Figurative Language with Examples
Alliteration (uh-LIT-er-AY-shuhn): a phrase with a string of words all beginning with the same sound. example: "Five freaky females finding sales at retail." Allusion (ah-Loo-shuhn): a reference to a historical figure, place, or event. example: The teams competed in a David and Goliath struggle. Anaphora (ah-Na-for-ah): The repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of multiple lines. example: In The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge he writes Water, water, every where/ And all the boards did shrink ;/Water, water, every where,/Nor any drop to drink. Apostrophe (uh-POS-troh-fee): a figure of speech that addresses a dead or non-present person or an object. example: "O, King Vitamin cereal, you blow my mind!" Assonance (ASS-uh-nince): The repetition of similar vowel sounds followed by different consonants, often used to create internal rhyme. example: that hoard, and sleep, and feed, Or "Hear the mellow wedding bells." - Edgar Allen Poe Consonance (CON-soh-nans): The repetition of consonant sounds preceded by different vowel sounds. example: Wherever we go/ Silence will fall like dew. End Rhyme (end rayim): The repetition of identical sounds at the ends of lines of poetry. example: He clasps the crag with crooked hands/ Close to the sun in lonely lands. Heroic Couplet (hee-ROE-ick CUP-let): a pair of rhymed lines that contain a complete thought. example: But if the while I think on thee, dear friend/ All losses are rstored and sorrows end. Hyperbole (hie-PER-buh-lee): an exaggeration. example: "I will love you until the seas go dry." Imagery (IM-aj-ree): The use of concrete details to appeal to the five senses. example: "Of restless nights in one-night cheap hotels / And sawdust restaurants with oyster-shells" - T.S. Eliot Internal Rhyme (IN-turn-ul rayim): the repetition of identical sounds within a line of poetry. example: We three shall flee across the sea to Italy. Or Hold infinity in the palm of your hand/ And eternity in an hour. Metaphor (MET-uh-for): a comparison between two or more things that doesn't use the words like or as. example: "You are an ant, while I'm the lion."
Mood (mood): the overall atmosphere or prevailing emotional feeling of a work. example: It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Onomatopoeia (ON-uh-maht-uh-PEE-uh): a word that imitates the sound it is describing. example: "Out of reach, I pull out with a screech." Personification, (per-son-if-ih-KAY-shon): giving an animal or object human-like characteristics. example: "My stereo walked out of my car last night." Repetition (RE-pu-ti-shun): when a word or phrase or line is used multiple times in a line or poem, usually to emphasize something important, to enforce a point, or to create a specific effect. example: In Robert Frosts Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening, Frost repeats the last two lines, And miles to go before I sleep to emphasize the distance yet to travel. Simile (SIH-muh-lee): a comparison between two or more things using the words like or as. example: "I move fast like a cheetah on the Serengeti." Slant Rhyme (slant rayim): a slant rhyme or half rhyme occurs when the vowel sounds are not quite identical. example: And on that cheek and oer that brow/ A mind at peace with all below. Symbol (SIM-bull): something that stands for something else (often something more abstract). example: In Tupac Shakur's song Me and My Girlfriend, the "girlfriend" referenced is actually his gun. Synechdoche (sin-EK-doh-kee): a part stands for the whole or vice versa. example: The hands that created the work of art were masterful. Theme (theem): the underlying meaning or message of a literary work. example: Dont judge a man until youve walked a mile in his shoes is a theme of To Kill a Mockingbird
