A
a brief and indirect reference to a person, place, thing, or idea of historical, cultural, literary, or political significance that is not directly explained
ALLUSION
DICTIONARY DEFINITION OF A WORD
DENOTATION
LANGUAGE THAT APPEALS TO THE SENSES
IMAGERY
WORDS THAT BEGIN WITH SAME BEGINNING SOUNDS
ALLITERATION
a literary device that uses similar grammatical structures, words, or phrases to emphasize related ideas
PARALLELISM
a category or type of art, literature, music, or film that shares a particular style, form, or subject matter
GENRE
WORDS THAT REPRESENT SOUNDS
ONOMATOPOEIA
a comparison between two different things that share a similar relationship
ANALOGY
the art of making someone or something look ridiculous, raising laughter in order to embarrass, humble, or discredit its targets.
SATIRE
a figure of speech in which the writer intentionally downplays or minimizes the significance or intensity of a situation
UNDERSTATEMENT
an obvious and intentional exaggeration for emphasis or dramatic effect, not meant to be taken literally.
HYPERBOLE
when a person closely imitates an author's style or work in order to ridicule or to provide comic effects.
PARODY
the main argument or claim of an essay or research paper, often presented as a single sentence in the introduction that guides the rest of the work
THESIS
a story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one. I
ALLEGORY
HE IS A PIG.
HE EATS LIKE A PIG.
SIMILE
MARY MADE MANY MUFFINS.
ALLITERATION
EMOTIONS AND FEELINGS ASSOCIATED WITH A WORD
CONNOTATION
sentences and paragraphs
PROSE
He was driving a hoopty with a clothes hanger for an antenna.
METONYMY
"catch-22" (referencing a no-win situation from Joseph Heller's novel) or "Achilles' heel" (a person's weak spot from Greek mythology). Other examples are "his remarks opened a Pandora's box" (alluding to the Greek myth of Pandora, which brought evils into the world) or "she is a regular Scrooge" (referencing Ebenezer Scrooge from A Christmas Carol).
ALLUSION
"I came, I saw, I conquered
PARALLELISIM
The golden sunset painted the sky in shades of pink and orange.
IMAGERY
Life is like a box of chocolates.
ANALOGY
"The pen is mightier than the sword."
ALLEGORY