Literary Terms: Literary Devices & Figures of Speech - Introductory

If you want to understand the tools and techniques that great writers use, learn these literary devices and figures of speech. Review this vocabulary list and you'll be a master of metaphor, an expert on euphemism, and a pro at puns.
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. alliteration
    use of the same consonant at the beginning of each word
  2. allusion
    passing reference or indirect mention
  3. ambiguity
    unclearness by virtue of having more than one meaning
  4. analogy
    drawing a comparison in order to show a similarity
  5. apostrophe
    an address to an absent or imaginary person
  6. caricature
    a representation of a person exaggerated for comic effect
  7. cliche
    a trite or obvious remark
  8. contradiction
    opposition between two conflicting forces or ideas
  9. flashback
    a transition in a story to an earlier event or scene
  10. foreshadowing
    the act of providing vague advance indications
  11. hyperbole
    extravagant exaggeration
  12. irony
    incongruity between what is expected and what occurs
  13. juxtaposition
    the act of positioning close together
  14. metaphor
    a figure of speech that suggests a non-literal similarity
  15. oxymoron
    conjoined contradictory terms
  16. paradox
    a statement that contradicts itself
  17. parody
    a composition that imitates or misrepresents a style
  18. personification
    representing an abstract quality or idea as a human
  19. pun
    a humorous play on words
  20. repetition
    the continued use of the same word or word pattern
  21. sarcasm
    witty language used to convey insults or scorn
  22. satire
    witty language used to convey insults or scorn
  23. simile
    a figure of speech expressing a resemblance between things
  24. symbolism
    the practice of investing things with arbitrary meaning
  25. understatement
    something said in a restrained way for ironic contrast
Created on Wed Dec 02 12:11:41 EST 2020 (updated Wed Dec 02 12:36:20 EST 2020)

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