Common Literary Terms

A comparison of two different things that are alike in some way

placing together structurally parallel words, phrases, or clauses for the purpose of contrast.

the character or force who opposes the hero in a story.

a form of personification in which the absent or dead are spoken to as if present and the inanimate, as if animate.

character, setting, theme, or symbol that demonstrates a universal human experience.

repitition of a vowel sound in a series of words.

the feelings and emotions associated with the meaning of a word.

the repitition of constant sounds in a series of words.

substituted word or phrase to create a softer tone or to decieve.

an over exaggeration for effect.

common expression that has a meaning particular to a language or region

the pattern of stressed or unstressed syllables in a poem.

a long uninterrupted speech performed by a single character.

the use of words that mimic the sounds they describe.

a pair of opposite terms placed together in a single expression.

contradiction of the ideas in the same statement that reveals a hidden truth and may appear illogical, impossible, or absurd.

a kind of metaphor that gives inanimate objects or abstract ideas human characteristics.

main character in a literary work.

A play on words that are identical or similar in sound but have different meanings.

exaggeration or ridicule for the purpose of social change.

a form of a metaphor where part is used to represent the whole.

the arrangement of words and the order of grammaticle elements in a sentence.