Alliteration
•The repetition of initial consonant
sounds
Ex. Peter Piper picked a peck of
pickled peppers.
Allusion
• A reference to a famous person, event,
work of art, literature
• The audience would not need the allusion
explained
• Ex. Her style of painting is similar to that of
Leonardo DaVinci.
Climax
• The highest point of tension in a story
between the protagonist and antagonist
• Often the turning point
Ex. When Batman and The Joker are
fighting at the top of a large building and
you do not know what is going to happen
next.
Comic Relief
• When a tense, serious or calm scene is
interrupted by something humorous
Flashback
• When the present event in a story is
interrupted to give information about the
past
Foreshadowing
• Hints or clues (that
a reader may
initially miss) about
future events in a
story
Hyperbole
• Exaggeration
Irony
• The opposite of what is expected
Irony
Dramatic
Verbal
• When the audience
knows something that
a character does not
• Saying the opposite
of what you actually
mean
Ex. The audience
knows that Juliet is
not really dead, but
Romeo does not.
Ex. Miss Morkin hates
when her students
are on time for class.
Metaphor
• When one item is said to be another
• A comparison without using “like” or “as”
Ex. This homework is a breeze.
My memory is a little foggy.
Mood
• The way one
feels as she
reads something
Onomatopoeia
• The use of words that imitate the sound
they describe
Ex. Crash, Bang, Pow, Swish
The burning wood crackled and hissed.
Oxymoron
• Putting two opposing words next to each
other
Ex. Jumbo shrimp
Student teacher
Bittersweet
Personification
• Giving human characteristics to non-living
things
Ex. Oreo is milk’s favorite cookie.
My computer hates me.
The flowers begged for water.
Pun
• A word used to have a double meaning
• Usually results in humor
Ex. I used to be a doctor, but then I lost patients.
I’m reading a book on anti-gravity. It’s impossible to put down.
http://www.punoftheday.com/cgi-bin/disppuns.pl?ord=F&cat=0&sub=0&page=1
Simile
• Comparing two things using the word “like”
or “as”
Ex. This lesson is as clear as crystal.
We are as busy as bees.
She is as cool as a cucumber.
Suspense
• When the reader wonders what is going to
happen next
Symbol
• When something represents itself and
something greater
Theme
• The main idea, or message, of an essay,
paragraph, or a book
• The message may be about life, society,
or human nature
• Themes often explore timeless and
universal ideas and may be implied rather
than stated explicitly
Tone
• The attitude or “voice” the author has
about his subject
Ex. cynical, depressed, sympathetic,
cheerful, outraged, positive, angry,
sarcastic, prayerful, ironic, solemn,
vindictive, intense, excited