| 6681715469 | Analogy | A comparison between two things, typically on the basis of their structure and for the purpose of explanation or clarification.
An analogy can explain something unfamiliar by associating it with or pointing out its similarity to something more familiar. Analogies can also make writing more vivid, imaginative, or intellectually engaging.
Example: "Structure of an atom is like a solar system. Nucleus is the sun and electrons are the planets revolving around their sun." | | 0 |
| 6681699372 | Allegory | Allegory is a figure of speech in which abstract ideas and principles are described in terms of characters, figures and events.
Example: "All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts." (Shakespeare's As You Like It) | | 1 |
| 6681710960 | Allusion | A reference in literature, or in visual or performing arts, to a familiar person, place, thing, or event.
Example: "This place is like a Garden of Eden." - This is a biblical allusion to the "garden of God" in the Book of Genesis. | | 2 |
| 6681739350 | Anaphora | Repetition of a word, phrase, or clause at the beginning of two or more sentences in a row.
This is deliberate form of repetition helps make the writer's point more coherent.
MLK used anaphora in his famous "I Have a Dream" speech (1963). | | 3 |
| 6681760993 | Anastrophe | A scheme in which normal word order is changed.
This is used to put more emphasis on an object, place, or idea.
Example: "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country. | | 4 |
| 6681773888 | Antithesis | A statement in which two opposing ideas are balanced.
The use of Antithesis is to better contrast two things.
Example: "Love is an ideal thing, marriage a real thing." | | 5 |
| 6681787621 | Antimetabole | The repetition of words in an inverted order.
This is used to sharpen a contrast.
Example: "And so, my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country" (JFK). | | 6 |
| 6681799944 | Aphorism | A terse statement of known authorship which expresses a general truth or a moral principle.
An aphorism can be a memorable summation of the author's point.
Example: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." | | 7 |
| 6681830295 | Apostrophe | A figure of speech that directly addresses an absent or imaginary person or a personified abstraction, such as liberty or love.
Example: "O Death, Where Is Thy Sting?" | | 8 |
| 6681851917 | Assonance | Repetition of vowel sounds followed by different consonants in two or more stressed syllables.
Example: "Go slow over the road" (repetition of the long o sound) | | 9 |
| 6681888503 | Asyndeton | The deliberate omission of conjunctions from series of related independent clauses.
The effect is to create a tight, concise, and forceful sentence.
Example: All the orcs ate the food, broke the dishes, trashed the hall, beat the dogs to the shower. | | 10 |
| 6681912570 | Chiasmus | A statement consisting of two parallel parts in which the second part is structurally reversed.
Chiasmus is used to create or heighten paradox.
Example: "Susan walked in, and out rushed Mary." | | 11 |
| 6695104968 | Circular Argument | A sentence or argument that restates rather than proves. Thus, it goes in a circle.
This is a propaganda technique that states a conclusion as part of the proof of the argument.
Example: "Freedom of speech is for the common good because the expression of opinions is ultimately in the best interest of all." | | 12 |
| 6695165121 | Conceit | A fanciful expression, usually in the form of an extended metaphor or surprising analogy between seemingly dissimilar objects.
A conceit displays intellectual cleverness as a result of the unusual comparison being made.
Example: "The broken heart is a damaged china pot." (Note how completely unrelated a heart and a China pot are). | | 13 |
| 6695218543 | Connotation | All the meanings, associations, or emotions that a word suggests.
For example, the words atrocious and crummy provoke different emotions while still meaning poor quality. | | 14 |
| 6702306852 | Ethos | Ethos is basically an appeal to credibility.
The writer is seeking to convince you that he or she has the background, history, skills, and/or expertise to speak on the issue. Whenever you encounter an ethos argument, always ask yourself is the credibility is substantiated and valid.
Example: An essay advocating policy changes on drug rehabilitation programs is more powerful if the person is a former addict or customer in a current rehab program. | | 15 |
| 6702348697 | Euphemism | The use of an inoffensive word or phrase in place of a more distasteful one.
A euphemism is used to replace another word or phrase that is thought of as too direct or rude.
Example: "You are becoming a little thin on top." This lightly insinuates that someone is going bald. | | 16 |
| 6702383152 | Fallacy | A fallacy is an erroneous argument dependent upon an unsound or illogical contention.
