AP LIT Devices-Sebastien D

Allusion

A reference to another work of literature, person, or event
Ex: She was small and mischivious and reminded me of Pearl from the Scarlet Letter.

Imagery

Description that appeals to the senses (sight, sound, smell, touch, taste)
Ex: The wind was billowing through the lush green trees that sat under the blue sky.

Metaphor

A comparison without using like or as
Ex: The girl was a ballerina on her roller skates.

Simile

A comparison using "like" or "as"
Ex: The girl moved like a balerina on her roller skates.

Personification

A figure of speech in which an object or animal is given human feelings, thoughts, or attitudes
Ex: The wind screamed.

Symbol

A thing that represents or stands for something else, especially a material object representing something abstract.
Ex: As I saw my doomed fate coming all I could do was pray to my cross.

Juxtaposition

Placement of two things close together to emphasize comparisons or contrasts
Ex: Romeo and Juliet were forbiden to love because one was a Capulet and one was a Montegue.

Oxymoron

A figure of speech that combines opposite or contradictory terms in a brief phrase.
Ex: HotFridge

Paradox

A statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd but in reality expresses a possible truth.
Ex: This statement is false

Hyperbole

exaggeration
Ex: IT WAS LIKE A THOUSAND DEGREES OUT TODAY

Alliteration

Repetition of initial consonant sounds
Ex: Peter Piper Pecker...

Anaphora

the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses
Ex: She... She... She...

Assonance

Repetition of vowel sounds
Ex: I like to Ate Ate Apples and banAnAs,
I like to Ote Ote Opples and bonOnOs.

Consonance

Repetition of a consonant sound within two or more words in close proximity.
Ex: Packeting rackets.

Epistrophe

the repetition of a word at the end of successive clauses or sentences
Ex: ...Word.
... Word.
... Word.

Diction

word choice
The ambiguous intelligence of knowledge in the explicitly imperfectious workforce is quite remarkable (pedantic).

Denotation

The dictionary definition of a word
Ex: Chicken = Bird you eat but can't fly.

Connotation

an idea or feeling that a word invokes in addition to its literal or primary meaning.
Ex: Chicken = being a coward.

Syntax

Sentence structure
Ex: The way that, we the people, write our sentences.

Asyndeton

Omission of conjunctions between coordinate phrases, clauses, or words
Ex: I like to eat, pie, cake, watermelon, ice cream, coconuts, grapefruits, everything that can go in my belly.

Polysyndeton

Deliberate use of many conjunctions
Ex: I like watermelon and starbursts, and watermelon starbursts and and and ICE CREAM!

Analogy

A comparison of two different things that are similar in some way
Ex: Me every day after school is very similar to a sloth in the wild on a daily basis.

Aphorism

A brief, cleverly worded statement that makes a wise observation about life.
Ex: Life's to short to be doing english homework.

Euphony

beautiful sound
Ex: The awful Appalachian's I so often dreamed of.

Cacophony

A harsh, discordant mixture of sounds
Ex: Creasing rictor paper is demeaning.

Colloquial language

informal language; language that is "conversational"
Ex: How Tea Cake from their eyes were watching god speaks.

Metonymy

A figure of speech in which something is referred to by using the name of something that is associated with it
Ex: The crown is often talked about in britain.

Satire

A literary work that criticizes human misconduct and ridicules vices, stupidities, and follies.
Ex: (sheldon in a tense situation between two other people): should I leave?
(them): no.. we love having you here to watch us argue...

Synecdoche

a figure of speech in which a part is made to represent the whole or vice versa
Ex: Just got a sweet new pair of wheels at the dealership.

Irony

A contrast between expectation and reality
Ex: The firetruck's engine bursted into flames.

Point of View:

the perspective from which a story is told
Ex: Narrator-They did this. Or I did this.

Tone

Attitude a writer takes toward the audience, a subject, or a character
Ex: (furious) The disgusting subpar quality of the burger alost made me forget the how awful the service and cleanliness was.
(happy) The beautiful resturant happily served me a mouthw