Literary Terms

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Literary Terms

• Terms for sophomore English Vocabulary Assessment

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Directions

• Write the information from the following slides.
  Be sure to write the COMPLETE definition and ALL
  the examples. Then create your own example.

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ALLITERATION

• Alliteration is the practice of beginning several
  consecutive or neighboring words with the same
  sound.
• Ex The twisting trout twinkled below.
• Ex Silly Sally says Sammy saw a snake.

Create your own example.
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ALLUSION

• Allusion is a reference to a mythological,
  literary, or historical person, place, or thing.
• Ex He met his Waterloo.
• Ex He took the light of the godshe taught men
  to be godsHis name was Prometheus. (Taken from
  the book Anthem)

Create your own example.
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ANTITHESIS

• Antithesis is a direct juxtaposition of
  structurally parallel words, phrases, or clauses
  for the purpose of contrast.
• Ex Sink or Swim
• Ex Black and White

Create your own example.
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APOSTROPHE

• Apostrophe is a form of personification in which
  the absent or dead are spoken to as if present
  and the inanimate, as if animate. These are all
  addressed directly.
• Ex Milton! Thou shouldst be living at this
  hour.
• Ex The play Spoonriver Anthology

Create your own example.
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ASSONANCE

• Assonance is the repetition of accented vowel
  sounds in a series of words.
• Ex Cry, cry, cry went the words of the song.
• Ex Side by side did I glide and was happy
  inside.

Create your own example.
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CONSONANCE

• Consonance is the repetition of a consonant sound
  within a series of words to produce a harmonious
  effect.
• Ex And each slow dusk a drawing-down of
  blinds. (D and S)
• Ex Into the night, Nat went and toiled.

Create your own example.
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DETAILS

• Details are the facts revealed by the author or
  speaker that support the attitude or tone in a
  piece of poetry or prose.
• NO Example

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DICTION

• Diction is word choice intended to convey a
  certain effect.
• Ex Enormous instead of big
• Ex Pusillanimous instead of cowardly

Create your own example.
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FIGURES OF SPEECH

• Figures of speech are words or phrases that
  describe one thing in terms of something else.
  They always involve some sort of imaginative
  comparison between seemingly unlike things. Not
  meant to be taken literally, figurative language
  is used to produce images in a readers mind and
  to express ideas in fresh, vivid and imaginative
  ways.
• Ex simile, metaphor, personification

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FLASHBACK

• Flashback is a scene that interrupts the action
  of a work to show a previous event
• No Example, but what are some books or movies
  that effectively use flashback?

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FORESHADOWING

• Foreshadowing is the use of hints or clues in
  narrative to suggest future action.
• No example, but what are some things you have
  seen in movies or read in books that you realized
  later were clues to the events at the end of the
  movie or book.

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HYPERBOLE

• Hyperbole is a deliberate, extravagant, and often
  outrageous exaggeration. This may be used for
  comic relief or to be serious.
• Ex The shot heard round the world.
• Ex I could eat a horse.

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IMAGERY

• Imagery consists of the words or phrases a writer
  uses to represent persons, objects, actions,
  feelings, and ideas descriptively by appealing to
  the senses.

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IRONY

• Irony occurs in three types.
• Verbal irony occurs when a speaker or narrator
  says one thing while meaning the opposite. Ex
  It is easy to stop smoking, Ive done it many
  times.
• Situational Irony occurs when a situation turns
  out differently from what one would normally
  expect. EX A diver drowning in a bathtub is
  ironic.
• Dramatic Irony occurs when a character or speaker
  says or does something that has different
  meanings from what he or she thinks it means.
  Ex Oedipus curses the murderer of Laius, not
  realizing that he is the murderer and is cursing
  himself.

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METAPHOR

• Metaphor is the comparison of two unlike items
  without using like or as.
• Ex Time is money.
• Ex Silver threads dancing on the water.