Literary Devices

• what is it called when something refers to the range of meanings associated with a group of words?

  semantic field
• What is it called when something refers to a group or set of words that are related to a particular subject or concept?

  lexical field
• what is a repeated idea or theme?

  motif
• what is it called when one person is speaking?

  monologue
• what is it called when a line of poetry has 10 syllables?

  iambic pentameter
• what is it called when a word or phrase suggests something?

  Connotations
• What is it called when an object stands in for something else?

  Symbolism
• what is a section of a poem sometimes referred to as a verse called?

  stanza
• What is deliberate exaggeration, used to emphasise a point called?

  hyperbole
• What is it called when the speaker pretends to be uncertain or unsure to make a point?

  aporia
• What is a newly coined word or expression called?

  neologism
• What is the recurrence of similar-sounding consonants in close proximity called?

  consonance
• What is the resemblance of sound between syllables of nearby words called?

  assonance
• what is it called when an author addresses someone who isn't present as if they were there?

  Apostrophe
• what is it called when a character speaks aloud to himself (and to the audience), thereby revealing his inner thoughts and feelings?

  soliloquay
• what is a combination of two words that, together, express a contradictory meaning called?

  oxymoron
• what is it called when a related word or phrase is substituted for the actual thing to which it's referring?

  metonmym
• what is the comparing and contrasting of two or more different (usually opposite) ideas, characters, objects called?

  juxtaposition
• What is it called when an author describes a scene, thing, or idea so that it appeals to our senses (taste, smell, sight, touch, or hearing)?

  imagery
• What is it called when an author indirectly hints at—through things such as dialogue, description, or characters' actions—what's to come later on in the story?

  Foreshadowing
• What is it called when a more mild or indirect word or expression is used in place of another word or phrase that is considered harsh, blunt, vulgar, or unpleasant?

  euphemism
• What is it called when something is similar to anaphora, but in this case, the repeated word or phrase appears at the end of successive statements?

  Epistrophe
• What is it called when an author inserts a famous quotation, poem, song, or other short passage or text at the beginning of a larger text (e.g., a book, chapter, etc.)?

  epigraph
• what is the use of informal language and slang called?

  Colloquialism
• What is it called when the writer leaves out conjunctions (such as "and," "or," "but," and "for") in a group of words or phrases so that the meaning of the phrase or sentence is emphasized?

  Asyndeton
• What is it called when something nonhuman, such as an animal, place, or inanimate object, behaves in a human-like way?

  anthropomorphism
• What is it called when a word or phrase is repeated at the beginning of multiple sentences throughout a piece of writing?

  Anaphora
• What is it called when an author makes an indirect reference to a figure, place, event, or idea originating from outside the text?

  Allusion
• what is a series of words or phrases that all (or almost all) start with the same sound called?

  Alliteration
• What is a story that is used to represent a more general message about real-life (historical) issues and/or events called?

  Allegory
• An iambic foot consists of two syllables, the first unstressed and the second stressed so that it sounds like “da-DUM.”
• What is parataxis?


  the placing together of sentences, clauses, or phrases without a conjunctive word
• what is epizeuxis?


  repetition of two words next to each other for emphasis