Figurative Language + Diction + Forms of Poetry

1st round

Figurative Language

language devices not meant to be taken literally

Simile

an explicit comparison of two things using like or as

Metaphor

an implicit comparison of two things that are essentially dissimilar

Personification

the giving of human qualities to non-human things

Hyperbole

an exaggerated statement or claim not meant to be taken literally— often done for humorous effect

Metonymy

when the name of one thing is substituted for another with which it is closely associated. Ex: “The crown spoke with authority about the growing crisis.” ‘Crown’ is not literally a crown but is meant to represent a king or queen.

Conceit

a figure of speech in which two vastly different objects are likened together with the help of similies or metaphors. Develops a comparison which is exceedingly unlikely but is, nonetheless, intellectually imaginative. Comparison → _______ when the writer tries to make us admit a similarity between two things of whose unlikeness we are strongly conscious and for this reason, conceits are often surprising. (novel comparisons)

Diction

word choice

Formal

usage common in serious books and lofty discourse

Informal

level of usage found in relaxed but polite and cultivated conversation

Colloquial

usage that is not formal or literary; typically use in ordinary or familiar conversation

Slang

newly coined words not yet generally accepted as part of standard usage

Dialect

a regional speech pattern

Aubade

a song or poem appropriate to or greeting the dawn

Ballad

any light, simple song, especially one of sentimental or romantic character, having two or more stanzas all sung to the same melody

Didactic

a poem containing a political or moral message to which aesthetic considerations are subordinated

Dramatic

poetry in which one or more characters speak. Involved the technique of drama + tells a story

Elegy

a mournful, melancholy, or plaintive poem, especially a funeral song or a lament for the dead

Epic

a long, narrative poem telling of a hero’s deeds, written in a formal style and with elevated language

Limerick

a kind of humorous verse of 5 lines, in which the 1st, 2nd, and 5th lines rhyme with each other, and the 3rd and 4th lines, which are shorter, form a rhymed couplet

Lyric

having the form and musical quality of a song, and especially the character of a song-like outpouring of the poet’s own feelings and thoughts

Ode

a lyrical poem, typically addressed to a particular subject, with lines of varying lengths and complex rhythms

Sonnet

a poem, properly expressive of a single, complete thought, idea, or sentiment, of 14 lines, usually in iambic pentameter