figurative language
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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.