Literary Terms

1
Literary Terms
2
Simile

• Definition Comparing two things using like or
  as.
• Example She was as beautiful as the sun setting
  over the ocean.

3
Metaphor

• Definition Comparing two things that are
  normally not related without using like or
  as.
• Example My love is a fragile flower.

4
Onomatopoeia

• Definition Words that imitate the sounds they
  denote.
• Examples Splash! Whoosh! Moo! Hiss!

5
Hyperbole

• Definition An extreme exaggeration.
• Example He ate everything in the house.

6
Oxymoron

• Definition Conjoining contradictory terms.
• Examples Deafening silence, sweet sorrow,
  original copy.

7
Alliteration

• Definition Repetition of initial sounds in
  neighboring words.
• Example Sweet smell of success.

8
Irony

• Definition An implied discrepancy between what
  is said and what is meant.
• Example A fine thing indeed!

9
Theme

• Definition The general idea or insight about
  life that a writer wishes to express. All of the
  elements of literary terms contribute to theme. A
  simple theme can often be stated in a single
  sentence.

10
Personification

• Definition Giving human qualities to animals or
  objects.
• Example A smiling moon. The sky is crying.

11
Allusion

• Definition A brief reference to a person, event,
  or place, real or fictitious, or to a work of
  art.

12
Tone

• Definition The attitude a writer takes towards a
  subject or character serious, humorous,
  sarcastic, ironic, satirical, tongue-in-cheek,
  solemn, objective

13
Assonance

• Definition is the repetition of vowel sounds but
  not consonant sounds as in consonance.
• Example fleet feet sweep by sleeping geeks.

14
Consonance

• Definition the repetition of consonant sounds,
  but not vowels, as in assonance.
• Example lady lounges lazily , dark deep dread
  crept in

15
Foreshadowing

• Definition The use of hints or clues to suggest
  what will happen later in literature.

16
Paradox

• Definition Reveals a kind of truth which at
  first seems contradictory. Two opposing ideas.
• Example Stone walls do not a prison make, Nor
  iron bars a cage.