College Composition Figurative Language

parady

a humorous imitation of a serious work

tmesis

the separation of the parts of a compound word by one or more intervening words

archetype

A detail, image, or character type that occurs frequently in literature and myth and is thought to appeal in a universal way to the unconscious and to evoke a response

eponym

a disease, structure, operation, or procedure named for the person who discovered or described it first

ekphrastic

A dramatic expression of a work of art (mostly poetry).

euphemism

An indirect, less offensive way of saying something that is considered unpleasant

chaismus

A statement consisting of two parallel parts in which the second part is structurally reversed

"When the going gets tough, the tough get going"

Hendiadys

use of two words connected by a conjunction, instead of subordinating one to the other, to express a single complex idea.

"the cold wind went down the hall" becomes the cold and the wind went down the hall.

Caesura

A natural pause or break in a line of poetry, usually near the middle of the line.

Polysyndeton

the use, for rhetorical effect, of more conjunctions than is necessary or natural

malapropism

the unintentional misuse of a word by confusion with one that sounds similar

cacophony

A harsh, discordant mixture of sounds in writing that feel weird to read aloud

spoonerism

An accidental but humorous distortion of words in a phrase formed by interchanging the initial sounds

epilogues

a short concluding section at the end of a literary work; speech at the end of a play

allusion

A reference to another work of literature, person, or event

pun

a joke exploiting the different possible meanings of a word or the fact that there are words that sound alike but have different meanings.

litotes

A figure of speech consisting of an understatement in which an affirmative is expressed by negating its opposite.

Euphony

pleasant, harmonious sound

satire

A literary work that criticizes human misconduct and ridicules vices, stupidities, and follies.

motif

(n.) a principal idea, feature, theme, or element; a repeated or dominant figure in a design

pleonasm

the use of more words than are necessary to convey meaning [see with one's eyes], either as a fault of style or for emphasis

ellipsis

three periods (...) indicating the omission of words in a thought or quotation

zeugma

use of two different words in a grammatically similar way that produces different, often incongruous, meanings

"She broke his car and his heart."

synecdoche

a figure of speech in which a part is made to represent the whole or vice versa

"wheels" referring to a car

Bildungsroman

A novel or story whose theme is the moral or psychological growth of the main character.

tricolon

Sentence consisting of three parts of equal importance and length, usually three independent clauses.

analogy

A similarity or comparison between two different things or the relationship between them.

anastrophe

Inversion of the usual, normal, or logical order of the parts of a sentence. Purpose is rhythm or emphasis or euphony. It is a fancy word for inversion.

"I like potatoes" becomes "potatoes i like"

hubris

excessive pride or arrogance that results in the downfall of the protagonist of a tragedy

versimilitude

the idea that literature should somehow be true to reality: the idea that textual elements—characters, dialogue, setting, images—should be believable, plausible, authentic, lifelike.

anaphora

the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses

"You're damned if you do and you're damned if you don't."

Colloquialism

a word or phrase that is not formal or literary, typically one used in ordinary or familiar conversation.

Aposiopesis

stopping abruptly and leaving a statement unfinished

anecdote

a short and amusing or interesting story about a real incident or person

double. entendre

a word or phrase open to two interpretations, one of which is usually risqué or indecent.

aphorism

a concise statement of a truth or principle

"Actions speak louder than words"

cliche

a worn-out idea or overused expression

nemesis

someone or something a person cannot conquer or achieve; a hated enemy

sarcasm

the use of irony to mock or convey contempt

Denotation

the literal meaning of a word