Figurative Language

English

Alliteration

Repetition of initial consonant sounds.
Example: Sally sells seashells by the sea shore.

Cliché

a worn-out idea or overused expression
Example: You can't judge a book by its cover.

Hyperbole

An exaggeration that is so dramatic that no one would believe the statement is true.
Example: I'm so hungry I could eat a horse.

Idiom

A common, often used expression that doesn't make sense if you take it literally.
Example: It's raining cats and dogs.

Irony

the expression of one's meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite, typically for humorous or emphatic effect.
Example: a character stepping out into a hurricane and saying, "What nice weather we're having!"

Dramatic irony

when a reader is aware of something that a character isn't
Example: In Romeo & Juliet, Romeo thinks Juliet is dead, so he goes to her tomb to kill himself. This is ironic because he doesn't know, as the audience does, that she is has been given a potion to make her look dead.

Verbal irony

A figure of speech in which what is said is the opposite of what is meant.
Example: In Romeo & Juliet, Juliet is upset after being told that her father has promised her hand in marriage to Paris. She states to her mother "...I will not marry yet; and, when I do, I swear it shall be Romeo, whom you know I hate, rather than Paris ..." This is ironic because she is already married to Romeo.

Situational irony

An outcome that turns out to be very different from what was expected
Example: Dying of thirst while adrift on a boat in the ocean. There's water everywhere, but none of it is drinkable.

Metaphor

A comparison without using like or as
Example: Her eyes are stars shining in the sky.

Extended Metaphor

A metaphor developed at great length, occurring frequently in or throughout a work.

Onomatopoeia

A word that imitates the sound it represents.
Example: snap, crackle

Oxymoron

A figure of speech that combines opposite or contradictory terms in a brief phrase.
Example: jumbo shrimp; definite maybe; deafening silence

Personification

the giving of human qualities to an animal, object, or idea
Example: My teddy bear gave me a hug.

Pun

A play on words
Example: My dog not only has a fur coat, but also pants.

Simile

A comparison using "like" or "as"
Example: She is busy as a bee.

Protagonist

main character
Example: Peter Parker in the Spiderman movies

Antagonist

A character or force in conflict with the main character
Example: The Green Goblin in Spiderman

Plot

Sequence of events in a story

Setting

The time and place of a story
Example: Spiderman takes place in modern-day New York City.

Conflict

A struggle between opposing forces. Man vs. Man, Man vs. society, Man vs. himself and Man vs. nature.

Climax

Most exciting moment of the story; turning point

Diction

A writer's or speaker's choice of words

Theme

Central idea of a work of literature
Example: Little Red Riding Hood's theme may be "Don't talk to strangers".

Motif

A recurring theme, subject or idea
Example: A motif in The Outsiders is family.

Mood

Feeling or atmosphere that a writer creates for the reader

Tone

Attitude a writer takes toward the audience, a subject, or a character

Point of View

the perspective from which a story is told

Allegory

a story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one.
Example: Animal Farm is an allegory of Soviet Union.

Allusion

A reference to another work of literature, person, or event
Example: The title of John Steinbeck's book, Of Mice and Men is an allusion to a line from a poem by Robert Burns.

Anthropomorphism

the attribution of human characteristics or behavior to a god, animal, or object.
Example: movie: Cars ; the cars can talk and interact like humans.

Exposition

a comprehensive description and explanation of an idea or theory.

Foil

A character who acts as a contrast to another character

Foreshadowing

the use of hints and clues to suggest what will happen later in a plot

Imagery

Description that appeals to the senses (sight, sound, smell, touch, taste)

Parallelism

similarity of structure in a pair or series of related words, phrases, or clauses

Repetition

Repeated use of sounds, words, or ideas for effect and emphasis
Example: from Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech - Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania! Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado! Let freedom ring from the curvaceous peaks of California! But not only that, let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia! Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee! Let freedom ring from every hill and every molehill of Mississippi.

Symbolism

A device in literature where an object represents an idea.
Examples: Cars are symbolic in The Outsiders. They represent the social mobility the Soc's have that the Greasers don't (they also are an example of situational irony because Darry and Soda work on cars, and know more about them than the Greasers who drive them).

Synecdoche

a figure of speech in which a part is made to represent the whole or vice versa.
Example: All hands on deck!

Metonymy

A figure of speech in which something is referred to by using the name of something that is associated with it
Example: Referring to the American technology industry as "Silicon Valley"

Assonance

Repetition of vowel sounds
Example: the kind knight rides by.

Vivid verbs

strong words used to make writing lively and interesting
Example: sprinted, devoured

Appositive

A word or phrase that renames a nearby noun or pronoun.
Example: My childhood friend, Melody, loved music. (Noun \= Friend; Appositive \= Melody)

Adjectives shifted out of order

creates an interesting flow.
Example: The angry elephant, monstrous and fierce, charged the lions.

Absolute phrases

a noun and a participle are put together, with the noun coming first.
Example: Hermione was running toward them down the path, Hagrid puffing along behind her.