Literary Terms and Figurative Language

the repetition of the beginning sounds of neighboring words. (Also known as Tongue Twisters)

Example: Nick needed new notebooks.

• irony

• alliteration

• hyperbole

Tags

CCSS.L.4.5

CCSS.L.5.5

CCSS.L.6.5

CCSS.RL.2.4

CCSS.RL.7.4

a reference to a famous person, place, event, or work of literature.

Example: “I got the moves like Jagger” is a reference to the singer Mick Jagger who was the lead singer in the Rolling Stones.

• metaphor

• imagery

• allusion

Tags

CCSS.L.7.5A

CCSS.RI.8.4

CCSS.RL.8.4

compares two things that are mostly different from each other but have some traits in common.

Example: kitten : cat or puppy : dog

Kitten is to cat as puppy is to dog.

• Analogy

• Simile

• Idiom

Tags

CCSS.L.6.5B

CCSS.L.8.5B

CCSS.W.11-12.2D

The repetition of vowel sounds in words that are close together.

Example: Therefore all seasons shall be sweet to thee.

• Assonance

• Personification

• Symbolism

Tags

CCSS.L.4.5

CCSS.L.5.5

CCSS.L.6.5

CCSS.RL.2.4

CCSS.RL.7.4

exaggeration for emphasis or effect.

Example: It cost a billion dollars!

• Onomatopoeia

• Alliteration

• Hyperbole

Tags

CCSS.L.11-12.5A

a common phrase that means something different from its literal meaning.

Example: That’s a piece of cake.

• Idiom

• Personification

• Allusion

Tags

CCSS.L.7.5A

CCSS.RI.8.4

CCSS.RL.8.4

describe something so that it appeals to our sense of smell, sight, taste, touch, or hearing.

Example: The golden rays of the setting sun reflected the clear water of the lake.

• Symbolism

• Imagery

• Hyperbole

Tags

CCSS.L.4.5

CCSS.L.5.5

CCSS.L.6.5

CCSS.L.7.5

CCSS.L.8.5

a contrast between what is said and what is meant, or between appearance and reality.

Example: A police officer is arrested for stealing.

• Simile

• Analogy

• Irony

Tags

CCSS.L.8.5A

compares two unlike things or ideas.

Example: It’s raining cats and dogs.

• Allusion

• Idiom

• Metaphor

Tags

CCSS.L.4.5A

CCSS.L.5.5A

CCSS.RL.5.4

CCSS.W.11-12.2D

A word that sounds like what it is describing. Think of a sound effect.

Example: Whoosh, Splat, Buzz

• Onomatopoeia

• Analogy

• Assonance

Tags

CCSS.L.4.5

CCSS.L.5.5

CCSS.L.6.5

CCSS.L.7.5

CCSS.L.8.5