100 Literary Devices Flashcards

9226683377	allegory	story or poem that can be used to reveal a hidden meaning	0
9373373957	tone	the attitude of a writer, usually implied, toward the subject or audience	1
9373372154	monologue	a (usually long) dramatic speech by a single actor	2
9373372153	diction	the choice and use of words and phrases in speech or writing	3
9373372152	double-entendre	a phrase that could have two meanings or that could be understood in two different ways	4
9373370030	rhetorical question	A question asked merely for effect with no answer expected.	5
9373370029	foreshadowing	the use of hints and clues to suggest what will happen later in a plot	6
9373368406	kenning	A metaphoric compound word or phrase used as a synonym for a common noun	7
9373368405	euphemism	the substitution of an agreeable word or phrase to replace one that might offend	8
9226683378	alliteration	beginning of same letter or sound in closely connected words	9
9226683379	allusion	indirect of passing reference	10
9226683380	anaphora	repetition in first part of a sentence , to have an artistic meaning	11
9226683381	antagonist	a hostile person who is opposed to another character	12
9226683382	apostrophe	figure of speech used to address an imaginary character, an abstract concept, or an object	13
9226683384	aside	when a character's dialogue is spoken but not heard by other actors on the stage	14
9226683385	assonance	repetition of vowel sounds	15
9226683386	blank verse	poetry written in meter without an ending rhyme	16
9226683387	cacophony	blend of unharmonious sounds	17
9226683388	caesura	pause in the middle of a line	18
9226683389	catharsis	the release of emotions (emotional cleanse)	19
9226683390	flat character	story character who have no depth, usually has one personality or characteristic	20
9226683391	round character	character who has complex personality: contradicted person	21
9226683392	dynamic character	changes throughout the story, through major conflict	22
9226683393	static character	person who doesn't change throughout story keeps same personality	23
9226683394	characterization	process of revealing characters personality	24
9226683395	climax	point where conflict hits its highest point	25
9226683396	comedy	drama that is amusing or funny	26
9226683397	conflict	struggle between opposing forces	27
9226683398	connotation	secondary meaning to a word red: anger, love, blood	28
9226683399	consonance	repetition of same consonant in words close together	29
9226683400	couplet	two rhyming lines in a verse	30
9226683401	denotation	the literal meaning of a word	31
9226683402	denouement	final outcome of the story	32
9226683403	deus ex machina	resolution of a plot by chance or coincidence	33
9226683404	didactic writing	writing with a primary purpose to teach or preach	34
9226683405	direct presentation of character	author telling the reader how a character is and what actions it will do further in the story	35
9226683406	double rhyme	rhyme where the repeated vowel is in the second last syllable of words involved (ex; born scorn)	36
9226683407	dramatic exposition	prose commentaries, to provide background information about the characters and their world	37
9226683408	end rhyme	rhymes occurring at the end of line	38
9226683409	end stopped line	line ending in regular punctuation	39
9226683410	English/Shakespearean/Elizabethan sonnet	a sonnet rhyming ababcdcdefefgg	40
9226683411	epiphany	when a character receives a spiritual insight into they life	41
9226683412	euphony	smooth choice and arrangement of sounds	42
9226683413	extended figure	A figure of speech sustained or developed through a considerable number of lines or through a whole poem.	43
9226683414	falling action	Events after the climax, leading to the resolution	44
9226683416	figurative language	Language that cannot be taken literally since it was written to create a special effect or feeling.	45
9226683417	figure of speech	a way of saying something other than the ordinary way	46
9226683419	form	external pattern or shape of a poem	47
9226683420	free verse	Poetry that does not have a regular meter or rhyme scheme	48
9226683421	hamartia	tragic flaw which causes a character's downfall	49
9226683422	imagery	Description that appeals to the senses (sight, sound, smell, touch, taste)	50
9226683423	indirect presentation of character	the personality of a character is revealed by what he or she does or says	51
9226683424	internal rhyme	A word inside a line rhymes with another word on the same line	52
