Poetic Devices And Figurative Language

Front 1

Rhetorical Devices

Back 1

those devices which depend for their effect more upon the ear than on the mind

Front 2

Alliteration

Back 2

the repetition of one or more initial sounds, usually consonants and vowels at the beginning of each word in a series

Front 3

Assonance

Back 3

repetition of two or more vowel sounds within a line

Front 4

Consonance

Back 4

repetition of two or more consonant sounds within a line

Front 5

Onomatopoeia

Back 5

the use of a word whose sound suggests its meaning: imitative harmony. Certain words, such as hiss, bang, meow, imitiate the sound they represent

Front 6

Simile

Back 6

a direct comparison of two unlike objects, using "like", "as", "than"

Front 7

Metaphor

Back 7

a direct comparison of two unlike objects by identification or subsitution; a comparison that is suggested or implied

Front 8

Personification

Back 8

to give human or personal qualities to inanimate things or ideas

Front 9

Apostrophe

Back 9

an address to a person or personified object not present

Front 10

Metonymy

Back 10

the subsitution of a word which relates to the object or person to be named, in place of the name itself

Front 11

Synecdoche

Back 11

a part is used to represent the whole object or idea

Front 12

Hyperbole

Back 12

gross exaggeration for effect; overstatement

Front 13

Litotes

Back 13

a deliberate understatement; makes an assertion about something by denying its opposite

Front 14

Euphemism

Back 14

to express a disagreeable or unpleasant fact in agreeable language

Front 15

Antithesis

Back 15

sharply opposing ideas are expressed within a balanced grammatical structure

Front 16

Epigram

Back 16

a brief pointed saying that has the nature of a proverb; based on contrast

Front 17

Paradox

Back 17

a statement which appears self-contradictory, but underlines a basis of truth

Front 18

Oxymoron

Back 18

two contradictory terms brought together to express a paradox for strong effect

Front 19

Figurative Devices

Back 19

those devices which appeal more to the mind than the ear

Front 20

Rhetorical Question

Back 20

asking a question in such a way that the answer, being obvious, is not needed

Front 21

Allusion

Back 21

a direct reference to a proper noun; the reference is usually mythological but could be legendary, religious, historical, or literary; the invocation of a name recalls concurrently ideas, emotions, traditions, insights, moral and ethical stances

Front 22

Irony

Back 22

the contrast between actual meaning and the suggestion of another meaning

Front 23

verbal irony

Back 23

meaning one thing and saying another

Front 24

Dramatic Irony

Back 24

contrast between the speaker says and what the author means or what the reader knows to be true

Front 25

situational irony

Back 25

when the reality of a situation differs from the anticipated or intended effect; when something unexpected occurs

Front 26

symbolism

Back 26

the use of one object to suggest another hidden object or idea

Front 27

repetition

Back 27

words, sounds, devices, are repeated primarily for the sake of emphasis; repetition is the most effective device for precise emotional responses such as anger, fear, sorrow, defiance,a nd so forth