Definitions Easy
A literary device that repeats the same words or phrases a few times to make an idea clearer and more memorable
Repetition
Simile
Comparisons that use like or as
A character's reversal of fortune
Peripeteia
Hyperbole
Exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally
From "Nicholas Was"
"He envied Loki and Sisyphus, Prometheus and Judas. His punishment was harsher."
Allusion
A main idea or an underlying meaning of a literary work, which may be stated directly or indirectly.
Theme
Metaphor
Comparisons that do not use like or as
The use of components in a sentence that are grammatically the same; or similar in their construction, sound, or meaning
Parallelism
Allusion
A brief reference to a person, place, thing or idea of historical, cultural, or literary significance
From MLK's "I Have a Dream"
"Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina…”
Repetition or Parallelism
A question asked just for effect, or to lay emphasis on some point being discussed, when no real answer is expected
Rhetorical Question
Alliteration
The repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of a series of words
An understatement, used to lessen the effect of a statement; substituting something for something that might be offensive or hurtful.
Euphemism
Idiom
An expression having a meaning that cannot be understood from the individual meanings of it words
From "The Things They Carried"
"Some carried themselves with a sort of wistful resignation, others with pride or stiff soldierly discipline or good humor or macho zeal. They were afraid of dying but they were even more afraid to show it."
Explicit Characterization
The use of hints in the narrative that tease the reader about what is to come in the plot in the future
Foreshadowing
A figure of speech in which apparently contradictory terms appear in together
Exploits the different possible meanings of a word or the fact that there are words that sound alike but have different meanings
Puns
Hamartia
The flaw that causes the hero's downfall
From "The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World"
Strangers can bring a community together and have a lasting positive impact on their lives.
Theme
How characters see or feel about an event, also called perspective
Point of View
Personification
Gives nonhuman things, animals, or abstractions human characteristics
When the hero makes a critical discovery
Anagnorisis
Chiasmus
A rhetorical or literary figure in which words, grammatical constructions, or concepts are repeated in reverse order, in the same or a modified form
Climax