Literary Devices

Front

What is an allusion?

Back

An indirect or passing reference to another person or work in literature.

Front

What is a metaphor?

Back

A figure of speech that makes a comparison between two unlike things without using 'like' or 'as.' Example: 'Ali is a walking dictionary.'

Front

What is a simile?

Back

A comparison using 'like' or 'as.' Example: 'She swam like a fish.'

Front

What is onomatopoeia?

Back

A word that imitates the sound it represents. Example: 'Boom!'.

Front

What is a flashback?

Back

A scene in a story set in a time earlier than the main story.

Front

What is hyperbole?

Back

An exaggerated statement not meant to be taken literally. Example: 'I’m so hungry I could eat a horse.'

Front

What is foreshadowing?

Back

A literary device used to give an indication or hint of what is to come later in the story.

Front

What is personification?

Back

A figure of speech in which human qualities are attributed to animals, inanimate objects, or abstract concepts. Example: 'The wind whispered through the trees.'

Front

What is imagery?

Back

Descriptive language that appeals to the senses and creates a picture in the reader's mind.

Front

What is a theme?

Back

The central idea or message in a work of literature.