Important Literary Devices – Flashcards
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alliteration
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a group of words that all start with the same consonant sounds in a sequence of words, usually at the beginning of words
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alliteration examples
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descending dew drops, little luscious lemons
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allusion
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the mention of a familiar or famous person, historical event, place, book, or object.
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allusion example
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"It's been raining so hard lately that I think I'll build an ark,"
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cliché
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an overused expression that has lost its original strength because we have heard it already so many times;
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connotation
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the secondary, emotional meaning of a word; the feeling or emotion that goes along with a word's main dictionary meaning;
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denotation
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the dictionary definition of a word
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denotation example
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"imminent" is "about to happen or impending"
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foreshadowing:
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hints and clues that suggest what will happen later in the story, often used to build suspense or tension
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hyperbole
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a very bold, exaggerated statement; it isn't literally true;
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hyperbole examples
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"He ate everything in the house." / "I'm bored to death."
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imagery:
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common term for the "mental pictures" writers paint; imagery is made up of all the sensory perceptions .including what you can SEE HEAR, TASTE, SMELL, and TOUCH
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imagery examples
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sight - orange glare; a ginger cat, very tall and thin smell - sweaty clothes; dusty odor of the dry earth taste - pink sweetness of the watermelon touch - hot July sun; damp jeans sound -crackling underbrush
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cliche examples
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"as white as snow", "busy as bees", "scared to death"
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connotation examples
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"lavish and extravagant" "fancy-schmancy" and "hoity-toity" "Mutt", "slim", "scrawny", "child", "urchin", "rugrat" are other words with strong connotations.
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irony
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the opposite of what is expected; different than a coincidence
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irony examples
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The average cost of rehabilitating a seal after the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska was $80,000. At a special ceremony, two of the most expensively saved animals were released back into the wild amid cheers and applause from onlookers. A minute later they were both eaten by a killer whale.
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metaphor
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a figure of speech that makes a comparison between two unlike things, without using the words like or as;
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metaphor examples
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life is a "brief candle", "He was a bear, tearing through his dinner without pause."
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onomatopoeia
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words that sound like what they describe or name;
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onomatopoeia examples
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"buzz", "meow",
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oxymoron
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two opposite words used together to name a new thing;
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oxymoron examples
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"sweet sorrow", "original copy", "thunderous silence", "jumbo shrimp", "pretty ugly"
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personification
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writing that makes inanimate objects, animals, natural forces (like weather) seem alive or human-like / writing that makes a thing seem like a person
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personification examples
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"Time, the subtle thief of youth" "On dark nights the houses had mean expressions on their faces" "The angry wind yelled and scolded us with its vicious fingers"
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pun
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word play where words often take on double meanings examples: "Fang, you very much," said the vampire to his victim. "I want some friends to hang around with," said the little bat to his mother.
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simile
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a figure of speech that makes a comparison between two unlike things by using the words "like"," as", "than", "appears", or "seems";
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simile examples
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"Mrs. Smith's coffee is like a punch in the stomach""He laughed like a hyena""mad as a hornet"
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symbol
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an object, person or action that stands for an additional abstract or idea
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symbol examples
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the American flag is an object that represents or symbolizes freedom, patriotism, home, etc., an owl described as "the bird of night" (owl is a symbol of death), or rain accompanying a sorrowful scene in a movie to symbolize tears and sadness and loss