Fallacies appear to make an argument reasonable, but falsely so.
Some Fallacy appeals that are used are Ignorance, Popular Opinion, Circular Arguments, Illogical conclusions, Authority, and Attacking the Person. | | 17 |
| 6702486656 | Consonance | Repetition of a consonant sound within two or more words in close proximity.
Example: "A Quietness distilled / As Twilight long begun, / Or Nature spending with herself / Sequestered Afternoon—" Here Emily Dickinson has relied on the consonant "n" to create the intended effect. | | 18 |
| 6702504321 | Aside | A device in which a character in a drama makes a short speech which is heard by the audience but not by other characters in the play.
Asides are useful for giving the audience special information about the other characters onstage or the action of the plot.
Example: In Shakespeare's Hamlet after the death of King of Denmark. The king's brother Claudius takes the charge of the throne. Moreover, Claudius marries king's wife. In the first Act of this play, when Claudius talks to Hamlet by calling him his son and nephew, Hamlet in response makes an aside by saying, "A little more than kin, and less than kind." | | 19 |
| 6713368122 | Anecdote | A short account of an interesting event.
An Anecdote is used at the beginning of a speech to gain the audience's attention.
No Example :( | | 20 |
| 6713395122 | Catharsis | The process of releasing, and thereby providing relief from, strong or repressed emotions.
In literature, it is used for the cleansing of emotions of the characters. It can also be any other radical change that leads to emotional rejuvenation of a person.
Example: "Here's to my love! [Drinks] O true apothecary! Thy drugs are quick. Thus with a kiss, I die. [Falls]" | | 21 |
| 6713445282 | Cacophony | In literature, the term refers to the use of words with sharp, harsh, hissing and unmelodious sounds.
A writer would choose words and arrange them in a cacophony order to produce an effect that is unmelodious, harsh and jarring that corresponds with the subject matter.
Example: "And being no stranger to the art of war, I have him a description of cannons, culverins, muskets, carabines, pistols, bullets, powder, swords, bayonets, battles, sieges, retreats, attacks, undermines, countermines, bombardments, sea-fights..." In order to describe the destructive consequences of war, | | 22 |
| 6713473233 | Convention | A rule or practice based upon general consent and upheld by society.
For example, when we read a comic book, we accept that a light bulb appearing above the head of a comic book character means the character suddently got an idea. | | 23 |
| 6713497782 | Denouncement | The falling action of a plot or the resolution; means untying so that the tangles of the plot are untied and mysteries are solved.
A Denouncement can only occur in fiction.
The denouement in The Great Gatsby happens when Nick decides to go back to Minnesota to get away from the rich people who are engaged in all those things which Nick thinks are part of the moral worthlessness in Gatsby's life. | | 24 |
| 6713523776 | Dramatic Monolouge | A poem in the form of a speech or narrative by an imagined person, in which the speaker inadvertently reveals aspects of their character while describing a particular situation or series of events.
A Dramatic Monologue reveals details to about the speaker.
No Example :( | | 25 |
| 6713562392 | Ellipsis | Ellipsis is a literary device that is used in narratives to omit some parts of a sentence or event, which gives the reader a chance to fill the gaps while acting or reading it out. It is usually written between the sentences as "...". | | 26 |
| 6713572693 | Epiphora | The repetition of a word or phrase at the end of several clauses. (Also known as epistrophe.)
Epiphora is used to emphasize a certain idea.
Example: The United States, as the world knows, will never start a war. We do not want a war. We do not now expect a war. | | 27 |
| 6727196384 | Euphony | The use of words and phrases that are distinguished as having a wide range of noteworthy melody or loveliness in the sounds they create.
It can be used with other literary devices like alliteration, assonance and rhyme to create more melodic effects.
Example: "Success is counted sweetest
By those who ne'er succeed.
To comprehend a nectar
Requires sorest need.Not one of all the purple host
Who took the flag to-day
Can tell the definition,
So clear, of victory,
As he, defeated, dying,
On whose forbidden ear
The distant strains of triumph
Break, agonized and clear!"
