MOST COMMON LITERARY TERMS
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Created by:
jhernandez7 on August 13, 2010
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16 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 ALLITERATION | the repetition of initial sounds in successive or neighboring words |
| ALLUSION | a reference to something literary, mythological, or historical that the author assumes the reader will recognize |
| ANAPHORA | the repetition of words or phrases at the beginning of consecutive lines or sentences |
| ANTITHESIS | a statement in which two opposing ideas are balanced |
| EUPHEMISM | an indirect, less offensive way of saying something that is considered unpleasant |
| FORESHADOWING | the presentation of material in such a way that the reader is prepared for what is to come later in the work |
| HYPERBOLE | intentional exaggeration to create an effect |
| IDIOM | an expression in a given language that cannot be understood from the literal meaning of the words in the expression; or, a regional speech or dialect |
| METAPHOR | a direct comparison of two different things |
| ONOMATOPOEIA | a word formed from the imitaiton of natural sounds |
| OXYMORON | an expression in which two words that contradict each other are joined |
| PARALLELISM | the use of corresponding grammatical or syntactical forms |
| PERSONIFICATION | endowing non-human objects or creatures with human qualities or characteristics |
| SATIRE | the use of humor to emphasize human weaknesses or imperfections in social institutions |
| SIMILE | a comparison of two things using "like", "as", or other specifically comparative words |
| UNDERSTATMENT | the deliberate representation of something as lesser in magnitude than it actually is; a deliberate under-emphasis |
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