Literary Devices
the arrangement of words and phrases
syntax
an ideal/perfect place
Utopia
word-for-word
verbatim
when the audience knows more about a situation than the characters do (ex. “The Story of an Hour”)
dramatic irony
author’s attitude towards the subject
tone
all-powerful (bonus 100: all-knowing)
omnipotent, omniscient
act in advance to prevent someone from doing something
forestall
word or phrase that is applied to an object to which it is not literally applicable “life is a highway”
metaphor
a word whose sound suggests the thing itself (ex. “buzz” “splash”)
onomatopoeia
feel/express contempt or hatred
scorn
indifferent/unimpressed because you have experienced before
blase
recurring element/thing in a story
motif
attributing human qualities to non-human things (the “sun was smiling”)
personification
very small and of little/no value
paltry
mockery
derision
the emotional feeling the work produces in the reader
mood
when an author starts their story in the middle, no intro/preamble
in medias res
overly proud and self-important
haughty
to leave out
omit
words or sounds that repeat at the beginning of word groups
alliteration