Literary Devices

An attitude of a writer toward a subject or an audience.

A series of words in a row (or close together) have the same first consonant sound.

A phrase comparing two things in an interesting way using like or as.

A satire where trivial subjects and events are treated in the manner of the heroic style.

A typical character, action or situation that represents universal patterns of human nature.

A saying in a culture that has a figurative meaning different from its literal meaning.

The study of the patterns of formation of sentences and phrases from words.

A warning or indication of a future event.

The arrangement of stressed and unstressed syllables into a pattern.

Exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally.

A device that contains several layers of meaning; it means more than its' literal meaning.

Polite, indirect expressions which replace words and phrases considered harsh and impolite.

A main idea or meaning of a literary work, which may be stated directly or indirectly.

A device introduced and developed throughout all or part of a literary work, especially a poem.

This occurs when the audience knows something the characters do not.

This occurs when the expected outcome does not happen.

An understatement in which a positive statement is expressed by negating its opposite.

A story in which people, things or happenings have a symbolic meaning.

An object or idea that repeats itself throughout a literary work.

Visually descriptive language that forms mental images, figures, etc. of the text.

A phrase used to compare two things that aren't alike but have something in common.

The repetition of vowel sounds in nearby words to emphasize meaning.

The formation of a word from a sound associated with what is named.

An event, conclusion, statement, that is less important, powerful, or striking than expected.

Assigning human qualities to something that isn't human, like nature or emotions.

Variety of language that a group of people speak, separated by geography, class, or ethnicity.

A joke that makes a play on words.

The style of speaking or writing as dependent upon choice of words.

A comparison of two things to show their similarities.

The state or quality of feeling that a text evokes in the READER.

A deliberate use of inharmonious words, phrases, or syllables to create harsh sounding effects.

A sudden memory or scene of an event in the past.

Describing something in a way that is other than it seems.

An indirect reference to a person, place, or idea of historical, literary or political value.

The deliberate repetition of the first part of the sentence to achieve an artistic effect.

The presentation of something as being smaller, worse, or less important than it actually is.