1. Literary Terms and Examples
Mr. Lein
Pre-AP English I & II

2. Metaphor
A vivid comparison which doesn’t use like or as, but often uses the verb “be”.
“His stomach was a burning cauldron after eating the Torpedo Loco Taco.”
“Hollywood is a vampire.”

3. Simile
A less-direct comparison of two things/ideas, which uses ‘like’ or ‘as’:
“It’s as hot as a sauna in here!”
“That boy’s about as lazy as a bump on a log.”

4. Personification
“Person” – ification – literally making a non-human object a human.
Personification uses action verbs directly:
“The car dragged it’s feet and grunted against the weight of the huge Christmas tree.”
“Shadows danced in the candlelight.”

5. Oxymoron
Two terms that are contradictory, paradoxical, or seem to not be able to go together – yet form a single meaning:
open secret
larger half
clearly confused
act naturally
alone together
Hell's Angels
found missing
liquid gas
civil engineer
deafening silence
seriously funny
living dead
Microsoft Works
military intelligence
jumbo shrimp

6. Onomatopoeia Words that are simply the written form of a sound: Buzz
splat!
Pop
Boom!
Think ‘Batman fighting’ from the old cartoon.

7. Alliteration
Repetition of a sound or letter in order to create a melodic or rhythmic effect
“The soothing sounds of silence bring with them serenity.”

8. Tone
The overall feeling of a story, the background emotion behind the whole work
Satirical, Dark, Optimistic, Cynical, Narrative, Journalistic, Patriotic

9. Hyperbole/Understatement
Hyperbole is a common literary device of ancient and classical writing
Hyperbole is an intentional dramatic overstatement
Understatement is the exact opposite – this is when a profound experience transpired and is paid relatively little attention
*Both hyperbole and understatement are used to draw attention to important thematic messages (aka pay attention to these!)

10. Irony Irony is another way to say “unexpected” –
In other words, when something ironic happens, we are set up to believe that something will happen: (An old librarian shushes kids in the library)
Then, something we didn’t see coming (the unexpected) happens: (She leaves the school and gets in a Land Cruiser playing loud rap music.)
To sum up: Irony is when the expected outcome and the actual outcome don’t match.

11. Satire
Usually a form of social criticism – tends to focus on a current trend
Tends to blow things out of proportion in order to make a point - absurdity
Often takes serious situations and makes them so absurd that they seem funny
“Dark Comedy”

12. Allusion
A literary reference, usually to a novel, play, character, or historic figure. Not a direct quote.
“He flung away his rubber-ball nose, revealed a man that would have awed Thor, the god of thunder” – from Harrison Bergeron.

13. Juxtaposition This word sound a lot more strange than it actually is.
Juxtaposition is what happens when two things are placed side by side for comparison.
For example, in many police dramas, an ethical police officer is partnered with a corrupt one so that the characteristics of virtue and dishonor can be more clearly identified and experimented with.