Honors British Literature
Mr. Masser
Anglo-Saxon Literary Terms Search
Kenning— a conventional poetic phrase used for or in addition to the usual name of a
person or thing, esp. in Icelandic and Anglo-Saxon verse, as “a wave traveler” for “a
boat.”
Digression— a passage or section that deviates from the central theme in speech or
writing.
Variation— use differing language to describe the same thing.
Caesura— A pause in a line of verse dictated by sense or natural speech rhythm rather
than by metrics. Example: “The shepherd of evil, guardian of crime”
Antithesis— of an image or idea against another to which it is opposed to form a
balanced contrast of ideas, as in “Give me liberty or give me death.” The opposition is
used to highlight the other’s traits.
Alliteration— the repetition of initial consonant sounds.
Synecdoche—a part of something is used to represent the whole. Example: “He opened
out his treasure-full hands.”
Litotes— A figure of speech consisting of an understatement in which an affirmative is
expressed by negating its opposite, as in This is no small problem.
Metaphor— A comparison of two essentially unlike things without using “like” or “as”.
Parallelism— The use of identical or equivalent syntactic constructions in corresponding
clauses or phrases.