Meanings & Musings
The narrator's attitude towards the subject of the song/poem, and sometimes the reader/listen's attitude.
What is tone?
A comparison between two dissimilar items using "like" or "as" to make the comparison. "The stars are like diamonds in the sky".
What is a simile?
A central subject, topic or message that is a required element in every story. Some common ones are "love", "revenge," "betrayal", etc.
What is a theme?
A phrase, line or expression that has been so overused, it is boring and commonplace. "It was a dark and stormy night", or "red with anger".
Repeating the same letter and sounds at the beginning of the words. "Peter Piper picked a pack of pickled peppers..."
What is alliteration?
The literal meaning of the word that a person would find in the dictionary.
What is denotation?
A direct comparison between two dissimilar items. "He is a monster" is an example, comparing a man to a monster.
What is a metaphor?
Writers create pictures in the reader's mind that appeals to the sense of sight; they also create descriptions to appeal to the other senses.
What is imagery?
A pair of single word opposites placed side by side for dramatic effect. For example, "cold fire", "sick health" or "jumbo shrimp".
What is an oxymoron?
Repeating the same consonant sound anywhere in the word throughout a phrase (ex. "The lock stuck quickly). Very similar to alliteration...
What is consonance?
The imaginative language that makes poems/songs/stories rich. Often relies on metaphors, and imagery.
A comparison between non-human items and a human where the non-human item is given human characteristics.
What is personification?
The POV of a story that is like an "all-seeing God". The reader knows what's going on in all of the character's heads.
What is third person omniscient.
What is an understatement?
A deliberate exaggeration to make a point. "I am hungry enough to eat a fridge".
What is hyperbole?
The emotion of the writing; its atmosphere. The feeling created through word choice or description.
What is the mood?
A reference in one piece of literature to something from another piece of literature. Can be a reference to people, events, places, religions or myths.
What is an allusion?
The brief section of the plot, after the climax the "unknots" the last pieces of the story, or resolves the climax.
What is a denouement?
A phrase or expression that typically isn't meant to be taken literally (ex: it's raining cats and dogs, or 'cold feet'). The meaning of the phrase can't be understood just by the individual words alone.
What is an idiom?
Words that sound like what they mean. "Buzz", "Hiss,"Moo", & "Splash" are examples of this sound device.
What is an onomatopoeia?
What is a paradox?
A device that acts as an extended metaphor in which characters, events or settings act to represent or symbolize bigger real-world ideas or concepts. (ie. has a hidden meaning)
What is an allegory?
Word order. The way words are put together to form phrases, clauses or sentences.
What is syntax?
The unspoken, unwritten series of associations made with a particular word. For example, the word "dog" depending on how it is used implies faithfulness, loyalty, and devotion. Or, it can imply viciousness.
What is connotation?
The repetition or rhyme of vowels in the middle of the words of a phrase. (ex. She seems to beam green gleam).
What is assonance?