Literary Devices
The comparison of two unlike things using "like" or "as."
What is a simile?
The main idea or point of an essay.
What is a thesis statement?
A play's main character, often facing a conflict.
Who is the protagonist?
The underlying message or lesson in a story.
What is theme?
The part of speech that shows action or state of being.
What is a verb?
Giving human qualities to non-human things.
What is personification?
Supporting details that prove or explain the main idea.
What is evidence?
A struggle between opposing forces in a story.
What is conflict?
The perspective from which a story is told.
What is point of view?
A sentence that contains two or more independent clauses joined by a conjunction.
What is a compound sentence?
A contrast between expectation and reality.
What is irony?
The sequence of events in a story.
What is plot?
A 14-line poem with a specific rhyme scheme.
What is a sonnet?
When a story hints at events to come.
What is foreshadowing?
To explain the meaning of a word or phrase, especially using clues from the surrounding text.
What is defining using context?
The use of words that imitate sounds.
What is onomatopoeia?
The process of reviewing and improving a draft.
What is revision?
An object, person, or place that stands for something beyond its literal meaning.
What is a symbol?
The emotional atmosphere created by the author.
What is mood?
To carefully examine parts of a text to understand how they work together.
What is analyzing?
A recurring object, idea, or phrase that represents a larger concept.
What is a symbol?
The method of organizing information by comparing similarities and differences.
What is a compare and contrast structure?
The turning point or moment of greatest tension in a play.
What is the climax?
The author’s attitude toward the subject or audience.
What is tone?
To make an educated guess about something the author doesn’t say directly.
What is inferring?