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Allegory a figurative work in which a surface narratives carries a secondary, symbolic or metaphorical mean. Alliteration repetition of the initial consonant sounds in neighboring words. Can reinforce meaning, unify ideas, supply a musical sound, and/or echo the sense of the passage. Allusion direct or indirect reference to another work of literature and/ or art, a myth, a historical event, a place, while is presumably commonly known. Ambiguity Multiple meanings, either international or international, of a word, phrase, sentence, or passage. The doubtfulness or uncertainty about the intention or meanings of something. Anadiplosis The repetition of the last word of a phrase to the very near beginning of the next. "Pleasure might cause her read, reading might make her know, knowledge might pity win, and pity grace obtain..." Analogy Similarity or comparison b/t two different things or the relationship between them. Anaphora repetition of the same word or words at the beginning of successive phrases, commonly in conjunction with climax and with parallelism. "To think on death it is a misery, to think on life it is vanity, to think on the world verily it is, to think that here man hath no perfect bliss." Antithesis establishes a clear, contrasting relationship between two ideas by joining them together or juxtaposing them, often in parallel structure. "To err is human, to forgive, divine" Aphorism A terse statement of known authorship, which expresses a general truth or moral principle. Can be a memorable summation of the author's point. Apostrophe A figure of speech that directly addresses an absent or imaginary person or a personified abstraction, such as liberty or love. It is an address to someone or something that cannot answer. Archetype Used in criticism to characterize a pattern of plot or character, which evokes a racial memory. The voyage in The Rime of the Ancient Mariner is an archetype of the spiritual journey. Aside Words spoken to the audience or perhaps to another character while other characters are on stage. Assonance Repetition of similar vowel sounds in successive or proximate words containing different consonants. "A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid." Asyndeton Omitting conjunctions between words, phrases. Gives the effect of unpremeditated multiplicity. "On his return he received medals, honors, treasures, titles, fame." The lack of and gives the impression that the list is perhaps not complete. Carpe diem Seize the day. Tomorrow is promised to no one. Catachresis Is an extravagant, implied metaphor using words in an alien or unusual way. " I will speak daggers to her." Catharsis The "purification or purgation of the emotions (as pity and fear) primarily through art" or theater. Chaismus ABBA structure. "What is learned unwillingly is forgotten gladly -- What is learned unwillingly is gladly forgotten." Cliché An old and overused idea expression. Colloquial Use of slang or informality in speech or writing. Connotation the non-literal, associative meaning of a word; implied, suggested meaning. A word's connotation my involve ideas, emotions, or attitudes. Consonance Correspondence of sounds in words or syllables; recurrence of the same or like sounds. The repetition of similar consonant sounds in words in close proximity. "Quickly, KP crammed the cat in the basket on the bike." Denotation strict, literal, dictionary definition of a word, devoid of any emotion, attitude, or color. Diction Related to style, diction refers to the writer's word choices, especially with regard to their correctness, clearness, or effectiveness. Epithet A adjective phrase appropriately qualifying a subject by naming a key or important characteristic of the subject. Eponym A substitute for a particular attribute the name of a famous person recognized for that attribute. Often border on the cliché. Euphemism Agreeable or less offensive substitute for a generally unpleasant word or concept. Figurative a form of writing or a figure of speech that is not intended to caryy literal meaning and is usually meant to be imaginative and vivid. Figure of Speech A device used to produce figurative language. Many compare dissimilar things. Hyperbole A figure of speech using deliberate exaggeration or overstatement. Irony the contrast between what is stated explicitly and what is meant, or the difference between what appears to be and what is actually true. Isocolon the same grammatical form is repeated in different words, as in 'Fain to no purpose, artful to no end. Young without lovers, old without a friend.' Metaphor implied comparison of seemingly unlike things or the substitution of one for the other, suggesting some similarity. Metonymy the name of one object is substituted for that of another closely associated with it. "The white house declared" rather then "the President declared." Motif an idea, theme that is repeated or carried through an individual work Onomatopoeia natural sounds are imitated in the sounds of words. EX: buzz, hiss, hum, crack, whinny, and murmur Oxymoron a paradox reduced to two words, usually in an adjective-noun or adverb-adjective relationship, and is used for effect, complexity, emphasis or whit. Parable brief or simple narrative that illustrates a moral or religious lesson. Paradox A statement or expression or suprisingly self-contradictory as to provoke us into seeking another sense or context in which it would be true. "The Child is father of the man." Pedantic an adjective that describes words, phrases, or general tone that is overly scholarly, academic, or bookish. Polysyndeton The use of a conjunction b/t each word, phrase and is thus structurally the opposite of asyndeton. "They read and studied and wrote and drilled. I laughed and played and talked and flunked." Rhyme repetition of an identical or similarly accented sound or sounds in a work. Satire A work that targets human vices and follies or social institutions and conventions for reform or ridicule. Regardless of whether or not the work aims to reform human behavior, satire is best seen as a style of writing rather than a purpose for writing. To poke fun and mock the ideas of society. Simile Figurative language, makes a comparison between two otherwise unalike objects or ideas by connecting them with the words "like" or "as" Soliloquy a speech given by an actor along on the stage, which expresses the private inner thoughts of the character. Synecdoche A figure of speech in which a part of something is used to represent the whole or, occasionally, the whole is used to represent a part. EX: To refer to a boat as a "sail" or a car as "wheels: violins and violas as "the strings". Synesthesia one kind of sensory stimulus evokes the subjective experience of another. EX: Red ants makes a person itchy. "Taste the pain." Parallelism Grammatical or rhetorical framing of words or phrases to give structural similarity.