Literary Devices
Sound Devices
Rhetorical Devices
Figurative Language
Grammar Terms
100
Definition: This is something which seemingly cannot be, yet it is; a contradiction. Example: "And faith unfaithful kept him falsely true." - Alfred Tennyson
What is an oxymoron?
100
Definition:This is the repetition of initial consonant sounds at the beginnings of words. Example: Romeo and Juliet- “From forth the fatal loins of these two foes; A pair of star-cross’d lovers take their life.”
What is alliteration?
100
Definition: The repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clause Example: "We are a people in a quandary about the present. We are a people in search of our future. We are a people in search of a national community."
What is anaphora?
100
Definition: This is a comparison of two unlike things using the terms "like" or "as". Example: "A Republic whose history, like the path of the just, is as the shining light that shineth more and more unto the perfect day."
What is a simile?
100
Definition: This is a group of words that does not have both a subject and a verb and cannot stand alone. It may be punctuated and capitalized as a sentence, but it does not constitute a complete sentence Example: Even though he had the better arguments and was by far the more powerful speaker.
What is a fragment?
200
Definition:This is a statement that leads to a contradictory situation in which something seems both true and false. Example: "All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others" George Orwell- The Animal Farm
What is a paradox?
200
Definition: This is the use of words that sound like the noises they describe. Example: The moan of doves in immemorial elms, And murmuring of innumerable bees... 'Come Down, O Maid' by Alfred Lord Tennyson
What is onomatopoeia?
200
Definition: The use of successive verbal constructions in poetry or prose that correspond in grammatical structure, sound, meter, meaning, etc Example: "...and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."
What is parallelism?
200
Definition: This is a direct comparison of two things, in which they are said to be (in some sense) the same thing. Example: "Why this country is a shining city on a hill."
What is a metaphor?
200
Definition: Prepare (written material) for publication by correcting, condensing, or otherwise modifying it. Example: The student corrected his essay for spelling errors and subject-verb agreement?
What is editing?
300
Definition: This is extreme exaggeration used in a literary work. Example: "So first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself."
What is hyperbole?
300
Definition: This is the repetition of vowel sounds followed by different consonants in two or more stressed syllables. Example: Far off the homes of men, and farther still, The graves of men on an opposing hill Robert Lee Frost, The Vantage Point
What is assonance?
300
Definition: Figure of omission in which normally occurring conjunctions (and, or, but, for, nor, so, yet) are intentionally omitted in successive phrases, or clause Example: Thank you. He comes, he sleeps, he goes. So the plot thickens..
What is asyndeton?
300
Definition: This is a type of figurative language in which human qualities are given to nonhuman things. Example: "Once again, the heart of America is heavy. The spirit of America weeps for a tragedy that denies the very meaning of our land."
What is personification?
300
Definition: These are changes made to a draft to improve its focus, content or organization. Example: The student changed the order of paragraphs and the title of her essay.
What is revision?
400
Definition: This is used by a writer to show restraint or lack of emphasis in expression, as for rhetorical effect. Example: "I have to have this operation. It isn't very serious. I have this tiny little tumor on the brain." - In the 'Catcher in the Rye'.
What is an understatement?
400
Definition: recurrence or repetition of consonants especially at the end of stressed syllables without the similar correspondence of vowels Example: As if someone gently rapping, rapping At my chamber door Edgar Allan Poe "The Raven"
What is consonance?
400
Definition: A kind of extended metaphor or long simile in which an explicit comparison is made between two things for the purpose of furthering a line of reasoning or drawing an inference Example: "Withdrawal of U.S. troops will become like salted peanuts to the American public; the more U.S. troops come home, the more will be demanded."
What is analogy?
400
Definition: This is the use of language that appeals to the five senses--touch, taste, smell, hearing, and sight. Example: Ten thousand saw I at a glance, Tossing their heads in sprightly dance. The waves beside them danced; but they Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
What is imagery?
400
Definition: This is when two or more independent clauses are joined by a comma without a coordinating conjunction. Example: I enjoyed my break, this semester is about to end.
What is a comma splice?
500
Definition: This is a humorous word play that usually is based on several meanings of one word. Example: “winter of our discontent” was “made glorious summer by this Son [son] of York.” (Richard III)
What is a pun?
500
Definition: the line ends abruptly and does not coincide with a natural pause, punctuation break, or the end of a sentence. Example: Admit impediments. Love is not love Which alters when it alteration finds, Or bends with the remover to remove:"
What is enjambment?
500
Definition: Figure of comparison in which a word standing for part of something is used for the whole of that thing or vice versa Example: "Take thy face hence." William Shakespeare- Macbeth
What is synecdoche?
500
Definition: This is the contrast between appearance and reality or what is expected and what actually happens. Example: Water, water, every where, And all the boards did shrink; Water, water, every where, Nor any drop to drink.
What is irony?
500
Definition: This is a writing skill which assures that students write sentences that differ in structure and length. It can be a persuasive technique. Example: The student used a complex sentence, a compound sentence, and a simple sentence to persuade the audience.
What is sentence variety?
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