Chiasmus
A reversal of grammatical structure in successive phrases or clauses. This
figure of speech is commonly found in 18th-century English poetry, but is also found in
prose of all periods.
Ex. (from website online) "Never let a Fool Kiss You or a Kiss Fool Yo
Euphemism
A device in which indirectness replaces directness of statement, usually in
an effort to avoid offensiveness. Frequently used in subjects such as religion death
Ex. "pass away" instead of "die
Hyperbole
A deliberate, extravagant, and often outrageous
exaggeration
Ex. The spider was the size of a cat! (In reality it was the size of a coin)
Metaphor
A comparison of two unlike things not using "like" or "as":
Ex. "She had a heart of gold
Personification
A kind of metaphor that gives inanimate objects or abstract ideas
human characteristics:
Ex. "The wind that cried in the dark.
Synecdoche
A form of metaphor. (CB)
a. In synecdoche, a part of something is used to signify the whole: e.g., "All hands
on deck."
b. Also, the reverse, whereby the whole can represent a part: e.g., "Canada played
the United States in the Olympic hockey finals."
c.
Metonymy
The name of one thing is applied to another thing with which it is closely
associated:
Ex. "I love Shakespeare." A well known metonymic saying is, "the pen is
mightier than the sword" meaning that writing is more powerful than warfare.
Setting
The time and place in which a event in a short story, novel, play or narrative
poem take place.
Ex. The book Fever 1793, had a setting of in Philadelphia after the "post revolutionary war
Short story
A relatively brief fictional narrative in prose. It may range in length from
500 words up to 12,000-15,000 words. It may be distinguished from a sketch or tale in
that it has a definite formal development, and firmness in construction.
ex. Harry Potter Bo
Subplot
A secondary series of actions in a dramatic or narrative work, usually involving
characters of lesser importance (and often lower social status). It may be related to the
main plot as a parallel or contrast, or it may be more or less separate from it.
Ex.
Theme
The central message of a literary work. It is not the same as the subject, which
can be expressed in a word or two: courage, survival, war, pride, etc. The theme is the
idea the author wishes to convey about that subject. It is expressed as a sentence or
Figure of Speech
Words or phrases that describe one thing in terms of
something else. They always involve some sort of imaginative comparison between
seemingly unlike things. Not meant to be taken literally, figurative language is used to
produce images in a reader's mind
Allusion
A reference to a mythological, literal, or historical person, place, or thing:
Ex. In the Odyssey and other Greek literature works, they use many allusions
Analogy
A comparison of two things, alike in certain aspects. Analogies are widely used
in poetry but also in other forms of writing; a simile is an expressed analogy; a metaphor
is an implied one.
Ex. "Her hair was as dark as night
Antithesis
A contrast or opposition, either rhetorical or philosophical. A figure of speech
characterized by strongly contrasting words, clauses, sentences, or ideas:
Ex. "Many are called, but few are chosen." Mathew 22:14
Apostrophe
A form of personification in which the absent or dead are spoken of as if
present and in the inanimate, as if animate. These are all addressed directly
Ex. Talking/praying to God?