Words to Know
Literary Devices
Literary Devices
100

The choice and use of words and phrases in speech or writing.

Diction

100

Visually descriptive or figurative language, especially in a literary work.

Imagery

100

The fact of two things being seen or placed close together with contrasting effect.

Juxtaposition

200

A sentence consisting of only one clause, with a single subject and predicate.

Simple Sentences

200

A figure of speech in which apparently contradictory terms appear in conjunction; a phrase where the two words have the opposite meaning ("beautiful disaster)

Oxymoron

200

Repeating a word or phrase at the end of different parts of text.

Epistrophe

300

Exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally

Hyperbole

300

Comparing two like things to one another using like or as.

Simile

400
A form of figurative language that uses the emotional and cultural associations of words to create deeper meanings.

Connotation

400

Making a comparison without using the words like or as.

Metaphor

500

The action of repeating something that has already been said or written.

Repetition

500

Contrasts two opposing ideas in parallel gramatical structures.

Antithesis