A writer or speaker says one thing but really means something completely different; some types are sarcasm, overstatement, understatement

When the audience or reader knows something important that a character in a play or story does not know; the use of this creates suspense

When there is a contrast between what would seem appropriate and what really happens or when there is a contradiction between what we expect to happen and what really does take place

Contrast between what a person or character would like to happen and what “higher powers” have planned; the idea that fate, destiny, or the gods control and toy with human hopes and expectations

multiple meanings; an element of uncertainty in a text, in which something can be interpreted in a number of different ways

A person, place, thing, or event that stands both for itself (literal/concrete meaning) and for something beyond itself (figurative/abstract meaning); often visual, reappear throughout a text, and are associated with figurative language

A well-known symbol that has been handed down over time; public symbols; universal symbols

Taking a new object, character, or event and making it the embodiment of some human concern by attaching meaning to it

A symbolic type of story; a very brief story in prose or verse that teaches a moral, or a practical lesson about life

A short, allegorical story that teaches a moral or religious lesson about life; a symbolic type of story

A symbolic story in which the characters, setting and events stand for abstract or moral concepts

A reference to a statement, person, place, event or thing that is known from literature, history, religion, mythology, politics, sports, science, or popular culture