| Term | Definition |
|---|
| Juxtaposition | synonymous with contrast, two objects or texts that oppose one another |
| Metaphor | a type of figurative language in which a statement is made that says that one thing is something else but, literally, it is not. |
| parallelism | the repetition of words or phrases that have similar grammatical structure |
| puns & wordplay | humurous play on words, indicating a new meaning |
| double entendre | a statement that has two meannings, one of which is suggestive or improper |
| stichomythia | Short choppy dialogue |
| repartee | A ready, witty, or apt reply. |
| hyperbole | a figure of speech that uses exaggeration to express strong emotion, make a point, or evoke humor |
| personification | representing an abstract quality or idea as a person or creature |
| apostrophe | a sudden turn from the general audience to address a specific group or person or personified abstraction absent of present |
| mythological, Biblical allusion | an allusion to something biblical or religious |
| alliteration | use of the same consonant at the beginning of each stressed syllable in a line of verse |
| simile | a figure of speech that expresses a resemblance between things of different kinds (usually formed with 'like' or 'as') |
| irony | a literary term referring to how a person, situation, statement, or circumstance is not as it would actually seem. Many times it is the exact opposite of what it appears to be |
| malapropism | the unintentional misuse of a word by confusion with one that sounds similar |
| understatement | a statement that is restrained in ironic contrast to what might have been said |
| paradox | (logic) a self-contradiction |
| oxymoron | conjoining contradictory terms (as in 'deafening silence') |
| soliloquy | a (usually long) dramatic speech intended to give the illusion of unspoken reflections |
| couplet | a stanza consisting of two successive lines of verse |
Combine with other sets
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