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Literature vocabulary · Literary Devices and Figures of Speech

Apostrophe

Meaning in literature, with examples

nounAdvanced term

In literature, apostrophe means: A figure of speech in which a speaker directly addresses an absent person, an abstract idea, or a nonhuman thing.

In Turkish: seslenme sanatı

How it is used

Common in poetry and drama analysis. It often signals heightened emotion, reflection, complaint, praise, or theatrical intensity.

Example sentences

  1. While annotating the poem, we marked 'O Memory' as an apostrophe because the speaker turns from narration to direct address.

    Here apostrophe names the moment when the speaker treats an abstract idea as if it could hear and respond.

  2. The actor strengthened the apostrophe to death by pausing before the line, making the courtroom monologue feel almost ritual.

    In this example, apostrophe creates dramatic intensity by redirecting speech toward a force that is not literally present.

Common collocations

  • use apostrophe
  • poetic apostrophe
  • apostrophe to death
  • dramatic apostrophe
  • figure of speechA use of words in a non-literal or unusual way to create a special effect or meaning, such as a metaphor, simile, hyperbole or personification.
  • personificationA figure of speech that gives human qualities, feelings or actions to animals, objects, places or ideas, as in 'the wind whispered'.

More terms: Literary Devices and Figures of Speech

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