Figurative Language & Rhetorical Devices Study Guide

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms and definitions from the study guide.

Metaphor

A direct comparison between two unlike things without using 'like' or 'as'.

Implied Metaphor

A comparison that is suggested but not directly stated.

Extended Metaphor

A comparison developed over several lines or an entire work.

Simile

A comparison using 'like' or 'as.'

Personification

Giving human qualities to animals, objects, or ideas.

Symbol

An object or image that represents something larger.

Metonymy

Substituting a related concept for the thing itself.

Synecdoche

Using a part to represent the whole, or vice versa.

Allusion

A reference to a famous person, event, or work.

Apostrophe

Addressing someone absent or an object as if it could reply.

Hyperbole

An exaggerated statement not meant literally.

Juxtaposition

Placing two things side by side to emphasize contrast.

Imagery

Descriptive language that appeals to the senses.

Pun

A play on words with double meanings.

Paradox

A statement that contradicts itself but reveals truth.

Oxymoron

A phrase combining two opposite words.

Antithesis

A balanced contrast of ideas.

Alliteration

Repetition of initial consonant sounds.

Onomatopoeia

Words that imitate natural sounds.

Apophasis

Bringing something up by saying you won’t mention it.

Anaphora

Repetition of words at the beginning of successive clauses.

Assonance

Repetition of vowel sounds.

Parenthesis

Inserting extra info into a sentence with commas, dashes, or parentheses.

Bathos

A shift from serious to silly or trivial.

Situational Irony

When the opposite of what’s expected happens.

Dramatic Irony

The audience knows something the character doesn’t.

Verbal Irony

Saying the opposite of what you mean.

Ethos

Appeal to credibility or character.

Pathos

Appeal to emotion.

Logos

Appeal to logic and reason.