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literary devices 2
| Term | Definition | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Alliteration | A group of words that begin with the same or similar sounds. | “Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers”. |
| Allusion | A reference to a past text without directly mentioning it. | Her smile was like kryptonite. |
| Analogy | The comparison between two things, to further explain something. | “Life is like a box of chocolate.” |
| Anaphora | Repeating one or more words at the beginnings of sentences. | We came. We saw. We conquered. |
| Antithesis | It’s a person/thing that is the complete opposite of someone or something. | “Everybody doesn’t like something, but nobody doesn’t like Sarah Lee” |
| Cacophony | A harsh mixture of sound. | “Hearings leash is strummed” |
| Caricature | A description of a person that exaggerates their appearance or behaviour in a critical or humorous way. | Her eyes were lasers, boring a hole through me. Her ears were smoking, and her hair was on fire. |
| Cliché | When a word or phrase becomes overused to the point where it's irritating. The word or phrase becomes unoriginal and loses its intended meaning | The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree (Overused so when someone says it there is no effect) |
| Diction | The unique vocabulary & style of expression from a writer or speaker. Writers use specific words making their writing have specific sound to it. it should be chosen to flow w/ the purpose & audience. Formal writing should sound diff. from casual writing. | “It is nice to see you again, How are you today?” vs. Hey man, what’s up?” |
| Ethos | Persuasive tactic where the speaker or writer uses an argument or statement to prove their credibility. | Ex : “4 out of 5 doctors recommend this treatment.” |
| Euphemism | Soft language; language that has an overall nicer sound despite have the same meaning as than its original form: | Toilet Paper - Bathroom Tissue. |
| Euphony | Words that have a pleasing sound. | Lullabies. |
| Hyperbole | An exaggeration of something, not meant to be taken seriously and is used for emphasis | “I’m so hungry I could eat a horse” |
| Imagery | Using figurative language to describe ideas and help the reader understand/ picture what’s going on. | the clouds were edged with pink and gold. |
| Verbal Irony | "When the speaker’s intent is opposite of what they are saying." | Ex: A character is in a natural disaster and says, “Nice weather we’re having!” |
| Dramatic Irony | Used mostly in theatre or acting where the characters are unaware of the irony but it is obvious to the audience. | Ex :In Romeo and Juliet where the audience knows she’s just asleep and not dead and Romeo kills himself. |
| Situational Irony | When the opposite of what you expect to happen happens. | A police officer getting his licence suspended for unpaid parking tickets. |
| Logos | A way of persuading an audience through the use of logic and rationality. | Statistics, Facts, and graphs. |
| Metaphor | When a word or a phrase is used to describe an object or action, however it isn’t applied literally. | Ex: I’m feeling blue |
| Mood | "A certain state of mind, the reader's mood relating to the subject." | Ex: Upbeat, Gloomy, Ominus. |
| Onomatopoeia | A word that phonetically imitates, resembles, or suggests the sound that it describes. | POW, BAM, ZOOM. |
| Oxymoron | When you combine two opposite words together. | (ex. The comedian was seriously funny) |
| Paradox | Logical impossibility | Unstoppable force meets an immovable object. |
| Parallelism | "Rhetoric:To balance two or more ideas or arguments that are equally important. In grammar: To use phrases that are grammatically similar in structure, meaning, and sound." | “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”-Neil Armstrong |
| Pathos | A way of wording sentences to evoke emotions such as pity or sadness. | If we don’t get out of here fast we’ll die! |
| Personification | Giving human-like characteristics to nonhuman things such as emotions and behaviours. | My alarm clock yells at me in the morning. |
| Pun | A sentence that can have two different meanings. Usually humorous. | Why are teddy bears never hungry? They are always stuffed. |
| Rhetorical Question | A question in which the answer is already known or otherwise irrelevant, with the purpose instead being to create a dramatic effect or to make a point. | "“Can birds fly?” “Do fish swim?" |
| Sentence Structure | Physical nature/composition of a sentence—how the elements of a sentence are presented. | Like with word choice, varying sentence structure is used to provide rhythmic prose and keep readers interested. |
| Simile | A figure of speech comparing two things usually introduced by like or as. | as strong as an ox. |
| Symbolism | Use of symbolic images (colours, patterns) to express ideas, emotions, and states of mind | A red rose stands for love or romance. |
| Synecdoche | A metaphor where part of an object/thing is used to represent the whole of that object/thing. | Using wheels to describe a car in “Nice wheels” or using the word ‘head’ to describe whole animals in “There are 19 head of cattle.” |
| Tone | The way the writer presents their attitude through their choice of words, or their viewpoint on a certain subject." | Ex: The sweet smell of roses overjoyed her. |
Created by:
MooshroomsRCool
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