Literary Devices

A category or type of literature

One of the three major types of literature, the others being prose and drama

Anything that stands for or represents something else

Writing or speech that attempts to convince the reader to adopt a particular opinion

Use in a literary work of clues that suggest events that have yet to occur

General term for literary techniques that portray differences between appearance and reality

A central message or insight into life revealed through the literary work

A short speech delivered by an actor in a play, expressing the character's thoughts

Form of language spoken by people in a particular region or group

A figure of speech in which like or as is used to make a comparison between two unlike ideas

The high point of interest or suspense

Brief work of fiction

The ordinary form of written language

Type of figurative language in which a nonhuman subject is given human characteristics

A speaker or character who tells a story

Struggle between opposing forces

A feeling of curiosity or uncertainty about the outcome of events in a literary work

Writing that tells a story

Descriptive or figurative language used in literature to create word pictures for the reader

A person or an animal who takes part in the action of a literary work

Sequence of events in a literary work

The use of words that imitate sounds

A literary work is the writer's attitude toward his/her audience and subject

A long work of fiction

A conversation between characters

A brief story about an interesting, amusing, or strange event

Writing or speech that appeals to one or more of the senses

The imaginary voice assumed by the writer of a poem

Speech by one character in a play, story, or poem

The time and place of the action

Prose writing that presents and explains ideas or that tells about real people

Figure of speech in which one thing is spoken of as though it were something else

Lesson taught by a literary work

Reason that explains why a character thinks, feels, acts, or behaves in a certain way

The repetition of initial consonant sounds