- Alliteration:: The repetition of initial consonant sounds in neighboring words.
- Allusion:: An implied or indirect reference in literature to a familiar person, place or event.
- Figurative language:: Language that cannot be taken literally since it was written to create a special effect or feeling.
- Hyperbole: An exaggeration or overstatement (e.g., I was so embarrassed I could have died.).
- Idiomatic language: An expression peculiar to itself grammatically or that cannot be understood if taken literally (e.g., Let’s get on the ball.).
- Irony: The use of a word or phrase to mean the exact opposite of its literal or usual meaning; incongruity between the actual result of a sequence of events and the expected result.
- Literary conflict: The struggle that grows out of the interplay of the two opposing forces in a plot.
- Literary devices: Tools used by the author to enliven and provide voice to the writing (e.g., dialogue, alliteration).
- Literary elements: The essential techniques used in literature (e.g., characterization, setting, plot, theme).
- Literary structures: The author’s method of organizing text (e.g., foreshadowing, flashbacks).
- Metaphor: The comparison of two unlike things in which no words of comparison (like or as) are used (e.g., That new kid in class is really a squirrel.).
- Meter: The repetition of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line of poetry.
- Personification: An object or abstract idea given human qualities or human form (e.g., Flowers danced about the lawn.).
Literary Devices