(Success by Emily Dickinson)
In this poem, Emily Dickinson has used soft and harmonious consonants to create euphony. For example, "s", "v" and "f" sounds are running throughout the poem. Such words are melodic in nature, hence they produce pleasing sounds. | | 28 |
| 6727282405 | Exposition | A narrative device, often used at the beginning of a work that provides necessary background information about the characters and their circumstances.
No Example :( | | 29 |
| 6727290999 | Extended Metaphor | An extended metaphor, sometimes known as a conceit or sustained metaphor, is a metaphor that an author develops over the course of many lines or even an entire work of literature.
An extended metaphor may act as a theme in the work of literature because it is repeated and changes forms as it reappears over and over again.
Example: "All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players.
They have their exits and their entrances,
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages." | | 30 |
| 6727316830 | Fable | A short tale, often with nonhuman characters, from which a useful lesson or moral may be drawn.
Example: The tortoise and the hare teaches the Aphorism "Slow and steady wins the race." | | 31 |
| 6727351444 | Imperative Sentence | A type of sentence that gives advice or instructions or that expresses a request or command.
Unlike an Hortative Sentence, an Imperative Sentence demands an action.
Example: "Leave the gun, take the cannoli." | | 32 |
| 6727351445 | Hortative Sentence | A type of sentence that exhorts, urges, entreats, implores, or calls to action.
Unlike an Imperative Sentence, a Hortative Sentence suggests rather than demands.
Example: "Let's leave the gun and take the cannoli." | | 33 |
| 6727481566 | Situational Irony | Irony involving a situation in which actions have an effect that is opposite from what was intended, so that the outcome is contrary to what was expected.
This is the opposite of what was expected and what happened.
Example: The whole story of "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" presents a case of the situational irony. Dorothy moves to the wizard in order to find a way to go her home just to learn that she was capable of doing so persistently. Scarecrow wished to become intelligent, but he discovers himself a perfect genius. Woodsman considers himself as not capable of love; nevertheless he learns that he has a good heart. Lion appears as a coward and then turns out to be an extremely fearless and courageous. | | 34 |
| 6727494461 | Verbal Irony | Irony in which a person says or writes one thing and means another, or uses words to convey a meaning that is the opposite of the literal meaning.
This is SAYING the opposite of what was happening.
Example: (See image) |  | 35 |
| 6727573418 | Dramatic Irony | Irony that is inherent in speeches or a situation of a drama and is understood by the audience but not grasped by the characters in the play.
This is used to heighten suspense (or humor) because the audience knows what is going to happen but does not know when it will.
Example: "There's no art
To find the mind's construction in the face:
He was a gentleman on whom I built
An absolute trust."
(Macbeth by William Shakespeare)
This is one of the best examples of dramatic irony. In this case, Duncun says that he trusts Macbeth not knowing about the prophecy of witches that Macbeth is going to be the king and that he would kill him. Audience, on the other hand knows about the prophecy. | | 36 |
| 6727633987 | Jargon | Jargon is a literary term that is defined as a use of specific phrases and words by writers in a particular situation, profession or trade.
These specialized terms are used to convey hidden meanings accepted and understood in that field. Jargon examples are found in literary and non-literary pieces of writing.
Unlike slang, jargons are developed and composed deliberately for the convenience of a specific section of society. We can see the difference in two sentences given below.
"Did you hook up with him?" (Slang)
"Getting on a soapbox" (Jargon) | | 37 |
| 6727684916 | Juxtaposition | When to contrasting IDEAS are put next to one another.
This makes the one idea more dramatic.
Example: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way..." | | 38 |
| 6727747094 | Litotes | AKA understatement
A positive statement is expressed by double negatives.
This dilutes the connotation over a certain thought.
Example: After someone hires you, you might say, "Thank you, ma'am, you won't regret it." The negation is an understatement, of course - what you really mean is that your boss will be happy with your performance. | | 39 |
| 6737079270 | Logos | Logos is basically an appeal to reason.
The writer is seeking to convince you that what he or she is stating is true based on a series of facts. n everyday life, arguments depend upon pathos and ethos besides logos.
Example: "All men are mortal.
Socrates is a man.
Therefore, Socrates is mortal."
