Terms 1
Giving human characterisitcs to animals or things.
ex: the dog smiled
Personification
A comparison made using "like" or "as".
ex: He is as healthy as an ox.
Simile
A comparison not using like or as.
ex: The moon was a river of light.
Metaphor
Flashback
Repetition of the beginning sound.
ex: A litter of little letters.
Alliteration
A word that imitates the sound; the sound something makes when you put it in word form
ex: Meow
Onomatopoeia
A speech in which a character tells his/her thoughts to the audience as if talking to himself/herself.
ex: "To be or not ot be; that is the question".
Soliloquy
A hint of what is to come
Foreshadow
A phrase that has a meaning other than what it actually says.
ex: "catch her eye" means get her attention.
Idiom
A play on words because of the similarity of their sound and their different meanings.
Pun
Lines spoken by an actor before a play begins.
Prologue
Extreme exaggeration
ex: A billie goat was so excited that he jumped over a house.
Hyperbole
A short popular saying usually of unknown origin, that expresses some commonplace truth or useful thought.
ex: Don't cry over spilled milk.
Proverb/Adage
A brief reference to a historical or literary figure, event, object, etc.
ex: Life is like a box of chocolates
Allusion
A mocking or sneering remark meant to hurt or to make someone seem foolish.
Sarcasm
misusing words ridiculously, especially by the confusion of words that are similar in sound.
ex: Mary cut her hair at a saloon.
Malapropism
Something out of proper time or place in history.
ex: cowboys running a herd down a city street.
Anachronism
Something that seems full of contradictions.
ex: "water, water, everywhere and not a drop to drink."
Paradox
An object or idea that represents a bigger, deeper meaning significant to the story.
Symbol