Terms to Know

1. Terms to Know

2. Literary/Poetic Devices

3. Antithesisjuxtaposition of Contrasting Words or Ideas (Often, Although Not Always, in Parallel Structure).

4. ALLITERATION The repetition of consonant sounds at the beginnings of words.

5. ALLITERATION “Swiftly, swiftly flew the ship”

6. ALLUSION A reference to a historical figure, place, or event.

7. ALLUSION The teams competed in a David and Goliath struggle.

8. ANALOGY A broad comparison between two basically different things that have some points in common.

9. ANALOGY Aspirations toward space are not new. Consider the worm that becomes a butterfly.

10. SIMILE A direct comparison between two basically different things. A simile is introduced by the words “like” or “as”.

11. SIMILE My love is like a red, red rose.

12. METAPHOR An implied comparison between two basically different things. Is not introduced with the words “like” or “as”.

13. METAPHOR His eyes were daggers that cut right through me.

14. HYPERBOLE A great exaggeration to emphasize strong feeling.

15. HYPERBOLE I will love you until all the seas go dry.

16. PERSONIFICATION Human characteristics are given to non-human animals, objects, or ideas.

17. PERSONIFICATION My stereo walked out of my car.

18. APOSTROPHE An absent person or inanimate object is directly spoken to as though they were present.

19. APOSTROPHE Brutus: “Ceasar, now be still. I killed not thee with half so good a will.”

20. SYNECDOCHE A part stands for the whole or vice versa.

21. SYNECDOCHE The hands that created the work of art were masterful.

22. FORESHADOWING Hints given to the reader of what is to come.

23. FORESHADOWING “The stalwart hero was doomed to suffer the destined end of his days.”

24. IMAGERY The use of concrete details that appeal to the five senses.

25. IMAGERY Cold, wet leaves floating on moss-colored water.

26. IRONY A contrast between what is said and what is meant. Also, when things turn out different than what is expected.

27. IRONY “The treacherous instrument is in thy hand, unbated and envenomed. The foul practice has turned itself on me.” Laertes

28. ONOMATOPOEIA The use of words whose sounds suggest the sounds made by objects or activities.

29. Other examples: buzz, hum, kiss ONOMATOPOEIA “Blind eyes could blaze like meteors”

30. SYMBOL/SYMBOLISM Something concrete, such as an object, action, character, or scene that stands for something abstract such as a concept or an idea.

31. Both phrases are symbols that stand for death. SYMBOL/SYMBOLISM “Do not go gentle into that good night Rage, Rage against the dying of the light”

32. Oxymoron: a two word paradox Jumbo Shrimp

33. Three Kinds of Irony: 1. Verbal Irony Is a Discrepancy between What Is Said or Written and What Is Meant..2. Dramatic Irony Occurs When an Audience Perceives Something That a Character in the Literature Does Not Know.3. Irony of Situation Is a Discrepancy Between the Expected Result and Actual Results

34. Verbal Irony: a Discrepancy Between What Is Said or Written and What Is Meant To: All English faculty From: Department Chair Subject: Big Words I have received another complaint from a student. The student says her teacher uses big words. I was sympathetic. I told her that college teachers sometimes use big words. I told her college students sometimes try to learn big words. She was not convinced. She was not satisfied. That is not good. Walt Disney teaches us that the customer is always right. We should do what Walt Disney tells us. That is why I ask that you not use big words. Thank you for not using big words.

35. Dramatic Irony Occurs When an Audience Perceives Something That a Character in the Literature Does Not Know In the Greek drama Oedipus Rex, the audience is aware that Oedipus has killed his father and married his mother long before he is aware of this situation.

36. irony of situation is a discrepancy between the expected result and actual results In Kate Chopin’s “Story of an Hour,” the protagonist is expected to fall apart when she hears of her husband’s death in a train accident, but instead she experiences joy. When her husband walks in the door, instead of being delighted as observers might expect, she drops dead.

37. MOOD The overall atmosphere or prevailing emotional feeling of a work.

38. MOOD “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.”

39. Litotes:deliberate Understatement, Especially When Expressing aThought by Denying Its Contradictory

40. PARADOX A seemingly self-contradictory statement that still is true.

41. PARADOX The more we learn, the less we know.

42. END RHYME The repetition of identical sounds at the ends of lines of poetry.

43. END RHYME “He clasps the crag with crooked hands Close to the sun in lonely lands” from “The Eagle”

44. INTERNAL RHYME The repetition of identical sounds within a line of poetry.

45. INTERNAL RHYME “We three shall flee across the sea to Italy.” Or “Hold infinity in the palm of your hand And eternity in an hour.”

46. SLANT RHYME A slant rhyme or half rhyme occurs when the vowel sounds are not quite identical.

47. SLANT RHYME “And on that cheek and o’er that brow” A mind at peace with all below”

48. REPETITION The repeating of a sound, word, phrase, or more in a given literary work.

49. REPETITION “I sprang to the stirrup, and Jarvis, and he; I galloped, Derrick galloped, we galloped all three”

50. ASSONANCE The repetition of similar vowel sounds followed by different consonant.