English -- Figurative Language

Simile

Comparing two things using like or as

Metaphor

A direct comparison between two things

Personification

Gives inanimate objects human characteristics or actions

Allusion

A brief reference to a person, place, thing, event, or other literary work

Idiom

A figure of speech that means something different than a literal translation of words

Onomatopoeia

A vocal initiation of a thing or action based on the sound associated with it

Imagery

Adding extra words to appeal to the reader’s senses when describing something.

Alliteration

The repetition of the same consonant sound at the beginning of nearby words

Assonance

The repetition of vowel sounds is repeated more

Synecdoche

A figure of speech that uses a smaller part of something to mean a bigger thing

Understatement

The description of something as having much less of a particular quality than it does

Parallel Structure

The same grammatical form repeated in a sentence

character vs character

one charcter’s needs or wants oppose another’s

character vs nature

character being opposed by weather, wilderness, animals, or natural diaster

character vs supernatural

characters being opposed by ghosts, gods, monsters, or magic

character vs society

characters being opposed by a larger group of other characters

character vs self

internal conflict where the character struggles against their own morals, beliefs, or desires

setting

time/place/environment

dynamic character

character who goes through changes over the story

static character

a character who remains the same throughout the story

round character

a character with complex emotions and personality traits

flat character

a character with only one or two defining traits and limited range of emotion or reaction to things

symbol

An person, place, or thing that represents something not literally

1st person POV

The story being told by me “I went to the store…”

2nd person POV

The story being told about you “You went to the store…”

3rd person limited POV

The story being told by someone and only their thoughts “Sarah went to the store…”

3rd person omniscent POV

The story being told by multiple charterters and the reader has acccess to all their thoughts “Sarah went to the store. Marie stayed home…”

Tone

The feeling of the atmosphere that the author establishes

Mood

How the reader feels while reading/experiencing the story

Verbal irony

Someone says one thing but means the other/Sarcasm

Situational Irony

The reverse of what we expect to happen in a story.

Dramatic Irony

When the audience knows something but the characters do not

Olfactory Imagery

Imagery appealing to the sense of smell

Gustatory Imagery

Imagery appealing to the sense of taste

Tactile Imagery

Imagery appealing to the sense of touch

Visual Imagery

Imagery appealing to the sense of sight

Auditory Imagery

Imagery appealing to the sense of hearing