecessary events between the more interesting events of a story | flash-forward |
| clues used to alert the reader about events that will occur later; used to build suspense | foreshadowing |
| obvious exaggeration which is not meant to be taken literally | hyperbole |
| mental pictures which are created by descriptions of the senses, so that we can see and feel what the character is experiencing | imagery |
| conclusions which can be drawn by the reader based upon limited clues or facts presented by the author; the reader is encouraged to discover things for him/herself without being directed by the author | inference |
| two or more words rhyme in the same line | internal rhyme |
| contrast between the expected outcome and the actual way things turn out | irony |
| a suggested comparison between two unlike things in order to point out a similarity; a metaphor DOES NOT use the word like, as as, or than. | metaphor |
| a character’s reason for doing what he/she does | motive |
| words that imitate, or sound like, the actions they describe | onomatopoeia |
| the last event of the story which tells how the story ends; it explains whether the main character met his/her challenge | outcome |
| a statement that reveals a kind of truth although at first it seems to be self-contradictory and untrue | paradox |
| a narrative or picture story enclosed within another story, where both stories are of equal interest | parallel story |
| a humorous story that makes fun of another well-known story by imitating it; characters, plot, theme, setting, may all be copied or changed for humorous effect | parody |
| a description in which an object (or animal, or idea, or force of nature) takes on human characteristics or actions | personification |
| what happens in a story, told in a sequenced, chronological order | plot |
| an outcome in a story where good is rewarded, and evil is punished | poetic justice |
| the perspective from which a story is seen or told | point of view |
| (I and me are used; the narrator is actually a part of the story) I woke up first, alarmed that I had slept too late and missed my chance. A look at my brother’s bed told me he was still asleep, snuggled up under the covers. | example of first person point of view |
| (he and she are used; the narrator simply helps tell the story, and lets all character speak for themselves) Pete woke up first. A look at his brother’s bed told him that Sam was still asleep, snuggled up under the covers. | example of third person point of view |
| (he and she are used; BUT the narrator not only lets characters speak, but can also “get inside their heads” to read their thoughts) | omniscient point of view |
| a portmanteau is suitcase which opens like a book, and when the two sides are shut and fastened, it is ready for travel; a portmanteau word is one in which two real words are combined, but some letters deleted, in order to form a new word | portmanteau word |
| a humorous use of a word or phrase that has more than one meaning (or two similarly spelled words that sound alike) | pun |
| the author purposely repeats words or phrases; the author is trying to create rhythm or suspense, or is trying to really emphasize a certain idea. | repetition |
| the time and place of a story; the time may simply be “present day” | setting |
| a comparison between two unlike things, using like, as as, or than in the comparison | simile |
| when a person is portrayed in a fixed way | stereotype |
| is when a person is portrayed exactly opposite to a fixed generalization (the usual way we would consider them) | reverse stereotype |
| any person, object, or action that has additional meaning beyond itself | symbol |
| the author’s attitude toward a subject, revealed by choice of words and details | tone |
| a word which describes a character’s personality, or how she/he acts in the story; it must always be backed up with evidence (support or proof) from the story | trait |
| when the author presents something as less significant(important) than it really is | understatement |
Created by:
PRO Teacher
niceguyinatl
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