Figurative Language

Alliteration

• A figure of speech that implies a comparison between two relatively unlikely things

• The repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses

• The repetition of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words

• An exaggerated statement used to emphasize an idea or make a point

Allusion

• A brief, indirect reference to a person, place, or thing, or idea of historical, cultural, literary, or political significance

• When incongruous or contradictory terms appear side by side

• The giving of human qualities to an animal, object, or abstract idea

• A seemingly contradictory statement, which actually makes sense or contains some truth

Analogy

• The repetition of vowel sounds

• A comparison between two unlike things, usually with the words “like” or “as”

• A comparison between two things in order to highlight a point of similarity; it expresses a set of like relationships between two sets of terms

• The giving of human qualities to an animal, object, or abstract idea

Anaphora

• The use of words which actually sound like the objects or actions to which they refer

• A play on words; sometimes on different meanings of the same word and sometimes on the similar sense or sound of different words

• A figure of speech that implies a comparison between two relatively unlikely things

• The repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses

Assonance

• The giving of human qualities to an animal, object, or abstract idea

• The repetition of vowel sounds

• The use of words which actually sound like the objects or actions to which they refer

• A figure of speech in which a part is used to represent the whole, or the whole for a part

Hyperbole

• An exaggerated statement used to emphasize an idea or make a point

• The repetition of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words

• A comparison between two unlike things, usually with the words “like” or “as”

• A play on words; sometimes on different meanings of the same word and sometimes on the similar sense or sound of different words

Metaphor

• A brief, indirect reference to a person, place, or thing, or idea of historical, cultural, literary, or political significance

• A comparison between two unlike things, usually with the words “like” or “as”

• A figure of speech that implies a comparison between two relatively unlikely things

• A figure of speech in which a part is used to represent the whole, or the whole for a part

Onomatopoeia

• A brief, indirect reference to a person, place, or thing, or idea of historical, cultural, literary, or political significance

• The use of words which actually sound like the objects or actions to which they refer

• The giving of human qualities to an animal, object, or abstract idea

• A play on words; sometimes on different meanings of the same word and sometimes on the similar sense or sound of different words

Oxymoron

• When incongruous or contradictory terms appear side by side

• The giving of human qualities to an animal, object, or abstract idea

• The repetition of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words

• An exaggerated statement used to emphasize an idea or make a point

Paradox

• The repetition of vowel sounds

• A brief, indirect reference to a person, place, or thing, or idea of historical, cultural, literary, or political significance

• A comparison between two unlike things, usually with the words “like” or “as”

• A seemingly contradictory statement, which actually makes sense or contains some truth