Literary Devices

Literary technique used to create meaning that seems to contradict literal meaning or events

A rhetorical technique in which something is represented as less than it actually is

The musical quality in language produced by repetition

The use of words that sound like what they represent

A subtle comparison in which the author describes a person or things using words not literal

A bitter form of irony, intended to taunt or hurt

The repetition of the same or similar consonant sounds in words that are close together.

The repetition of accented vowel sounds, and all sounds following them, in words close together

A comparison of two things using "like," "as," "than," or "resembles"

The use of language to create mental images and sensory impressions

Figurative language that makes a comparison in unexpected ways.

Combination of contradictory or incongruous words. eg. "fiend angelical" & "honorable villain"

The use of words in which the intended meaning is contrary to the literal meaning

An intentional and extreme exaggeration for emphasis or effect

A specific convention or structure that is employed by the author to produce a given effect

A literary technique for implying, through plot or character, that the situation is different

The atmosphere or feeling created by the writer in a literary work or passage

The use of symbols to represent abstract ideas in concrete ways

The use of hints and clues to suggest what will happen later in a plot

An expression peculiar to a particular language

Language layered with meaning by word images and figures of speech, as opposed to literal lang.

Type of personification that gives humanlike characteristics to nonhuman objects, esp. animals

Figurative language in which nonhuman things or abstractions are given human qualities

Dramatic device in which a character says or does something that he or she doesn't fully grasp

A reference within a literary work to other works of literature, art, or real events.