Say It With Style
repetition of initial consonant sounds; makes text easier to memorize, and it provides rhythm and musicality; can also affect the mood and tone of a poem.
Alliteration
A comparison between two things
(without using “like” or “as”) that are otherwise unrelated; the qualities of one thing are figuratively carried over to another;
Metaphor
reveals details about a character without stating them explicitly; reveals traits through the character's actions, speech, thoughts, appearance, and other characters’ reactions to them.
Indirect Characterization
reflects the writer’s attitude; also conveys the attitudes and feelings of a character or narrator
Tone
a particular quality of a person, object, emotion, or situation is downplayed or presented as being less than what is true to the situation
Understatement
Comparison of one thing (using “like” or “as” with another thing of a different kind in order
to make a description more emphatic or vivid
Simile
A situation or event that is deliberately contrary to what an audience expects.
Irony
Extravagant exaggeration; makes someone or something bigger, better, more, etc.
Hyperbole
a poetic exchange of insults practiced mainly between the 5th and 16th centuries; exchanges were extremely provocative, often involving accusations of cowardice.
Flyting
derived from Anglo-Saxon poetry; “rename” someone or something through a metaphorical meaning that highlights characteristics of the person or thing they describe.
Kenning
explicit characterization, tells the audience what a character is like; states attributes of a character in a straightforward manner.
Direct Characterization
A storm representing a character's emotional turmoil is an example of this literary device.
Symbolism
uses vivid description that appeals to a reader’s senses; evokes a sensory experience
(sight, sound, touch, taste, smell) to develop a “picture” in the reader’s mind of what is being described.
Imagery
The use of an object, person, word, or idea to represent something beyond its literal meaning.
Symbolism
give an indication or hint of what is to come later in the story.
Foreshadowing
evoke an emotion or feeling in the reader.
Mood
much more than simply “the words the author uses,” refers to the linguistic choices made by a writer to convey an idea or point of view in an effective way.
Diction
an idea or thing is given human attributes and/or feelings or is spoken of as if it were human.
Personification
a reference, typically brief, to a person, place, thing, event, or other literary work with which the reader is presumably familiar.
Allusion
The expression of meaning through language that signifies the opposite of what is actually meant.
Irony