Definitions
Alliteration
What is...a series of words or phrases that all (or almost all) start with the same sound. These sounds are typically consonants to give more stress to that syllable. You'll often come across alliteration in poetry, titles of books and poems, and tongue twisters.
The general feeling the writer wants the audience to have. The writer can achieve this literary device through description, setting, dialogue, and word choice.
What is "Mood"?
Your brain is the size of a pea.
What is "Hyperbole"?
I am a figure of speech that compares,
Using "like" or "as" in my pairs,
I paint a picture in your mind,
Of two things that are intertwined.
What am I?
What is "Simile"?
Foreshadowing
What is…when an author indirectly hints at—through things such as dialogue, description, or characters' actions—what's to come later on in the story. This device is often used to introduce tension to a narrative.
This literary device is the writer or narrator's attitude towards a subject.
What is "Tone"?
You're making a mountain out of a molehill.
What is "Juxtaposition"?
I am a literary device with a sound,
Which I am heard all around,
I am used to imitate,
Such as a SMASH Of a fallen plate.
What am I?
What is "Onomatopoeia"?
Oxymoron
What is…a combination of two words that, together, express a contradictory meaning. This device is often used for emphasis, for humor, to create tension, or to illustrate a paradox.
This literary device is when a statement is used to express an opposite meaning than the one literally expressed by it.
What is "Irony"?
“Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that’s no matter — tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther ... And then one fine morning —
So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.”
What is "Imagery"?
I like to make references that are indirect,
To be able to help readers connect,
I am most likely a reference outside the text,
Hopefully not leaving you perplexed.
What am I?
What is "Allusion"?
Anthropomorphism
What is…when something nonhuman, such as an animal, place, or inanimate object, behaves in a human-like way.
The genre of writing that criticizes something, such as a person, behavior, belief, government, or society. This literary device often employs irony, humor, and hyperbole to make its point.
What is "Satire"?
it’s “wicked” good
What is "Colloquialism"?
I am a figure of speech you might not know,
A part that represents the whole, I show,
Like "all hands on deck" or "a new set of wheels,"
I may sound strange, but the meaning reveals.
What am I?
What is "Synecdoche"?
Malapropism
What is…when an incorrect word is used in place of a word that has a similar sound. This misuse of the word typically results in a statement that is both nonsensical and humorous; as a result, this device is commonly used in comedic writing.
This literary device is when a more mild or indirect word or expression is used in place of another word or phrase that is considered harsh, blunt, vulgar, or unpleasant.
What is "Euphemism"?
And that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the Earth.
What is "Epistrophe"?
I am used for poetic or rhetorical effect,
Helping the reader to connect,
Like “The pen is mightier than the sword,”
Where the related word must not be ignored.
What am I?
What is "Metonym"?