Comparisons
This figurative language compares two things using "like" or "as."
What is a simile?
This figurative language presents two words that seem like opposites, like "jumbo shrimp" or "sweet sorrow."
What is an oxymoron?
This figurative language refers to sounds like "zap," "buzz," and "bang."
What is an onomatopoeia?
This figurative language repeats a word or phrase for emphasis.
What is repetition?
This figurative language refers to the use of senses to help the reader imagine something.
What is imagery?
This figurative language compares two things without using "like" or "as."
What is a metaphor?
This figurative language refers to a word or story that goes against the expectations of the audience.
What is irony?
This figurative language refers to the repeated sound of the same consonant, like in the example, "Sally sells seashells by the seashore."
What is alliteration (or consonance)?
This figurative language refers to a symbol repeated and developed throughout a text to reveal a theme.
What is a motif?
This figurative language gives human qualities to non-human entities.
What is personification?
This figurative language refers to emphasizing the difference between two things. [Hint: starts with a J]
What is juxtaposition?
This figurative language refers to a phrase that seems contradictory but reveals a hidden meaning, like the phrase, "Less is more."
What is a paradox?
This figurative language refers to the repeated sound of the same vowel, like in the example, "The cat sat on the mat."
What is assonance?
This figurative language repeats the same grammatical structure for emphasis, as in JFK's quote, "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country."
What is parallel structure (parallelism)?
This figurative language is an expression unique to its individual language that does not literally mean what it says, like "raining cats and dogs" means "raining heavily."
What is an idiom?
This figurative language uses symbols to represent larger ideas, like a clock represents time.
What is symbolism?
This figurative language softens a harsh phrase to make it sound more appealing, like saying "passed away" instead of "died."
What is a euphemism?
This figurative language is used in poetry when the ends of lines sound the same.
What is end rhyme?
This type of figurative language repeats a word or phrase at the beginning of consecutive clauses or lines for rhythmic purposes.
What is anaphora?
This figurative language makes reference to a separate text, usually religious or historical, to deepen an audience's understanding of the theme.
What is an allusion?
This genre of writing uses symbols to reveal a hidden meaning. Examples include Animal Farm, "The Metamorphosis," and the Chronicles of Narnia.
What is an allegory?
This figurative language refers to an understated phrase that emphasizes the negativity of its opposite meaning, like saying you're "not bad" instead of "good."
This figurative language is used in poetry when the ends of lines sound similar, but not exactly the same, as in Dickinson's, "at her low Gate... upon her Mat"
What is slant rhyme?
This type of figurative language repeats a word or phrase at the end of consecutive clauses or lines for rhythmic purposes.
What is epistrophe?
This figurative language addresses someone or something not physically present to more deeply express the speaker's emotions, like Juliet's famous monologue, "O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?"
What is an apostrophe?