English 9: Literary Devices

When similar sounding words or phrases are used, usually in an attempt to be funny.

The struggle between opposing forces.

A character who undergoes changes as the plot unfolds.

A character who remains the same as the plot unfolds.

An indirect reference to another literary work or to a famous person, place, or event.

Figure of speech in which the truth is exaggerated for emphasis or a humorous effect.

The contrast between what a reader or character expects and what actually happens.

Occurs when someone knowingly exaggerates or says one thing and means another (sarcasm).

A special kind of contrast between appearance and reality. 

A type of irony where the reader or viewer knows something that a character does not know.

The main idea in a work of literature.

The repetition of consonant sounds at the beginnings of words.

The attitude a writer takes towards the subject.

Descriptive words that recreate sensory experiences. Helps the reader imagine the scene.

The character, object, force of nature, or aspect of society in opposition with the hero.

This gives human qualities, feelings, actions, or characteristics to inanimate objects. 

Involves a character pitted against an outside force.

This makes a comparison between two things that are unlike by saying that one is the other.

The method of narrating a short story, novel, poem, or work of nonfiction.

A writer's use of hints or clues to indicate events and situations that will occur later.

A conversation, an episode, or an event that happened before the beginning of the story. 

The feeling or atmosphere that the writer creates for the reader using descriptive words.

A struggle that occurs within a character.

The methods that a writer uses to develop characters.

The central character of hero, usually the one with whom the audience tends to identify.

A person, place, an activity, or an object that stands for something beyond itself.