Mrs. Ehrat's Lit Terms Part 1

A statement that appears self-contradictory, yet reveals a kind of truth. Shows the complexities of life.

• alliteration

• idiom

• paradox

• hyperbole

A ridiculous exaggeration.

• hyperbole

• metaphor

• simile

• idiom

The use of hints/clues to suggest what will happen later.

• flashback

• foreshadow

• exposition

• idiom

When a writer gives an animal or inanimate object human traits.

• onomatopoeia

• allusion

• hyperbole

• personification

A scene that interrupts the normal narrative timeline in order to provide information about something that happened earlier in the story.

• flashback

• foreshadow

• diction

• climax

Actions taken have an effect exaclty opposite from what was intended.

• dramatic irony

• situational irony

• irony

• verbal irony

The exact dictionary definition (literal meaning) of a word.

• connotation

• denotation

• dialogue

• dialect

A person, place, thing, or event that has meaning in itself and that also stands for something more than itself.

• exposition

• theme

• symbolism

• irony

A comparison that uses "like", "as", "than", or "resembles."

• simile

• metaphor

• allusion

• extended metaphor

A long speech made by a character in a play while no other characters are on stage.

• monologue

• interior monologue

• aside

• solilquy