figurative language

Using Figurative Language

Alliteration Definition: The repetitious use of the

same beginning consonant sound in two or more nearby words.

Example: “The ballot is stronger than the bullet.”

– Abraham Lincoln Example : Peter Piper picked a

peck…

Allusion Definition: A reference, usually brief, to

a person, place, thing, or event with which the reader is presumably familiar. The allusion lets the reader condense great meaning into only a few words. Allusions often refer to mythology, history, religious and literary texts, etc.

Example: “He has the patience of Job.”

Apostrophe Definition: A figure of speech

addressing an absent person as if he or she were present or an abstract concept or inanimate object as if it were capable of understanding.

Example: The poet’s addressing the urn in “Ode to a Grecian Urn” by John Keats is an example of an apostrophe.

Euphemism the substitution of an agreeable or inoffensive expression for

one that may offend or suggest something unpleasant to the listener

Job Title Euphemisms: Blacksmith - Equine Chiropodist Cashier - Sales Assistant or Retail Representative Maid - Domestic Assistant Driver - Chauffeur Rubbish Collector - Garbiologist Security guard - Loss Prevention Officer Window washer - Vision Clearance Engineer Dog Catcher - Canine Relocation Specialist Paperboy - Media Distribution Executive Sandwich Maker (Subway) – Sandwich Engineer/Construction

Hyperbole

Definition: An exaggeration to make emphasis and heighten the overall effect (comic or serious) of a work.

Example: “This backpack weighs a ton!”

Verbal Irony

Definition: A difference between what is literally said and what is actually meant.

Example: “Well, thanks a lot!” (spoken when someone has not been at all helpful)

Dramatic Irony Definition: When the reader or audience

knows that the situation is exactly the opposite of what the participants think it is.

Example: In William Shakespeare’s Othello, the audience knows Iago is the villain, but Othello believes Iago is his most trusted friend.

Situational Irony Definition: When the outcome of

circumstances is the opposite of what is expected or appropriate.

Example: In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, Dimmesdale is found to be a liar and an adulterer, but he is also a clergyman.

Litotes

a speaker, rather than making a certain claim, denies its opposite

For example, rather than call a

person attractive, one might say she's "not too bad to look at".

"The food was not bad."

Metaphor

Definition: A comparison of two unlike objects without the use of the word like or as.

Example: “The cat's eyes were jewels, gleaming out of the darkness.”

Onomatopoeia

Definition: Using a word (or a group of words) whose sound reinforces its meaning.

Examples: buzz, pop, fizz, plop

Oxymoron Definition: A figure of speech which

brings together contradictory terms for rhetorical effect.

Examples: living death sweet sorrow cheerful pessimist

Online: Oxymorons Galore!

Paradox Definition: An apparently self-

contradictory statement which seems absurd at first but turns out to have a valid meaning.

Examples: “The child is father to the man.”

– William Blake

Personification Definition: Giving human attributes

and/or feelings to an idea or thing as if it were human.

Examples: a wicked tonguea lonely roada lazy day

Pun Definition: A play on words which

uses words that sound alike but have different meanings.

Example: “The dentist joined the infantry because he liked to drill.”

Simile

Definition: A comparison of two unlike objects using the word like or as.

Example: “My love is like a red, red rose.”

– Robert Burns

Symbol Definition: Any word, object, character,

or action used to stand for something else, embodying and evoking a range of additional significance and meaning.

Example: In Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad uses a journey up the Congo River to symbolize an exploration of the dark side of the human heart and human civilization.