Literary Terms in
A reference to a historical figure, place, or event A reference to a historical figure, place, or event.
The teams competed in a David and Goliath struggle.
A figure of speech that uses exaggeration to express strong emotion, make a point, or evoke humor.
He was so hungry he could have eaten a horse.
A direct comparison between two basically different things. A simile is introduced by the words “like” or “as”.
My love is like a red, red rose.
A comparison between two different things not using the words “like” or “as”.
The eyes were daggers that cut right through me.
Human characteristics are given to non-human animals, objects, or ideas.
My stereo walked out of my car.
The voice that communicates with the reader of a poem, similar to a narrator of a story. This is usually a character separate from the actual poet.
A group of lines forming a unit in a poem (as a paragraph in a story would).
The use of sensory details that appeal to the five senses.
Cold, wet leaves floating on moss- colored water.
A figure of speech which imitates the sound of what it describes.
Boom! Crash!
The overall emotional feeling of a work.
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.”
A pair of words consisting of two seemingly contradictory terms.
The repetition of identical sounds at the ends of lines of poetry.
“He clasps the crag with crooked hands Close to the sun in lonely lands” from “The Eagle”
The repetition of identical sounds within a line of poetry.
“We three shall flee across the sea to Italy.” Or “Hold infinity in the palm of your hand And eternity in an hour.”
A slant rhyme or half rhyme occurs when the vowel sounds are not quite identical.
“And on that cheek and o’er that brow” A mind at peace with all below”
The pattern that the end rhymes form in a poem or stanza.
Roses are red.a Violets are blue.b Sugar is sweet, c and so are you.b
The repeating of a sound, word, phrase, or more in a given literary work.
“I sprang to the stirrup, and Jarvis, and he; I galloped, Derrick galloped, we galloped all three”
The repetition of consonant sounds at the beginnings of words.
“Swiftly, swiftly flew the ship”
The repetition of consonant sounds that are preceded by different vowel sounds.
“Wherever we go Silence will fall like dews”
Something concrete, such as an object, action, character, or scene that stands for something abstract such as a concept or an idea.
“Do not go gentle into that good night Rage, Rage against the dying of the light” Both phrases are symbols that stand for death. Both phrases are symbols that stand for death.
The main idea or underlying meaning of a literary work.