9226683425	irony	A contrast between expectation and reality	53
9226683426	verbal irony	A figure of speech in which what is said is the opposite of what is meant	54
9226683427	dramatic irony	Irony that occurs when the meaning of the situation is understood by the audience but not by the characters in the play.	55
9226683428	irony of situation	refers to an occurrence that is contrary to what is expected or intended	56
9226683429	Italian sonnet	A sonnet consisting of an octave with the rhyme pattern abbaabba, followed by a sestet with the rhyme pattern cdecde or cdcdcd	57
9226683432	metaphor	A comparison without using like or as	58
9226683434	metonymy	A figure of speech in which something is referred to by using the name of something that is associated with it Example: The White House refused to comment on the situation in China.	59
9226683435	motivation	A need or desire that energizes and directs behavior	60
9226683436	narrator	Person telling the story	61
9226683437	octave	8 line stanza	62
9226683438	onomatopoeia	A word that imitates the sound it represents. (woof, bam)	63
9226683439	hyperbole	A figure of speech that uses exaggeration to express strong emotion, make a point, or evoke humor	64
9226683440	oxymoron	A figure of speech that combines opposite or contradictory terms in a brief phrase. jumbo shrimp	65
9226683441	paradox	A contradiction or dilemma in which the opposite of what is natural is actually true.	66
9226683442	paraphrase	A restatement of a text or passage in your own words.	67
9226683443	personification	A figure of speech in which an object or animal is given human feelings, thoughts, or attitudes	68
9226683444	plot	Sequence of events in a story	69
9226683445	point of view	The perspective from which a story is told	70
9226683446	omniscient point of view	The point of view where the narrator knows everything about the characters and their problems - told in the 3rd person.	71
9226683447	third person limited point of view	narrator tells the story from only one character's pov	72
9226683448	first person point of view	a character in the story is actually telling the story himself/herself	73
9226683449	objective point of view	a narrator who is totally impersonal and objective tells the story, with no comment on any characters or events.	74
9226683450	protagonist	Main character	75
9226683451	quatrain	A four line stanza	76
9226683452	rhythm	A regularly recurring sequence of events or actions.	77
9226683453	rhyme scheme	A regular pattern of rhyming words in a poem	78
9226683454	rising action	Events leading up to the climax	79
9226683455	sarcasm	the use of irony to mock or convey contempt	80
9226683456	satire	A literary work that criticizes human misconduct and ridicules vices, stupidities, and follies.	81
9226683458	sestet	6 line stanza	82
9226683459	setting	The context in time and place in which the action of a story occurs.	83
9226683460	simile	A comparison using "like" or "as"	84
9226683461	soliloquy	A long speech expressing the thoughts of a character alone on stage	85
9226683462	sonnet	14 line poem	86
9226683463	stanza	A group of lines in a poem	87
9226683464	stream of consciousness	private thoughts of a character without commentary	88
9226683466	symbol	A thing that represents or stands for something else	89
9226683467	synecdoche	a figure of speech in which a part is made to represent the whole or vice versa Example: Can I get your number?	90
9226683468	synesthesia	describing one kind of sensation in terms of another ("a loud color", "a sweet sound")	91
9226683469	tercet	3 line stanza	92
9226683470	terza rima	a verse form with a rhyme scheme: aba bcb cdc, etc.	93
9226683471	theme	Central idea of a work of literature	94
9226683472	tone	Attitude a writer takes toward the audience, a subject, or a character	95
9226683473	tragedy	A serious form of drama dealing with the downfall of a heroic or noble character	96
9226683475	understatement	the deliberate representation of something as lesser in magnitude than it actually is; a deliberate under-emphasis	97
9226683476	verse	A single line of poetry writing arranged with a metrical rhythm, typically having a rhyme	98
9226683477	vilanelle	a nineteen-line poem with two rhymes throughout, consisting of five tercets and a quatrain, with the first and third lines of the opening tercet recurring alternately at the end of the other tercets and with both repeated at the close of the concluding quatrain.	99