Literary Devices Glossary PDF

Glossary of Literary Devices LD = Lyric Device (sound) FD = Figurative device (image) Literary Devices - Narrative techniques that add texture, energy, and excitement to the narrative, grip the reader’s imagination, and convey information. There are hundreds...

Glossary of Literary Devices LD = Lyric Device (sound) FD = Figurative device (image) Literary Devices - Narrative techniques that add texture, energy, and excitement to the narrative, grip the reader’s imagination, and convey information. There are hundreds of literary devices (or poetic devices, when studying poetry) that writers may use, however we will cover the ones on this list. LD - Alliteration - The repetition of initial consonant sounds. Example: Built by the bridge. FD- Allusion - A direct or indirect reference to a famous historical or literary figure or event. Example: He composed music like Orpheus. → Orpheus is the Greek god of music. LD - Anaphora - repetition at the beginning of a verse (opposite of epistrophe) LD- Climax- Increasing the importance of words and ideas in a phrase or sentence. LD - Euphony/Euphemism - Agreeable sounds that are easy to articulate. Example: season of mists and mellow fruitfulness. LD - Free Verse - A poem with an irregular metrical pattern. Example: I don't talk. My lips part, and air pushes out, but the sound must not fit, because my thoughts are so big. FD - Hyperbole - An exaggeration for dramatic effect. Example: all the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this murderer's hand. FD - Imagery - Words or phrases that appeal to the five senses or any combination of senses. Example: the woods are lovely, musky, dark and deep. FD - Metaphor - A comparison between two objects without using the words “like”, “as”, or “than”. Example: She is a gem → comparing a person to a precious stone to explain beauty/uniqueness. Mood/Atmosphere - The feeling evoked by the writing. Example: fearful or serene. LD - Onomatopoeia - The use of words which imitate sound. Example: suzz, swish, ring ring, cha ching FD - Oxymoron - A seeming contradiction in two words put together. Example: bittersweet FD - Paradox - A statement in which there is an apparent contradiction which is actually true. Example: people talking without speaking, people hearing without listening FD - Personification - A figure of speech which endows inanimate objects with human traits or abilities. Example: The stars danced playfully in the moonlit sky. LD - Repetition/Refrain - The repeating of words, phrases, lines, or stanzas. Example: and miles to go before I sleep, and miles to go before I sleep Repetition - throughout a poem Refrain - like a chorus in a song, repeats at regular intervals (line or a few words) FD - Rhetorical Question - Questions posed by the speaker of the poem. Example: Does the road wind uphill all the way? LD - Rhyme - The similarity of ending (or internal) sounds existing between two words. Example: The name of the game LD - Rhyme Scheme - The sequence of rhymes. The first end sound is represented as the letter “a”, the second is “b”, etc. *Capitalize if the verse has eight syllables or more. Example: Romeo to Juliet a If I profane with my unworthiest hand b This holy shrine, the gentle sin is this: a My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand b To smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss. LD - Rhythm - The syllabic structure of each verse, which is sometimes given and written as a numerical value for each verse in poem; arranged for that the reader expects a similar series to follow. Example: 'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse; FD - Simile - A comparison between two objects using words such as “like”, “as”, or “than”. Example: You are as bright as the sun → comparing a person to the sun probably to explain how smart the person is Stanza - A grouping of two or more verses (Verse - a line of a poem) of a poem in terms of length, metrical form, or rhyme scheme. Common stanzas: Couplet - two verses that rhyme; Tercet - three verses that rhyme; Quatrain - four verses with a rhyme scheme FD - Symbol - An object, person, situation or action that has literal meaning and a separate meaning altogether. Example: For Christians a cross is a symbol for love, Christ and sacrifice, in reality it is an object = a wooden structure consisting of an upright post with a transverse piece. Theme - What the poem reveals about humanity. The purpose/meaning of the poem. Tone - The attitude taken towards the subject or the audience. It can be described as: angry, annoyed, bitter, cheerful, cold, compassionate, confident, confused, etc. * AUTHOR’S ATTITUDE TOWARDS THE SUBJECT NOT THE SAME AS MOOD/ATMOSPHERE! Understatement- Saying less than the truth.