Rhyme
The matching of sound between words usually on the endings of words, especially at the end of lines of poetry
Hyperbole
An extreme exaggeration
Understatement
A figure of speech in which a writer or speaker deliberately makes a situation seem less important or serious than it is
Simile
A direct comparison between two different things with the words "like" or "as
Metaphor
A figure of speech suggesting that two different things are the same thing (WITHOUT using "like" or "as")
Allusion
A reference to a person, place, thing, or idea from history, literature, or mythology
Personification
A figure of speech in which a thing, an idea, or an animal is given human attributes
Apostrophe
When a speaker directly addresses someone or something that isn't present in the poem
Situational Irony
When the opposite happens then what is expected
Verbal Irony
When someone says thing opposite of what they mean
Dramatic Irony
A version of irony when the audience knows more than the characters on stage do
Alliteration
Repetition of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words
Assonance
Repetition of the sound of a VOWEL
Onomatopoeia
The use of a word from a sound associated with what is names (ex: sizzle, pop, bang)
Ecphonesis
An emotional exclamatory phrase used in poetry, drama, or song
Pun
A play on words using words that sound similar or that have multiple meanings
Paradox
A juxtaposition of a set of seemingly contradictory concepts that reveal a hidden truth
Iambic Pentameter
Meter with 10 syllables, s stressed per line
Oxymoron
A figure of speech in which two seemingly opposing and contradictory elements are juxtaposed
Blank Verse
An iambic pentameter that does NOT rhyme
Anaphora
The repetition of a phrase/word at the beginning of successive clauses
Repetition
Repeating
Rhetorical Questions
A question you ask when you don't expect an answer
Polysyndeton
Conjunctions are used repeatedly in quick succession
Antithesis
A figure of speech in which opposite idea/words are expressed by parallelism
Parallel Structure
The repetition of grammatical form in a speech
Chiasmus
A rhetorical or literary figure in which words, grammatical constructions are repeated in reverse order
Synecdoche
Literary device in which a part of something stands for the whole ("all hands on deck")
Metonymy
Literary devices in which a thing or concept is referred to by something closely related to it
Retoric
The art of effective and persuasive public speaking or writing; the manipulation of language and literary devices for effect