(The Art of Rhetoric by Aristotle)
Aristotle is using syllogistic arguments here, where some of the arguments or assertions remain unstated. Since Socrates is a man, therefore, he is mortal; all men are mortal so eventually, they will die. This is the logic presented here. | | 40 |
| 6737152558 | Magic Realism | A style in which occasional wildly improbable or impossible events occur in an otherwise realistic story
Magic Realism prompts humorous and thought-provoking results
More Info: http://www.shmoop.com/magic-realism/ | | 41 |
| 6737314973 | Mask | AKA Persona
It can be defined as a voice or an assumed role of a character that represents the thoughts of a writer or a specific person the writer wants to present as his mouthpiece.
Example: "He was an old man who fished alone in a skiff in the Gulf Stream and he had gone
eighty-four days now without taking a fish. In the first forty days a boy had been with him. But after forty days without a fish the boy's parents had told him that the old man was now definitely and finally salao, which is the worst form of unlucky.......
The sail was patched with flour sacks and, furled, it looked like the flag of permanent defeat....."
The first paragraph of this book sounds as if Hemingway himself is Santiago. Through the characterization of Santiago, Hemingway is expressing his belief in the struggle against unconquerable natural forces of the world. However, it is up to the persona (Santiago) to determine whether he wants to change his luck or not. | | 42 |
| 6737364350 | Metonomy | A figure of speech in which one word or phrase is substituted for another with which it is closely associated.
The difference between Metonymy and Synecdoche is that Synecdoche focuses on a PART of a whole while metonymy can be anything used to represent the whole.
Much like a metaphor, metonymy draws resemblance between two different things.
Example: England decides to keep check on immigration. (England refers to the government.) | | 43 |
| 6737440648 | Modes of Discourse | A term for the genre or the purpose for writing a certain work.
The four traditional texts being Exposition, Narration, Description, Argumentation.
No Examples :( | | 44 |
| 6737518865 | Monolouge | A long speech made by one performer or by one person in a group that is addressed to other characters on stage, not to the audience.
that a single character presents in order to express his/her collection of thoughts and ideas aloud.
Example: And indeed there will be time
To wonder, 'Do I dare?' and, 'Do I dare?'
Time to turn back and descend the stair,
With a bald spot in the middle of my hair...
In a minute there is time
For decisions and revisions which a minute will reverse.'
(The Lovesong of J. Alfred Prufrock by T.S Eliot)
This entire poem is written in the form of a dramatic monologue in which the poet is trying to explore the causes of pain and suffering of insecure young man, who is confused about attending the party whether he should or not. Eliot reveals his thoughts to an audience how Prufrock feels that in case he goes to the party, it might disturb the entire universe. | | 45 |
| 6749689198 | Motif | A motif is an object or idea that repeats itself throughout a literary work.
This is used to better help to explain the central idea of a literary work i.e. theme.
Example: The central idea of the co-existence of good and evil in Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mocking Bird" is supported by several motifs. Lee strengthens the atmosphere by a motif of Gothic details i.e. recurrent images of gloomy and haunted settings, supernatural events, full moon etc. Another motif in the narrative is the small town life of Maycomb, which depicts goodness and pleasantness in life. | | 46 |
| 6749724956 | Oxymoron | Oxymoron is a figure of speech in which two opposite WORDS are joined to create an effect.
Example: Open secret / Tragic comedy / Seriously funny / Awfully pretty | | 47 |
| 6749877927 | Parable | A metaphor or simile drawn from nature or common life and told in a simple story or riddle; it uses comparisons to teach a moral or lesson.
Example: The Boy Who Cried Wolf | | 48 |
| 6749912982 | Paradox | A statement that appears to be self-contradictory or opposed to common sense but upon closer inspection contains some degree of truth or validity.
This encourages the audience to really consider what the author is trying to say. By doing this, it also drives their point further.
Example: "I am nobody." | | 49 |
| 6749983338 | Parallelism | Parallelism is the use of components in a sentence that are grammatically the same; or similar in their construction, sound, meaning or meter.
This method adds balance and rhythm to sentences giving ideas a smoother flow and thus can be persuasive because of the repetition it employs.
For example, "Alice ran into the room, into the garden, and into our hearts." We see the repetition of a phrase that not only gives the sentence a balance but rhythm and flow as well. This repetition can also occur in similar structured clauses e.g. "Whenever you need me, wherever you need me, I will be there for you." | | 50 |
