Literary Terms/ Devices

Front 1

TURNING POINT

Back 1

A point of great tension in a narrative that determines how the action will come out.

Front 2

SIMILIE

Back 2

A comparison made between two dissimilar things through the use of a specific word of comparison such as "like" or "as".
Ex. Her eyes were as bright as the sun.

Front 3

OXYMORON

Back 3

An oxymoron is a type of paradox that combines two terms ordinarily seen as opposites.
Ex. No one goes to that restaurant anymore - It's always too crowded.

Front 4

METAPHOR

Back 4

In a metaphor, a word is identified with something different from what the word literally denotes. It equates different things without using connecting terms such as like or as.
Ex. The burning flame of my love.

Front 5

HYPERBOLE

Back 5

Hyperbole is figurative language which greatly overstates or exaggerates facts, whether in earnest or for comic effect.
Ex. Call of Duty is 1000% x better than Halo.

Front 6

ONOMATOPOEIA

Back 6

Onomatopoeia refers either to words which resemble in sound what they denote, or to words that correspond in other ways with what they describe.
Ex. Hiss; rattle; bang.

Front 7

FORESHADOWING

Back 7

Foreshadowing occurs when a writer gives the reader a hint, or shadow, of what will happen later in the story.
Ex. Harry Potter smells a flowery smell from the Burrow from the strongest love potion in the world.

Front 8

ANALOGY

Back 8

Similarity in some respects between things that are otherwise dissimilar.
Ex. Green is to go as red is to stop.

Front 9

PERSONIFICATION

Back 9

Personification is the attribution of human qualities to inanimate objects or abstract concepts.
Ex. Jealousy "rearing its ugly head".

Front 10

IDIOM

Back 10

The language, dialect, or style of speaking peculiar to a people or the constructions or expressions of one language whose structure is not matched in another language.
Ex. Better late than never.

Front 11

TONE

Back 11

The speaker's "attitude to his [or her] listener"--which in turn affects the listener's attitude to the literary work.
Ex. The tone may be formal, serious, or passionate (sorrowful, loving, angry); or it might be intimate, light-hearted, or calmly meditative; or can even be witty or ironic.

Front 12

IMAGERY (LITERAL, FIGURATIVE)

Back 12

Generally, imagery includes all kinds of sense perception (not just visual pictures).

Front 13

IRONY (TRAGIC, DRAMATIC, SITUATIONAL, VERBAL)

Back 13

The appearance of things differs from their reality
Verbal irony occurs when the words of a character or narrator have an implicit meaning as well as an ostensible one.
Dramatic Irony is a situation in which the reader or audience knows more about the immediate circumstances or future events of a story than a character within it; thus the audience is able to see a discrepancy between characters' perceptions and the reality they face.

Front 14

SYMBOLISM (SUGGESTIVE, UNIVERSAL)

Back 14

Symbolism is the applied use of symbols: iconic representations that carry particular conventional meanings.
Ex. Black is used to represent death or evil.

Front 15

ALLITERATION

Back 15

Alliteration is a literary device where words are used in quick succession and begin with letters belonging to the same sound group.
Ex. The Wicked Witch of the West.

Front 16

SATIRE

Back 16

Refers to the practice of making fun of a human weakness or character flaw.
Ex. Southpark.

Front 17

MOOD

Back 17

A definitive stance the author adopts in shaping a specific emotional perspective towards the subject of the literary work.

Front 18

MOTIF

Back 18

Any element, subject, idea or concept that is constantly present through the entire body of literature.
Ex. Fairy Tales.

Front 19

ANTAGONIST

Back 19

The character against whom the protagonist struggles or contends (if there is one), is the antagonist.

Front 20

ASSONANCE

Back 20

Repetition of sounds produced by vowels within a sentence or phrase. In this regard assonance can be understood to be a kind of alliteration. What sets it apart from alliterations is that it is the repetition of only vowel sounds.
Ex. A long song.

Front 21

CLIMAX

Back 21

The moment in a play, novel, short story, or narrative poem at which the crisis reaches its point of greatest intensity and is thereafter resolved.

Front 22

CONFLICT

Back 22

The opposition between two characters (such as a protagonist and an antagonist), between two large groups of people, or between the protagonist and a larger problem such as forces of nature, ideas, public mores, and so on.

Front 23

CONSONANCE

Back 23

Repetition of sounds produced by consonants within a sentence or phrase.
Ex. Sing sweet songs for Suzy.

Front 24

DYNAMIC CHARACTER

Back 24

Also called a round character, a dynamic character is one whose personality changes or evolves over the course of a narrative or appears to have the capacity for such change.

Front 25

PROTAGONIST

Back 25

The main character in a work, on whom the author focuses most of the narrative attention.

Front 26

SECONDARY CHARACTER

Back 26

Not the Primary character, but the character that is secondary in the story or novel.

Front 27

STATIC CHARACTER

Back 27

A static character is a simplified character who does not change or alter his or her personality over the course of a narrative.

Front 28

SYMBOL

Back 28

A symbol is literary device that contains several layers of meaning, often concealed at first sight, and is representative of several other aspects/ concepts/ traits than those that are visible in the literal translation alone.

Front 29

ACTUAL READER

Back 29

A reader who reads a book and mentally creates his/her own sort of interpretation.

Front 30

5 ELEMENTS OF STORY

Back 30

Plot, Character, Conflict, Theme & Setting.