Literary Devices

Pun

A play on words to suggest many different meanings Ex: Romeo and Juliet begins with a triple pun on the word COLLIER ( coal vendor) which sounds like CHOLER (anger) and COLLAR (hangmans noose)

Allusion

A reference to a well known person place, myth, etc Ex: Venus, dido

Conflict

Struggle between opposing forces or characters that creates dynamic tension. Human vs human, human vs the environment, human vs himself

Sonnet

14 line poem, couplet ending, pentameter

Oxymoron

A combination of contradictory terms Ex: jumbo shrimp

Metaphor

A comparison between to unlike things without using "like" or "as" it is the east, and Juliet is the sun

Simile

A comparison of two unlike things using "like" or "as" Ex: my cat is as gentle as a lamb

Paradox

A statement that is self-contradictory or absurd but contains some truth Ex: cowards die many times before their deaths

Cliché

A well known phrase that has become overused Ex: don't judge a book by its cover

Character Development

Achieved by writers who allow the characters to act and speak directly for themselves

Symbol

An object that represents an idea Ex: maple leaf is a symbol of Canada

Hyperbole

An overstatement or extreme exaggeration Ex: I'm so hungry I'm starving to death

Imagery

Creating pictures through words that can be appealing to the senses Ex: the fog rolled across the valley

Concrete

Creative patterns/structure

Dramatic monologue

Formal style, one speaker addresses a silent listener Reveals clues about a situation and some aspect of his or her character

Free verse

No rhyme scheme Free structure, modern poetry

Pathetic fallacy

Natural world refelcts the emotions of the characters

Haiku

Pattern: 5-7-5 syllable pattern

Plot

Series of events in story, can be single string of events or more complex and full of patterns

Spoken word poems

Sounds like a song

Alliteration

The repetition of similar consonant sounds at the beginning of words Ex: the Black Bat sat on the Back porch

Consonance

The repetition of similar consonant sounds at the end of words or within words Ex: the blaCK baT saT on the baCK porch

Assonance

The repetition of similar vowel sounds within words ( to create internal rhyme) Ex: the blAck bAt sAt on the bAck porch

Onomatopoeia

The sound of the word reflects its meaning Ex: buzz, click, tick, splash

Apostrophe

The writer addresses an absent person/object as if present Ex: O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo

Personification

To give human qualities to non human things Ex: the trees whispered in the wind

Synesthesia

To use one sense to describe another Ex: bright sound quiet colour

Stream of consciousness

Unending flow of ideas which trigger new ideas. Written in block paragraphs