BASICS
a comparison between two things using the words "like" or "as"
What is a simile?
a special kind of metaphor that gives human attributes to a nonhuman object, such as an animal, object, or concept.
What is personification?
occurs when a poem’s speaker addresses someone absent, someone dead, or something nonhuman as if it were present and could respond.
What is apostrophe?
an extended metaphor with complex logic, or a startling comparison, that governs a poetic passage or an entire poem.
What is a conceit?
The use of the part for the whole
What is synecdoche?
a comparison between two things that does not use any helping words
What is a metaphor?
an apparent contradiction that is nevertheless somehow true.
What is a paradox?
the broad term of something being simply “ironic,” refers to a discrepancy between actual circumstances and those that would seem appropriate or expected
What is situational irony?
a type of refrain device, where the first word or phrase is repeated in a series of lines
What is anaphora?
The use of something closely related for the thing actually meant
What is metonymy?
bitter or cutting speech, said with the intention to hurt someone’s feelings
What is a sarcasm?
means a poem says less than it means. It can sometimes coexist with verbal irony
What is an understatement?
the repetition of vowel sounds. Do not confuse it with simple vowel repetition, as each vowel has several different sounds.
What is assonance?
occurs when a line does not stop at the end of the line, but continues onto the next line without pause or punctuation
What is enjambment?
refers to a pause within a line of verse
What is caesura?
the repetition of initial consonant sounds
What is alliteration?
refers to literature that ridicules human folly or vice in order to bring about some kind of reform
What is satire?
a literary device that repeats the same words or phrases several times to make an idea clearer and more emphatic
What is repetition?
refers to the act of placing two or more things side by side to compare or contrast something, or to create an interesting effect
What is juxtaposition?
a technique in which the normal order of words is reversed. This is often done to maintain a particular rhyme scheme or meter, and sometimes for artistic effect
What is inversion?
the repetition of final consonant sounds
What is consonance?
to say the opposite of what you mean. It is unlike sarcasm, which aims to hurt, or satire, which aims to change, its goal is to be figurative—to say more than it seems
What is verbal irony?
the use of words which sound like they mean
What is onomatopoeia?
the representation through language of sense experience. It occurs when the words of a poem relate to one of the five senses or a sense of feeling
What is imagery?
a brief and direct reference to a person, place, thing or idea of historical, cultural, literary or political significance. It does not describe or explain the person or thing to which it refers
What is allusion?