Figurative Language
A figurative comparison of two things, often dissimilar, using like or as.
Simile
When a writer obscures or denies the complexity of the issues in an argument.
Oversimplification
A word or phrase used two or more times in close proximity.
Repetition
King Lear and Gloucester are an example of this. particularly because of their similar storylines of familial deception in the pursuit of power.
Foil
The perspective from which a fictional or nonfictional story is told.
Point of View
A thing, event, or person that represents or stands for some idea or event, but can also simultaneously retain their own literal meanings.
Symbol
An error of chronology or timeline in a literary piece.
Anachronism
The repetition of initial identical consonant sounds.
Alliteration
"pitter-patter"; "click-clack"; or "stink, stank, stunk."
Consonance
When a writer or orator appeals to logic to substantiate their argument.
Logos
A figurative comparison of two things, often dissimilar, without using like or as.
Metaphor
Excessive pride or self-confidence, especially as applied to heroic figures.
Hubris
Sentence construction which places in close proximity two or more equal grammatical constructions. Adds balance, rhythm, and clarity to a sentence.
Parallelism
As the protagonist walks down a creepy hallway in the dark, the narrator points out the axe murderer hiding in the shadows. The protagonist continues walking towards him, oblivious.
Dramatic Irony
When a writer raises an irrelevant issue to draw attention away from the real issue.
Red Herring
Inanimate objects, animals, ideas, or abstractions are endowed with human traits or human form.
Personification
When two cases are not sufficiently parallel to lead readers to accept a claim of a connection between them.
False Analogy
Repetition of identical or similar vowel sounds within two or more words in close proximity.
Assonance
“O death, where is thy sting?”
Apostrophe
A seemingly contradictory statement which is actually true. This rhetorical device is often used for emphasis or simply to attract attention.
Paradox
A figure of speech that juxtaposes two contradictory terms.
Oxymoron
Latin for “against the man.” When a writer personally attacks his or her opponents instead of their arguments.
Ad Hominem
The use of a word whose pronunciation suggests its meaning. Ex: “buzz,” “hiss,” “pop.”
Onomatopoeia
“Early to bed and early to rise/Make a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.”
Aphorism
A brief recounting of a relevant story or tale often told by a character in a piece of literature.
Anecdote
Conscious exaggeration used to heighten effect. Often used humorously.
Hyperbole
Latin for “it does not follow.” When one statement isn’t logically connected to another.
Non-Sequitir
A figure of speech in which the grammar of one phrase is inverted in the following phrase, such that two key concepts from the original phrase reappear in the second phrase in inverted order.
Chiasmus
“Into the valley of death rode the six-hundred.”
Anastrophe/Inversion (either acceptable)
Background information provided by a writer to enhance a reader’s understanding of the context of a fictional or nonfictional story.
Exposition
A literary device in which a part of something is used to represent the whole or vice versa (use a whole to represent a part).
Synecdoche
Latin for “after this, therefore because of this.” An informal fallacy that argues that because one event occurs after another event, the first event caused the second event.
Post hoc (ergo propter hoc)
The practice of omitting conjunctions between words, phrases, or clauses.
Asyndeton
“An envious heart makes a treacherous ear.”
Isocolon
A novel or story whose theme is the moral or psychological growth of the main character during their formative years.
Bildungsroman
A figure of speech that replaces the name of a thing with the name of something else that is closely related.
Metonymy
A plot device whereby a seemingly unsolvable problem in a story is suddenly and abruptly resolved by an unexpected and seemingly unlikely occurrence, typically so much as to seem contrived.
Deus ex machina
Sentence structures that are extraordinarily complex and involved. Often difficult for a reader to follow.
Syntactic Permutation
“John and his license expired last week.”
Zuegma
Sentence consisting of three parts of equal importance and length, usually three independent clauses.