Row 1
The deliberate omission of a word or phrase from prose done for effect by the author.
“The whole day, rain, torrents of rain.”
Ellipsis
A folk saying with a lesson.
“A rolling stone gathers no moss.”
Adage
Giving human-like qualities to something that is not human.
“The tired old truck groaned as it inched up the hill.”
Personification
A recurring idea in a piece of literature.
Motif
A common, often used expression that doesn’t make sense if you take it literally.
“I got chewed out by my coach.”
Idiom
Exaggeration.
“My mother will kill me if I am late.”
Hyperbole
A long, emotionally violent, attack using strong, abusive language.
Invective
When the opposite of what you expect to happen does.
Irony
Using words such as “like” or “as” to make a direct comparison between two very different things.
“My feet are so cold they feel like popsicles.”
Simile
When apparently contradictory terms are grouped together and suggest a paradox
Oxymoron
– Writing characterized by gloom, mystery, fear and/or death. Also refers to an architectural style of the middle ages, often seen in cathedrals of this period.
Gothic
Word or words that create a picture in the reader's mind.
Imagery
Making an implied comparison, not using “like,” as,” or other such words.
“My feet are popsicles.”
Metaphor
The atmosphere created by the literature and accomplished through word choice (diction).
Mood
The speed or tempo of an author’s writing.
Pacing
When an author gives hints about what will occur later in a story
Foreshadowing
Found in the plot (or story line) of a book, story, or movie.
Situational Irony
When the audience of a drama, play, movie, etc. knows something that the character doesn't and would be surprised to find out.
Dramatic Irony
The major category into which a literary work fits.
Genre
Replacing an actual word or idea, with a related word or concept.
Metonymy
Placing things side by side for the purposes of comparison.
Juxtaposition
A description involving a “crossing of the senses.”
“I was deafened by his brightly-colored clothing.”
Synesthesia
When you say something and mean the opposite/something different.
Verbal Irony
A more agreeable or less offensive substitute for generally unpleasant words or concepts. Sometimes they are used for political correctness
Euphemism
A comparison of one pair of variables to a parallel set of variables.
“America is to the world as the hippo is to the jungle.”
Analogy