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Literary Devices
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Tricolon | Sentence consisting of three partss of equal importance and length, usually three indepent clauses. |
| Repetition | the duplication, either exact or approximate, or any element of language, such as sound, word, phrase, clause, sentence, or grammatical pattern |
| Parallelism | refers to the grammatical or rhetorical framing of words, phrases, sentences, or paragraphs to give structural similarity. |
| Ellipsis | the deliberate omission of one or more words which are readily implied by the context |
| Antithesis | a balancing of two opposite or contrasting words, phrases, clauses or ideas. Also referred to as juxtaposition |
| Anastrophe | inversion of the usual, normal, or logical order of the parts of a sentence |
| Antimetabole | repetition of words, in successive clause, in reverse grammatical order |
| Asyndeton | Commas used (with no conjuction) to seperate a series of words. |
| Polysyndeton | sentence which uses and or another conjuction (with no commas) to seperate the items in a series |
| Freight train | sentence consisting of three or more very short clauses joined by conjuctions |
| Parataxis | short independent clauses joined by semi-colons rather than conjuctions |
| suntax | the way an author chooses to join words into phrases, clauses, and sentences. |
| Loose sentence | a type of sentence in which the main idea comes first, followed by dependent grammatical units such as phrases and clauses |
| Periodic sentence | a sentence that presents itss central meaning in a main clause at the end |
| Anaphora | Repetition of a word, phrase, or clause at the beginning of two or more sentences in a row. |
| Figures of speech | Uses of language that departs from the customary construction, order, or significance |
| Imagery | the sensory details of figurative language used to describe, arouse emotion, or represent abstractions |
| Analogy | a comparison between two different things or the relationship between them |
| Metaphor | a figure of speech using implied comparison or seemingly unlike things or the substitution of one for the other, suggesting some similarity |
| Extended metaphor | a metaphor developed at great length , occuring frequently in or throughout a work |
| Conceit | a fanciful expression, usually in the form of an extended metaphor or surprising analogy between seeminly dissimilar objects |
| Simile | figure of speech using implied comparison or seemingly unlike things or the substitution of one for the other, suggesting some similarity, but using like or as |
| Oxymoron | a figure of speech wherein the author groups apparently contradictory terms to suggest a paradox |
| Paradox | a statement that appears to be self-contradictory or opposed to common sense but upon closer inspection contains some degree of truth or vidality |
| Onomatopoeia | a figure of speech in which natural sounds are imitated in the sounds of words |
| Rhetorical Questions | a question used by the speaker or writer to achieve awareness in the listener or reader. No reply is expected, yet it induces the audience to make the appropriate response |
| Understatement | presents something as less significant than it is |
| Litote | deliberate use of understatement |
| Hyperbole | a figure of speech using deliberate exaggeration or overstatement |
| Personification | a figure of speech in which the author presents or describes concepts, animals, or inanimate objects by endowing them with human attributes or emotions |
| Metonymy | a figure of speech where the name of an object is substituted with a word closely associated with it |
| Euphemism | more agreeable or less offensive substitute for a generally unpleasant word or concept |
| Synecdoche | a trope in which a part signifies the whole or the whole signifies the part |
| Pun | generic name for those figures that make a play on words |
| Synesthesia | an image evokes more than one sense |
| Alliteration | the repetition of sounds, especially initial consonent sounds in two or more neighboring words |
| Assonance | Repetition or a vowel sound within two or more in close proximity |
| Consonance | Repetition of a consonant sound within two or more words in close proximity |
| Rhetorical Modes | describes the variety, the conventions, and the purpose of the major kinds of writing. Four major kinds are exposition, argumentation, description, and narration. |
| Stream of consciousness | the presentation of the procession of thoughts passing through the mund without logical sequence, but mingled randomly |
| Parody | a work that closely imitates the style or content of another with the specific aim of comic effect and/or ridicule |
| Satire | work that targets human vices and follies or social institutions and conventions for reform or ridicule |
