Examples
"Little did he know, this was only the beginning of his troubles."
What is foreshadow?
The puppy in Of Mice and Men.
What is symbol/symbolism?
In a horror film, the audience knows the killer is hiding in the barn, but the main character does not.
What is dramatic irony?
Look at that guy! He's 10 feet tall!
What is hyperbole?
He fought like a lion.
What is simile?
"You're a peach" or "You're a doll"
What is metaphor?
"The Soul selects her own Society"
What is alliteration?
The wind whispered softly in the night.
What is personification?
We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills…
What is anaphora?
He knew the lyrics of some two hundred hymns and ballads—a repertoire ranging from “The Old Rugged Cross” to Cole Porter.
-In Cold Blood
What is allusion?
I'm sorry, but he didn't make it.
What is euphemism?
Sasquatch enjoys taking long walks in the woods, playing with woodland creatures, and devouring wandering tourists.
What is parallelism?
organized chaos
Ruth: "I would rather be living in Buckingham Palace."
What is allusion?
I have good punctuation. I'm never late!
"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness..."
A Tale of Two Cities
What is antithesis?
"a government of the people, by the people, and for the people"
-Abraham Lincoln
What is epistrophe?
“His palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy
There’s vomit on his sweater already, mom’s spaghetti“
-Eminem
What is assonance?
In A Raisin in the Sun, Walter says to Beneatha bitterly: "Now ain't that fine! You just got your mother's interest at heart, ain't you, girl? You such a nice girl--but if Mama got hat money she can always take a few thousand and help you through school too--can't she?" (37).
What is verbal irony?
"I came. I saw. I conquered."
-Julius Caesar
What is parallelism?
Langston Hughes' poem "Harlem" is included at the beginning of A Raisin in the Sun.
What is epigraph?
Give me liberty or give me death
What is anaphora?
"the crumbling thunder of regret and remorse"
What is consonance?
A fire station burns down.
What is situational irony.
What is synecoche?