English Lit literary terms and devicies

• Alliteration 


  repetition of sounds in words close to each other in a line or stanza- "but when a boy and barefoot"
• Anaphora 


  repetition of the same word or phrase at the beginning of a line.
• blank verse 


  unrhymed iambic pentameter e.g. Shakespeare's plays
• Caesura


  short but definite pause used for effect in a line of poetry
• couplet 


  2 successful rhyming lines
• Enjambment 


  a line having no end punctuation and running over to the next line
• Hyperbole and Litotes


  Hyperbole = overstatement, exaggeration for effect.

  Litotes = understatement for effect

  • often used for irony
• Metaphor


  comparison between 2 unlike things, describes one thing as if it was something else.
• Onomatopoeia


  blending of consonant and vowel sounds designed to imitate or suggest the activity being described
• Personification 


  attributing human characteristics to non-human things
• Simile 


  direct comparison between 2 dissimilar things - uses 'like' and 'as' to state the terms of the comparison
• Synaesthesia 


  describes one sensory impression in terms of a different sense - 'darkness visible' 'green thought'
• Volta 


  turning point of a sonnet
• Anagnorisis 


  point in a play when a principal character recognises or discovers another character’s true identity or the true nature of their own circumstances
• Hamartia 


  a flaw in a character that brings about the downfall of a hero of a tragedy
• Hubris 


  exaggerated pride or self-confidence
• Catharsis


  process of releasing and thereby providing relief from strong or repressed emotions
• Allusions 


  expression designed to call something to mind without mentioning it explicitly
• Imagery 


  visually descriptive or figurative language
• Edenic Imagery 


  relating to or a characteristic of Garden of Eden
• Satire 


  use of humour, irony, exaggeration or ridicule to expose and criticise peoples stupidity or vices.
• Irony 


  language that normally signifies the opposite - typically for humorous or empathetic effect