| Anecdote | a short narrative detailing the particulars of an event |
| Bildungsroman | a coming of age novel, the story of a person's development |
| Homily | means "sermon" but can include and serious talk, speech, or lecture involving moral or spiritual advice |
| Allegory | the device of using character and/or story elements symbolically to represent an abstraction in addition to the literal meaning |
| Aphorissm | a terse statement of known authorship which expresses a general truth or a moral principle |
| Epigraph | a quotation or aphorism at the beginning of a literary work suggestive theme |
| Apostrophe | a figure of speech that directly addresses an absent or imaginary person or a personified abstraction, such as liberty and love |
| Abstract Language | language describing ideas and qualities rather than observable or specific things, people, or places |
| Concrete Language | language that describes specific, observable things, perople or places, rather than ideas or qualities |
| Allusion | a direct or indirect reference to somethingwhich is presumably commonly known, such as an event, book, myth, place, or work of art |
| Ambiguity | an evnt or situation that may be interpreted in more than one way |
| Anachronism | out of time, placing something in a time where it does not belong |
| Archetype | a blocked off memory of our past or of pre-human experience, a type of struggle or character to which a culture relates wiithout propr knowledge |
| Atmosphere | the emotional mood created by the entirety of a literary work, established partly by the setting and partly by the author's choice of objects that are described |
| Mood | an atmosphere created by a writer's word choice and the details selected |
| Attitude | the writer expresses his personal feelings toward the subject, characters, or audience |
| Tone | describes the author's attitude toward his or her materials, the audience, or both |
| Catharsis | a moral and spiritual cleansing one receives when watching a protagonist overcome great odds to survive |
| Epiphany | a sudden understanding or realization which prior to this was not thought or understood |
| Cliché | an expression so often used that its freshness and clarity have worn off |
| Colloquial | the use of slang or informalities in speech or writing |
| Connotation | the non-literal, associative meaning of a word; the implied, suggested meaning |
| Denotation | a word's literal, dictionary meaning |
| Criticism | analysis, study, and evaluation of individual's works of literature |
| Detail | describing or relating an object or scene with complete particulars |
| Inference | to draw a reasonable conclusion from the information presented |
| Irony | the contrast between what is stated explicity and what is really meant |
| Jargon | the specialized or technical language of a trade, profession, class, or fellowship |
| Malapropism | An inappropriate of speech resulting from the ise of one word for another, which resembles it |
| Microcosm | "small world" representing an entire through a small situation or conflict |
| Theme | the central idea or message of a work, the insight it offers to life |
| Motif | a recurring feature in the work |
| Objective | a tone of fairness and even discussion of subject, it usually suggests that there is a distance between the author and the subject being discussed |
| Subjective | expressing in a personal manner your convictions, beliefs, and ideas |
| Persona | a writeroften adapts a fictional voice (or mask) to tell a story. Usually determined by a combination of subject matter and audience |
| Point of view | the perspective from which the story is told |
| Rhetorical features | all of the parts of tone, diction, imagery, details, language, and sentence structure |
| Rhetorical shift | changing from one tone, attitude, or distance to another. |
| Sarcasm | involves bitter, caustic language that is meant to hurt or ridicule someone or something |
| Wit | intellectually amusing language that surprises and delights . Uses terse language to make a pointed statement |
| Style | An evaluation of the sum of the choices an author makes in blending diction, syntax, figurative language, and other literary devices. |
| Symbol | generally anything that represents something else |
| Synthesis | the joining of two or more ideas, arguments, or abstracts |
| Thesis | the sentence or group of sentences that directly expresses the author's opinion, purpose, meaning, or proposition |
| Canon | an accepted list |
| Carpe Diem | literally "seize the day," a philosophy of living for the day and not thinking of tomorrow |
| Deus Ex Machina | Greek idea from when gods would come on stage to rescue the hero, now it applies to anytime the hero is saved by a miraculous event |
| Hamartia | error, mistake, sin, |
| In Media Res | starting a story in the middle of the action |
Created by:
hschatz1222
Popular English Vocabulary sets