Literary Techniques

when two opposite terms are used together

a literary reference to a well-known work of art, music, history or literature

a substitution of a more pleasant expression for one whose meaning may be rude or offensive

a break in seriousness for a moment of comedy or silliness

a 10 syllable line divide into 5 iambic feet

a play on words, especially those that sound alike

repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of a word or stressed syllables

a unit in poetry consisting of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable

a figure of speech comparing two unlike things;like or as

two rhyming lines at the end of a speech

when the audience or reader knows something that the characters do not

a contradiction between what is expected and what is

a word or phrase with more than one meaning

language which works to evoke images in your mind

a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is replace by another, indicating a similarity

hints of events to occur

attributing human characteristics to non human objects

writing or speech that is not meant to be taken literally

normal speech rhythm

non-rhyming poetry, usually written in iambic pentameter