Literary Devices Review

A story that is used to represent a more general message about real-life (historical) issues and/or events.

• Oxymoron

• Imagery

• Euphemism

• Allegory

An author makes an indirect reference to a figure, place, event, or idea originating from outside the text.

• Flashback

• Allusion

• Irony

• Personification

The use of informal language and slang.

• Metaphor

• Foreshadowing

• Colloquialism

• Repetition

Tags

CCSS.L.7.5C

CCSS.L.7.5D

When an author inserts a famous quotation, poem, song, or other short passage or text at the beginning of a larger text (e.g., a book, chapter, etc.).

• Epigraph

• Symbolism

• Simile

• Hyperbole

When a more mild or indirect word or expression is used in place of another word or phrase that is considered harsh, blunt, vulgar, or unpleasant.

• Oxymoron

• Imagery

• Euphemism

• Allegory

An interruption in a narrative that depicts events that have already occurred, either before the present time or before the time at which the narration takes place.

• Flashback

• Allusion

• Irony

• Personification

When an author indirectly hints at—through things such as dialogue, description, or characters’ actions—what’s to come later on in the story.

• Metaphor

• Foreshadowing

• Colloquialism

• Repetition

An exaggerated statement that's not meant to be taken literally by the reader.

• Euphemism

• Flashback

• Foreshadowing

• Hyperbole

When an author describes a scene, thing, or idea so that it appeals to our senses (taste, smell, sight, touch, or hearing).

• Oxymoron

• Imagery

• Euphemism

• Allegory

When a statement is used to express an opposite meaning than the one literally expressed by it.

• Flashback

• Allusion

• Irony

• Personification