Honors English 2 50 literary devices

Use of a word whose sound initiates or reinforces its meaning.

The problem that must be solved; the struggle.

Repetition of consonant sounds, usually the initial consonant.

an event/detail that is chronologically out of its proper time in history

The author’s attitude toward his/her characters and subject.

A very brief story to illustrate a lesson using animals as characters.

Comparison between two dissimilar things intending to add meaning to one.

The all-knowing author.

The highest emotional point in a story.

An attempt in literature to represent life as it is, without sentimentalizing or idealizing it.

Verse written in unrhymed iambic pentameter

Shifting by the author to earlier events in the story.

general mood/feeling established in the story

A figure of speech in which something non-human is given human characteristics.

a tale in verse or prose in which characters, actions or settings represent abstract or moral qualities.

story written to be acted out on stage

serious literary work in which a dignified character meets destruction usually through some personal flaw or weakness.

defect in a tragic hero/heroine which leads to his/her downfall

Language which helps one see more clearly and vividly, a person, feeling or thing.

literary work that mocks/ridicules the stupidity or vices of individuals, groups, institutions, or society in general

In tragedy, the release of strong emotions in the audience.

A reference to a person, place, event, or literary work, which the writer expects the author to recognize.

methods used to present the personality of a character in a work of literature.

imitation of a piece of literature/music/art for amusement or instruction

Something in a literary work that maintains its own meaning and represents something else.

A person or force who opposes something else.

Background material usually presented at the beginning of a work.

amusing literary work, which ends happily when the hero/heroine overcomes obstacles.

A series of events that occur in a story.

A re-wording of a text passage for purposes of clarification.

The main idea of a literary work.

speech/writing praising a person; especially a funeral oration

Time and place in a narrative

lyric poem which expresses mourning, usually over the death of an individual

having two or more meanings; not clear

A character who remains the same throughout the story.

Hints given by the author to prepare the reader for future events.

To hear or read and them assume.

A dramatic moment where a character makes an extended speech alone, usually of private thoughts.

A situation in which the reader or audience knows things, which the characters do not.

type of comic play, which ridiculous situations, characters coarse wit and physical buffoonery are used to make us laugh

A dramatic convention where a character turns to speak to another character or directly to the audience.

Characteristic way of writing.

A happening turns out to be quite different from what we had expected.

vantage point from which a narrative is told

sensationalist entertainment with excessively virtuous or evil characters, sordid realism, violence.

A pair of successive rhymed lines of poetry.

Central character

conversation/speech among two or more characters

Long speech by a character delivered in front of one or more other characters.