Sound And Rhythm
Repetition of initial consonant sounds (e.g., "Silly snakes slither").
Alliteration
A comparison using "like" or "as."
Simile
Saying the opposite of what you mean (Sarcasm).
Verbal Irony
Hints about what will happen later in the story.
Foreshadowing
A four-line stanza in a poem.
Quatrain
Words that sound like what they mean (e.g., "Bang," "Pop").
Onomatopoeia
Giving human traits to non-human things.
Personification
Two contradictory words paired together (e.g., "Jumbo shrimp")
Oxymoron
An object that represents a larger idea.
Symbolism
Poetry that does not rhyme or have a regular meter.
Free Verse
Repetition of vowel sounds within words (e.g., "The rain in Spain").
Assonance
A direct comparison saying one thing is another.
Metaphor
When the audience knows more than the characters.
Dramatic Irony
A recurring theme or image throughout a work.
Motif
Unrhymed poetry written in iambic pentameter.
Blank Verse
A pause or break within a line of poetry, often marked by punctuation.
Caesura
Extreme exaggeration for effect.
Hyperbole
A statement that seems impossible but is actually true.
Paradox
A scene that interrupts the present to show the past.
Flashback
A 14-line poem with a specific rhyme scheme.
Sonnet
The repetition of words at the start of consecutive phrases.
Anaphora
A brief reference to a famous person, place, or event.
Allusion
When the outcome is the opposite of what was expected.
Situational Irony
A sudden, artificial solution to a hopeless problem.
Dues Ex Machina
Continuing a sentence without a pause beyond the end of a line.
Enjambment