Literary Devices

A figure of speech in which abstract ideas and principles are described in terms of characters, figures, and events. It can be employed in prose and poetry to tell a story, with a purpose of teaching or explaining an idea or a principle is known as

• an Allegory

• a Metaphor

• an Anecdote

• Discourse

The deliberate repetition of the first part of the sentence in order to achieve an artistic effect is known as

• Anaphora

• Anecdote

• Alliteration

• Antimetabole

The use of informal words, phrases, or even slang in a piece of writing. These expressions tend to sneak in as writers, being part of a society, are influenced by the way people speak in that society.

• Cliché

• Colloquialism

• Euphemism

• Aphorism

“Every day, every night, in every way, I am getting better and better,” is an example of...

• Assonance

• Anaphora

• Colloquialism

• Hyperbole

A Greek term meaning 'side by side' that is a rhetorical term in which phrases and clauses are placed one after another independently, without coordinating or subordinating them through the use of conjunctions.

• Parataxis

• Idiom

• Discourse

• Antithesis

A brief and indirect reference to a person, place, thing or idea of historical, cultural, literary or political significance is known as an

• Sarcasm

• Allusion

• Idiom

• Cliché

A set expression or a phrase that is not interpreted literally is known as

• an idiom

• vernacular

• hyperbole

• irony

A literary technique in which two or more ideas, places, characters, and their actions are placed side by side, for the purpose of developing comparisons and contrasts is called

• connotation

• foreshadowing

• juxtaposition

• sarcasm

The use of figurative language to represent objects, actions, and ideas in such a way that it appeals to our physical senses is referred to as

• imagery

• caricature

• simile

• personification

A figure of speech in which words are used in such a way that their intended meaning is different from the actual meaning of the words. It may also be a situation that ends up in quite a different way than what is generally anticipated. It is a difference between appearance and reality. This is known as

• paradox

• connotation

• idiom

• irony