A Comprehensive List of Literary Terms and Definitions

Phonological and Syntactic Devices

• Alliteration: The repetition of the same sound in several words within a sentence.
• Onomatopoeia: The formation of a word from a sound associated with what is named.
• Pun: A play on words, often using different meanings of the same word or similar-sounding words.
• Paronomasia: The use of words that sound similar but have different meanings.
• Anaphora: The repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses or verses.
• Asyndeton: The omission of conjunctions between parts of a sentence, creating a sense of speed.
• Ellipsis: The omission of words that are grammatically necessary but understood from context.
• Hyperbaton: An alteration of the normal word order in a sentence.
• Parallelism: The repetition of the same morphosyntactic structure in different phrases or verses.
• Polysyndeton: The repeated use of the same conjunction to link words or clauses, creating a solemn or slower pace.
• Chiasmus: A form of parallelism where elements are exchanged or crossed (e.g., noun + adjective, adjective + noun).

Semantic and Rhetorical Figures

• Antithesis: The comparison of ideas through the association of words or phrases with opposite meanings.
• Apostrophe: An invocation, exclamation, or question directed at someone or something present or absent, real or imaginary.
• Hyperbole: The use of excessive exaggeration.
• Rhetorical Question: A question asked for effect that requires no answer because the response is obvious.
• Irony: Stating the opposite of what is meant. When irony becomes cruel or insulting, it is called sarcasm.
• Understatement: Attenuating the meaning of a statement through denial or minimization.
• Metaphor: The identification of two terms (real and image) based on a perceived relationship.
• Metonymy: The substitution of one word for another with which it has a relationship of contiguity. Examples include:
  • The whole for the part (e.g., mortal man).
  • The part for the whole (e.g., earn a living).
  • The cause for the effect.
  • The instrument for the agent (e.g., the first violin).
  • The author for the work (e.g., reading Shakespeare).
  • The site for the product (e.g., Jabugo).
• Paradox: An apparent contradiction that reveals a deeper truth.
• Prosopopeya (Personification): Attributing human qualities or actions to animals or inanimate objects.
• Simile: Comparing two items that share qualities using comparative links (e.g., like, as).
• Synesthesia: The mixing of sensory images (visual, auditory, olfactory) from different domains.