Figures of Speech Based on Similarity or Likeness

Simile

Comparing two unlike elements w/ a single link using “like” or “as"

Metaphor

Comparing two unlike elements w/ a single link, not using “like” or “as"

Extended Metaphor

A simple metaphor w/ additional points of comparison

Embedded Metaphor

A metaphor in which the second item is only implied

Personification

A specific type of embedded metaphor where the second item is a person, thus a nonhuman entity is linked w/ a human attribute

Anthropomorphism

An animal is treated in all ways like a human (often occurring in fables)

Analogy

A figure of speech in which the comparison is more developed—even more so than an extended metaphor.

• Can be achieved at a single point in the novel, or by revisiting the comparison on more than one occasion.

Allusion

A reference (explicit or implicit), usually of history, literature, or culture, that the author expects the reader to know

Apostrophe

The act of directly addressing a personified thing or someone not physically present