English III Literary Terms

Alliteration – Repetition of sounds Allusions – Figure of speech that references outside information, such as a person or event Allegory – A work, or character, that has both literal and figurative meaning Analogy – A comparison Anaphora – Repetition of the beginning of the phrase Apostrophe – A figure of speech that addresses a person (usually but not always absent)

Chiasmus – when the subject and the verb are flipped Connotation – Emotional implications that a word carries Conceit – An unexpected comparison Epistrophe – Repetition of the end of the phrase Hyperbole – Exaggerated overstatement Imagery – Collection of visual images Irony – Reality different from appearence Metonomy – When an object represents the person or subject

Motif – a repeating symbol or idea in a text Paradox – A contradictory statement that is actually true (“I can resist everything except temptation” Wilde) Personification – Giving human characteristics to a nonliving subject Symbol – object or idea that represents itself and an abstract idea Synecdoche – When a part symbolizes the whole

Satire – Humorous way of holding up human vice for criticism Tone – Author’s attitude toward a subject