What is the definition of Allegory?
A story with two levels of meaning: surface and deeper symbolic meaning.
Example: Animal Farm — Orwell.
Define Alliteration.
Repetition of initial consonant sounds in a sequence of words.
Example: ‘From forth the fatal loins of these two foes…’ — Shakespeare.
What is an Allusion?
Indirect reference to another work, person, or event.
Example: ‘He was a real Romeo with the ladies.’ — Common usage.
What does Amplification involve?
Repetition and elaboration for emphasis.
Example: ‘Bran-new people in a bran-new house…’ — Dickens.
Define Analogy.
Comparison for explanation or clarification.
Example: ‘That which we call a rose by any other name…’ — Shakespeare.
What is Anaphora?
Repetition at the beginning of successive clauses.
Example: ‘It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…’ — Dickens.
What does Antithesis mean?
Juxtaposition of contrasting ideas in balanced phrases.
Example: ‘To err is human; to forgive, divine.’ — Pope.
Define Anthropomorphism.
Giving human traits to non-human entities that behave like humans.
Example: ‘I am the king of the jungle,’ said the lion. — Aesop.
What is Aposiopesis?
Sudden break in speech, leaving it unfinished.
Example: ‘Well, I lay if I get hold of you I’ll—’ — Twain.
Define Diacope.
Repetition with one or two intervening words.
Example: ‘To be, or not to be!’ — Shakespeare.
What is Epizeuxis?
Immediate repetition of a word or phrase.
Example: ‘Alone, alone, all, all alone…’ — Coleridge.
Define Epistrophe.
Repetition at the end of successive clauses.
Example: ‘…of the people, by the people, for the people.’ — Lincoln.
What is a Euphemism?
Mild expression replacing a harsh one.
Example: ‘He’s gone to a better place.’ — Common usage.
Define Exposition.
Introduction of background information.
Example: ‘In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit.’ — Tolkien.
What is a Flashback?
A scene set earlier than the main story.
Example: ‘There was a boy called Eustace Clarence Scrubb…’ — Lewis.
Define Foreshadowing.
Hint or warning about future events.
Example: ‘I have a bad feeling about this.’ — Star Wars.
What does Hyperbaton refer to?
Inversion of normal word order.
Example: ‘Some rise by sin, and some by virtue fall.’ — Shakespeare.
Define Hyperbole.
Exaggeration not meant to be taken literally.
Example: ‘Till China and Africa meet.’ — Auden.
What is Imagery?
Descriptive language that appeals to the senses.
Example: ‘The woods are lovely, dark and deep…’ — Frost.
Define Litotes.
Understatement using negation of the opposite.
Example: ‘He’s no fool.’ — Shakespeare.
What is a Metaphor?
Direct comparison without ‘like’ or ‘as’.
Example: ‘All the world’s a stage…’ — Shakespeare.
Define Metonymy.
Substitution of a related term.
Example: ‘The pen is mightier than the sword.’ — Bulwer-Lytton.
What is Onomatopoeia?
Word that imitates a sound.
Example: ‘How they tinkle, tinkle, tinkle…’ — Poe.
Define Oxymoron.
Contradictory terms in conjunction.
Example: ‘Sweet sorrow.’ — Shakespeare.
