Figurative Language Definitions
The repetition of the first consonant sounds in two or more neighboring words
alliteration
“A crackling sound off to the right,” (Blackwood 71).
onomatopoeia
When words express a different emotion than what the character actually feels or means.
verbal irony
What type of characterization is this? “Like most military men, he had no beard or mustache, but his side-whiskers extended several inches below his cheekbones,” (Blackwood 33).
Direct characterization
Naming a thing or an action by imitating the sound associated with it.
Onomatopoeia
“ His wrists were bound together, like a condemned man,” (Blackwood 14).
simile
“He was guided up a slight incline, and their footsteps echoed on wooden planks- a gangway,” (Blackwood 16).
compound
When the audience or reader knows something that the characters don't know.
The author SHOWS the reader things that reveal the personality of the character
Indirect characterization
A specific term for word choice.
Diction
“Within a few hours, the barges were piled so high with goods that the water threatened to over their Gunwhales,” (Blackwood 66).
personification
"The colonel ushered him into their cabin, slammed the door, and bolted it,”(Blackwood 49)
simple
When something different happens from what you would normally expect.
situational irony
What does lacerate mean?
to cut or to tear
The atmosphere of a story or text
“...but the wind swept her words away," (Blackwood 46-47).
personification
"Though Creighton had some difficulty catching up, at least the quick pace left some of the mosquitoes behind and that provided him some relief," (Blackwood 74).
Complex
Someone on Facebook complains about how useless Facebook is.
situational irony
a physical object in the real world
concrete noun
An item that repeats multiple times throughout a text, usually a symbol.
Motif
"But the flood of events in which he'd been caught up had left him floundering," (Blackwood 161).
metaphor
"Though he had read, or at least he had been assigned to read, dozens of journals and books, he had never given a moment's thought to how they were made," (Blackwood 96).
Complex
“Creighton nodded very carefully, lest his head fall off,” (Blackwood 18).
hyperbole
Which vocabulary word means a crime that undermines the offender's government?
treason