Literary Devices and Terms

Front

Tone

Back

The author's attitude toward the subject.

Front

Figurative Language

Back

Language that uses figures of speech to be more effective, persuasive, and impactful (e.g., metaphors, similes).

Front

Simile

Back

A figure of speech involving the comparison of one thing with another thing of a different kind, used to make a description more emphatic or vivid (e.g., as brave as a lion, crazy like a fox).

Front

Metaphor

Back

A figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable.

Front

Personification

Back

The attribution of a personal nature or human characteristics to something nonhuman, or the representation of an abstract quality in human form.

Front

Hyperbole

Back

Exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally.

Front

Alliteration

Back

The occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words.

Front

Onomatopoeia

Back

The formation of a word from a sound associated with what is named.

Front

Idiom

Back

A group of words established by usage as having a meaning not deducible from those of the individual words.

Front

Allusion

Back

A reference to another text, event, or figure, often from history, literature, or culture.