Study

Literary Devices

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  • In the first scene of "Othello," we are introduced to Roderigo and Iago, who expresses anger over Othello's failure to promote him. We learn that Desdemona's father is a senator with the power to punish Othello for his "stealing" Desdemona.
    Exposition
  • A long speech expressing the thoughts of a character alone on stage
    Soliloquy
  • What literary device is this: A thing that represents or stands for something else, especially a material object representing something abstract.
    Symbol
  • She put the key in her pocket. 'Who knows?' she said. 'Maybe this will be useful one day.'
    Foreshadowing
  • She died of embarrassment
    Hyperbole
  • 'They think they’re crAzy but thEy ain‘t crAzy lets fAce it...'
    Assonance.
  • Comparing two things that are not really like each other, using 'like' or 'as'. EG: My love is like a red, red rose.
    Simile
  • 'Wow. What a beautiful day.'
  • If you say 'I did ok on the test,' when you got 99% is an example of:
    Understatement
  • 'Yep. That's the right way to act at work.'
    Sarcasm
  • 'We shall fight in France. We shall fight on the seas and oceans. We shall fight on the beaches. We shall fight on the landing grounds. We shall never surrender.’
    Anaphora
  • I was so hungry I ate five burgers
    Exaggeration
  • A comparison between two things which are quite different. Doesn't use 'as' or 'like'. EG: 'There's daggers in men's smiles.'
    Metaphor
  • When an audience knows more than the character does. EG: Othello believes Desdemona is unfaithful to him, but the audience knows she is not.
    Dramatic irony
  • What is this perspective called: 'She woke up early that morning. It was the day they were finally going to visit her grandma.'
    3rd person
  • Sadly, last Thursday, old Grandpa Brown went to a 'better place.'
    Euphemism
  • What literary device is demonstrated here: 'He is Romeo to her Juliet.'
    Allusion.
  • What is this perspective called: 'I couldn't believe that they had lied to her.'
    1st person
  • 'Til I’m topplin’ from the top, I’m not going to stop I’m standin’ on my Monopoly board That means I’m on top of my game And it don’t stop ‘til my hip don’t hop anymore.'
    Wordplay / pun
  • 'What am I even doing here?' sighed Jack.
    Rhetorical question
  • What is this literary device: When the narrator or action goes back into the past to describe a scene that is essential to the main plot.
    Flashback
  • What perspective is this: Josh was worried about the test, but Mara wasn't. Angela hadn't even remembered it was happening. And Luke? Well, Luke was already planning how to fake an illness so he could avoid going to school the next day.
    Omniscient narrator
  • A very strong contrast of opposing ideas, arguments or views. EG: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times"
    Juxtaposition
  • A statement that seems impossible because it contains two opposing ideas that are both true. eg: In this rich country, there is a lot of poverty.
    Paradox
  • A group of lines in a poem (like a 'paragraph' in prose)
    Stanza
  • Instructions for actors and stage crew, usually set in italics
    Stage Directions