Figurative Language and Devices

Front

A figure of speech comparing two unlike things without using 'like', 'as', 'than', or 'resembles'.

Back

metaphor

Front

A statement that contradicts itself yet is true.

Back

paradox

Front

Reference to someone or something known from history, literature, religion, politics, sports, science, or culture.

Back

allusion

Front

A figure of speech addressing an absent or imaginary person or abstraction.

Back

apostrophe

Front

Commas used without conjunctions to separate a series of words, emphasizing parts equally and speeding up prose.

Back

asyndeton

Front

Type of parallel structure with contrasting ideas or images

Back

antithesis

Front

Central message or idea in a text

Back

theme

Front

Expression with contradictory words

Back

oxymoron

Front

Deliberate representation of something as lesser in magnitude than it is.

Back

understatement

Front

A sentence using a conjunction without commas in a series.

Back

polysyndeton