Studied by 100 peopleFigures of Speech
comparisons that highlight the similarities between things that are basically dissimilar
Example: Similes, Metaphors, Personification
Figurative language
all uses of language that imply an imaginative comparison
Example: "I felt the sunshine on my skin, hearing the buzzing of the bees, while gazing at the gentle babble of the brook in the distance."
Foreshadowing
a purposeful hint placed in a work of literature to suggest what may occur later in the narrative
Example: At the beginning of a baseball novel, a scene in which the young protagonist is shown throwing rocks into glass bottles could _________ his eventual career as a pitcher in the Major Leagues.
Gobbledygook
a mode of speech where the language is completely unintelligible because of jargon, bombast, or circumlocution
Example: "It's time to realize our strategic growth mindset and use operational mindfulness to make our presence known in the industry with quality implementation and methodologies."
Harangue
an emotionally based speech meant to spur an audience into action
Example: "This that you have heard is the case of every one of you that are out of Christ. That world of misery, that lake of burning brimstone is extended abroad under you... there is the dreadful pit of the glowing flames of the wrath of God beneath you" - Jonathan Edward's 'Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God' (1741)
Hyphaersis
the omission of a letter from a word, usually to condense the number of syllables
Example: "O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?" The omission of the letter 'v' makes this a _____________.
Hyperbole
a figure of speech in which exaggeration is used to achieve emphasis, often comically
Example: "The lunch line is a thousand people long!"
Hypostatization
a form of personification in which an abstract concept takes on living qualities
Example: "Justice is the leader of this country."
Idiom
a word or phrase that is used habitually
Example: "Time to rise and shine!"
Imagery
A mental picture conjured by specific words and associations
Independent clause
a clause that can stand alone in a sentence; can be paired with dependent clauses but does not require them for meaning.
Example: "Because I could not stop for death, he kindly stopped for me." "Because I could not stop for death" is the ______________ in this scenario.
Induction
a logical process of making conclusions based on experiencing specific cases and scenarios
Inference
the process or making a conclusion based on a hint, clue, or implication
Example: Todd can infer that Rich is an angry man because of his knotted eyebrows and clenched fists. He does not need to be directly told, but rather it can be inferred through non-verbal cues.
Irony
a mode of expression in which an intended outcome is substituted with the reverse of what is expected
Example: "The day Chris decided on sobriety, he got run over by a Bud Light truck and died."
Jargon
a mode of speech where language is completely unintelligible
Juxtaposition
the placement of two contrasting ideas things next to each other for comparison
Example: A writer may choose to __________ the coldness of one room with the warmth of another, or one person's honesty with another's duplicity. ___________ sheds light on both elements in the comparison.
Litote
a form of understatement in which a thing is affirmed by stating the negative of its opposite
Example: "She's not a bad hockey player." To say "she's not bad" really means that "she is good," the opposite.
Logical reasoning
The process of arriving at a conclusion through induction or deduction
Logos
the use of reason as a controlling principle in an argument
Example: "We need the addition of a traffic light at the corner of 1st and 34th. Traffic lights are shown to reduce traffic accidents by up to 30 percent at busy intersections."
Loose syntax
a sentence in which the main clause is presented first followed by a series of dependent clauses
Example: "The corpse was stuffed in the trunk as he drove the car f carefully, his shaggy hair whipped by the wind, his eyes hidden behind wrap-around mirror shades, his mouth set in a grim smile, a .38 Police Special on the seat beside him."
Malapropism
the substitution of a word for a word with a similar sound in which the resulting phrase makes no sense and often creates a comic effect
Example: "Let's create a little dysentery among the ranks." Instead of "dysentery," he means to say "dissention," the ____________ is used to show him as a foolish character.
Metaphor
any figure of speech in which two unlike things are compared directly, usually for emphasis or dramatic effect
Example: "My heart is a rose"
Mood
the audience's attitude or feelings towards a subject
Narration
one of the four primary modes of writing in composition courses; telling a story
Neologism
a newly invented, or coined, word
Example: In 2010, over 200 words were added to the Oxford English; words including "overthink," "bromance," "buzzkill," "frenemy," and "exit strategy."
Standard
A figure of speech that makes a connection between two unlike things.
"My heart is a rose."
Extended
A metaphor that extends over several lines, verses, or chapters.
"Writing this research paper is a grind. My brain is not operating. I am running out of steam." (Each sentence extends the metaphor that the mind is a machine)
Implied
A less direct metaphor.
"The boxer pecked away at his opponent."
Dead
A metaphor that has become so common that we no longer notice it as a figure of speech.
"My sister drives me out of my mind."
Metonymy
"A figure of speech in which something closely related to a thing is substituted for the thing itself.4
"Here comes the crown." (The crown stands in for the king himself)
Mixed
A faulty metaphor that switches the terms of comparison before it finishes.
"We are at the crossroads of an enormous precipice."
Synecdoche
A substitution of a part for a whole (or vice versa).
"Five hundred hands were needed to build the bridge." (The manual laborers are representers by their hands, the intrument of their labor)
Note
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