| A | B |
|---|
| figurative language | language enriched by word images and figures of speech |
| literary devices | rhetorical elements used to create a desired mood ortone in a piece of writing |
| metaphor | a figure of speech that makes an implied comparison |
| personification | metaphorical figure of speech in which the a nunhuman is given human qualities |
| simile | a comparison of two dissimilar things, using comparison words |
| onomatopoeia | a figure of speech in which the sound of a word reflects its sense or meaning |
| symbol | a word or set of words that signifies an object or event which itself signifies something else |
| symbolism | the use of a concrete image to express an emotion or an abstract idea |
| theme | a main idea or central idea that may be stated directly or indirectly about human existence |
| tone | the reflections of an author's attitude toward the topic and the audience as suggested by his or her word choices and stylistic effors |
| assonance | the repetition of a vowel sound in words |
| consonance | the repetition of final consonant sounds |
| alliteration | the repetition of the beginning sounds of two or more neighboring words |
| hyperbole | a figure of speech in which subject exaggeration is used for emphasis or effect |
| allegory | The use of characters or events to represent ideas or principles in a story, play, or picture. |
| anachronism | Representation of something as existing or happening outside its historical order. |
| round character | A character who develops and changes through the events of the story, reflecting the complexity of real people, rather than flat (one-dimensional) or stereotypical characters. Not be to be confused with a dynamic character. |
| flat character | A one-dimensional character who has only a few, easily defined traits. Most minor characters are flat. Not to be confused with a static character. |
| caesura | A pause, metrical or rhetorical, occurring somewhere in a line of poetry. The pause may or may not be typographically indicated. |
| direct characterization | The author directly tells the reader what a character is like |
| indirect characterization | The author shows us what a character is like through their actions. |
| epic | Long story told in elevated language (usually poetry), which relates the great deeds of a larger-than-life hero who embodies the values of a particular society. |
| dynamic character | A character that changes during the course of a story |
| flashback | Scene in narrative poem that interrupts the present action of the plot to “flash” backward and tell what happened at an earlier time. |
| imagery | Language that appeals to the senses |
| indirect characterization | The author shows us what a character is like through their actions. |
| litotes | The inverse of hyperbole, this is a calculated understatement |
| narrative poem | of writing that tells about a series of related events using elevated language and poetic devic |
| repetition | Repetition of words or phrases in a literary work |
| static character | A character who remains the same throughout a narrative. Static characters do not develop or change beyond the way in which they are first presented. |
