figurative language

simile

a comparison of two different things or ideas through the use of the words like or as. It is a directly stated comparison. example: The warrior fought like a lion.

metaphor

a comparison without the use of like or as. The writer states that one thing is another. It is sometimes a comparison between something that is real or concrete and something that is abstract. example: Her eyes were emeralds. Life is but a dream. The warrior was a lion. "We are two lions littered in one day." Julius Caesar

hyperbole

a deliberate, extravagant, and often outrageous exaggeration use either for serious or comic effect. example: I am so hungry I could eat a horse.

synecdoche

a form of metaphor in which a part of something is used to signify the whole. example: All hands on deck. Or involves the material from which an object is made standing for the object itself. Example: pigskin.

oxymoron

a form of paradox that combines two contrary terms into a single expression that serves the purpose of shocking the reader into awareness. example: sweet sorrow; wooden nickel; cold rage; damned saint

apostrophe

a form of personification in which the absent or dead are spoken to as if present and the inanimate as if animate. (ex. thanks for the heavenly message brought by from thee [sea])

auexsis

a kind of hyperbole; reference to something with a name disproportionately greater than its nature for the very purpose of amplifying that thing's importance (ex. to refer to a scratch as a laceration or wound)

extended metaphor

a metaphor that is extended or developed over a number of lines or with several examples

pun

a play on words which similar to or identical in sound but different meanings, can be serious or funny (ex. mercutio in romeo and juliet talks about being a grave man meaning in suffering and also buried since he dies= ironic)

allusion

a reference to a mythological, literary, historical, or Biblical person, place or thing. example: He met his Waterloo.

paradox

a statement that contradicts itself, yet usually turns out to have coherent meaning revealing a truth that is normally hidden. example: The more you know, the more you know you don't know. "The silences there had a heavy hum..." from A Separate Peace

personification

a type of metaphor which gives inanimate objects or abstract ideas human characteristics. example: The wind cried in the dark.

meiosis

aka understatement): the opposite of hyperbole, it is a kind of irony that deliberately represents something as much less than it really is (ex. I could probably manage to survive on a salary of two million dollars per year. /"Tain't nothing but a lil blow." Referring to the hurricane in Their Eyes...)

antithesis

direct contrast of structurally parallel word groupings generally for the purpose of contrast (ex. sink or swim/do or die/to be or not to be)

implied metaphor

does not explicitly state the two terms of comparison. example: "Here he was just pouring honor all over her..." implies that honor is some kind of liquid; "Since Cassius first did whet me against Caesar" implies that Cassius is a sharpening tool and he, Brutus, is a knife

symbol

person, place, thing or event that has meaning in itself and that also stands for something more than itself (ex. uncle sam, the snake, the dove, the mockingbird)

antanaclasis

repetition of a word in two different senses (ex. if you aren't fired with enthusiasm, then you'll be fired with enthusiasm. by Vince Lombardi)

alliteration

repetition of consonant sounds. example: Peter Piper picked a peck... Sailing silently towards the shore...

anadiplosis

repetition of the last word of one clause at the beginning of the following clause (ex. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering)

consonance

repetition of the same or similar consonant sounds on accented syllables or in important words. example: ticktock; singsong

epistrophe

repetition of the same word or group of words at the ends of successive clauses (opposite of anaphora) (ex. "of the people, by the people, for the people..." Lincoln)

assonance

repetition of vowel sounds. example: "The tide rises, the tide falls, The twilight darkens..." Longfellow; "The engine's vicious whizzing..." Grapes of Wrath

polyptoton

repetition of words derived from the same root. examples: 1)"The Greeks are strong, and skillful to their strength, Fierce to their skill, and to their fierceness valiant." Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida 2)"Upon his brow shame is ashamed to sit." Romeo and Juliet 3)"Everywhere there was the smell of vitality in clothes, the vital something in wool and flannel..." A Separate Peace

antimetabole

repetition of words, in successive clauses, in reverse grammatical order (ex. "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country" JFK)

anthropomorphism

the attribution of human characteristics to non human creatures and beings, phenomena, material states and objects or abstract concepts. (ex. cartoons w/animals)*more developed than personification

synesthesia

the juxtaposition of one sensory image with another image that appeals to an unrelated sense. example: sweet laughter; golden touch; From Romeo and Juliet, "In mortal paradise of such sweet flesh."

anaphora

the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive phrases, clauses, or lines. example: "We shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end. We shall fight in France. ... We shall never surrender." -Winston Churchill

periphrasis

the replacement of a single word by several which together have the same meaning; a substitution of more words for less. Also known as circumlocution. examples: 1)"While memory holds a seat/In this distracted globe..." -Hamlet 2)In the TV show Dinosaurs the infant dino calls the father "Not-the-Mama."

irony

the result of a statement saying one thing while meaning the opposite. Its purpose is usually to criticize. example: It is easy to quit smoking...I have done it several times.

onomatopoeia

the use of a word whose sound imitates or suggests its meaning. example: pop, bang, zip

anastrophe

transposition of normal word order. example: "The helmsman steered; the ship moved on; yet never a breeze up blew." Coleridge; Down the field they charged. "Around us gleamed white tile and glass brick."

litotes

understatement; where the writer uses a negative or a word ironically to mean the opposite; denying the opposite. examples: 1)"She's not the friendliest person I know." 2)The attempt was not unsuccessful. 3)The test was no big deal.

syllepsis

use of a single word in such a way that it is syntactically related to two or more words elsewhere in the sentence but has a different meaning in relation to each of the other words (ex. change is inevitable, except from a vending machine.)

anthimeria

use of a word as another part of speech. example: "The wind through the open window had broomed out all the fetid feeling of absence and nothingness." Their Eyes... "Why, Al, you had time to coyote all over the county." Grapes of Wrath

paronomasia

using words that sound alike but that differ in meaning (punning) (ex. why was six afraid of seven? b/c seven ate nine)

metonymy

when the name of one thing is applied to another thing with which it is closely associated. examples: 1)"Boo" Arthur Radley's nickname. Represents the essence of his scariness. 2)"Today the White House reported...." White house represents the executive branch of govt. 3)The noblemen sent word to the crown. Crown represents royalty, or king or queen