Literary Devices

allusion

• an expression designed to call something to mind without mentioning it explicitly; an indirect or passing reference.

simile

• A comparison between two objects or ideas using ‘like’ or ‘as’, usually to show that they share similar characteristics.

metaphor

• A substitution of an object or idea for another by stating one is the other, usually to show that they share one specific quality or feature.

rhyming couplet

• A pair of verse lines that usually rhyme.

repetition

• The use of the same word or phrase twice or more to add emphasis.

antithesis

• The contrast of ideas or words in a balanced or parallel construction.

iambic pentameter

• A line of verse that contains ten syllables where every second beat is accented or stressed. If you read this line, the emphasis falls on every second syllable: “Right glad I am he was not at this fray”.

imagery

• Figurative or vivid language which is used to evoke imaginative or emotional responses. It is a very general term, and includes more specific examples such as metaphors, similes and symbols.

prose

• Ordinary speech or writing written in full sentences and divided into paragraphs. Prose doesn’t have a set rhyme or meter, and is therefore an alternative to verse

personification

• A description of an object as if it is a person by giving it human characteristics.

irony

• which the full significance of a character's words or actions are clear to the audience or reader although unknown to the character.

monologue

• a long speech by one actor in a play

soliloquy