It occurs when a statement or situation means something different from (or even the opposite of) what is expected.
What is irony
100
An oversimplified conception or image, usually of a group of people, giving them all a set of characteristics, without consideration for individual differences.
A difference between what is said and what is meant.
What is verbal irony. Example: Oh, goody! It's time to do my homework.
200
The word sounds like what it describes.
What is onomatopeia
200
A humorous word or phrase that depends on a double meaning, either from a second meaning of the same word, or from the meaning of another word with a similar sound.
What is a pun
200
A technique used in which a writer will plant clues or subtle indications about events that will happen later in the narrative.
What is foreshadowing
200
Something that stands for something more than itself.
What is a symbol
300
The implied attitude of the writer toward the subject or the audience.
What is the tone
300
Example: I'm going to die if I don't get to see Lady Gaga in concert this year.
What is hyperbole
300
A story or poem that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral.
What is an allegory
300
The insight about life that is revealed in a literary work.
What is theme
300
A difference between what happens and what would be expected to happen.
What is situational irony. Example: A student studies for days for an English test, but sleeps in the morning of the test, shows up late for class, and fails the test.
400
A statement that is self-contradictory but still speaks the truth.
What is a paradox
400
The specialized language, often technical terms, of a particular group or profession.
What is jargon
400
A disappointing end to an exciting or impressive series of events.
What is an anti-climax
400
A sudden perception, interpretation, or enlightenment experienced by a character in literature.
What is an epiphany
400
Example: He was no Michael Jordan, but he could shoot a basketball.
What is an allusion
500
An address, usually in poetry, to someone, or even to a personified thing or abstract idea that is not present.
What is an apostrophe. Example: Lord Byron's "Apostrophe to the Ocean"
500
A type of poem that does not have any regular, recurring pattern of rhythm or rhyme.
What is free verse
500
Example: Freedom weeps, wrong rules the land, and waiting justice sleeps
What is personification
500
A relatively short narrative poem, written to be sung, with a simple and dramatic action
What is a ballad (rarely taught in school, but often comes up as a distractor on the exam)