| Term | Definition |
|---|
| allusion | a figure of speech that makes a reference or representation of or to a well-known place, person, etc. |
| ambiguity | -A statement which can contain two or more meanings. For example when the oracle at Delphi told Croesus that if he waged war on Cyrus he would destroy a great empire Croesus thought the oracle meant his enemy's empire. In fact the empire Croesus destro |
| anecdote | a very brief story, told to illustrate a point or serve as an example of something. |
| antithesis | exact opposite |
| aphorism | a concise statement of a truth or principle |
| apostrophe | A technique by which a writer address an inanimate object, an idea, or a person who is either ded or absent. |
| bombast | speech or writing that sounds grand or important but has little meaning |
| circumlocution | indirect or roundabout expression (by using an uncecessarily large number of words esp. when trying to avoid answering a difficult question directly) |
| conceit | an extended metaphor with a complex logic that governs an entire poem or poetic passage |
| connotation | The emotional implications and associations that words may carry as distinguished from their denotative meanings |
| denotation | the exact dictionary definition of a word |
| diction | The author's choice of words |
| digression | a departure from the main issue, subject, etc. |
| epiphany | a revelation; sudden knowledge or insight |
| epithet | any word or phrase applied to a person or thing to describe an actual or attributed quality |
| euphemism | a mild, indirect, or vague term substituting for a harsh, blunt, or offensive term |
| extended metaphor | a metaphor that is extended through a stanza or entire poem, often by multiple comparisons of unlike objects or ideas |
| hyperbole | an extreme exaggeration |
| imagery | Language that appeals to the senses, usually sight but also sound,taste,touch or smell. |
| malpropism | the use of a word sounding somewhat like the one intended but humorously wrong in the context |
| metaphor | a comparison without using like or as |
| metonymy | a figure of speech that consists of the use of the name of one object or concept for that of another to which it is related, or of which it is a part, as "scepter" for "sovereignty," or "the bottle" for "strong drink," or "count heads (or noses)" for "count people." |
| non-sequitur | A statement that does not follow logically from what preceded it |
| oxymoron | A figure of speech that combines opposite or contradictory terms in a brief phrase. |
| parenthesis | a statement placed beside (or within) the main sentence. |
| parody | make a spoof of or make fun of |
| personification | when something nonhuman is given human characteristics (must be HUMAN, or it's a metaphor) |
| point of view | a mental position from which things are viewed |
| pun | a play on words |
| satire | form of literature in which irony, sarcasm, and ridicule are employed to attack human vice and folly |
| simile | a comparison using like or as |
| situational irony | occurs when the outcome of a work is unexpected, or events turn out to be the opposite from what one had expected |
| symbol | anything that stands for or represents something else |
| synechdoche | when a part is used to signify a whole, "all hands on deck" |
| synesthesia | a blending of sensory experience in which different stimuli can cause odd sensations (taste colors, give personality to numbers, see written words as colored, etc.) |
| syntax | the grammatical arrangement of words in sentences |
| theme | a unifying idea that is a recurrent element in a literary or artistic work |
| tone | the mood of a work (often several in one work) |
| understatement | lack of emphasis in expression for a purposeful effect |
| verbal irony | the use of language to express the opposite of its literal meaning |
| paradox | a statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd but in reality expresses a possible truth. |
| cumulative sentence | sentence that begins with the main idea and adds additional information, usually for description; also called a loose sentence |
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