Figurative Language

1
Figurative Language

• Any language that is not to be taken literally by
  the listener

2
Simile

• Unusual comparison using like or as

3
Onomatopoeia

• Words that sound like what they mean noisy
  words, like BUZZ, MOO, OINK

4
Hyperbole

• Obvious exaggeration Ex. Im dying to take my EOC

5
Understatement

• A statement that says less than what is meant
  opposite of exaggeration. Ex. The Grand Canyon is
  a nice little hole in the ground.

6
Imagery

• Vivid descriptions that appeal to the senses
  (sight, sound, smell, taste, touch)

7
Personification

• Figurative language which gives human
  characteristics to nonhuman things.
• Ex. Death met me at the door.

8
Alliteration

• Repetition of beginning sounds of words.
• Ex. Marching men meet on Monday.

9
Assonance

• Repetition of vowel sounds within words.Ex.
  clay, taken (long A sound)

10
Consonance

• Repeating consonant sounds
• Ex. booth, with
• white, wet

11
Rhyme

• Words with the same ending sounds

12
Genre

• A classification for literature Ex. Fiction,
  nonfiction, folktales, biography

13
Ballad

• A long story poem that may have some repeating
  lines and could be sung

14
Lyric Poem

• Short, descriptive, rhythmic poem that conveys
  the speakers emotions and observations about a
  person, place, thing, experience or idea.

15
Haiku

• 3-lined Japanese poem usually about nature

16
Lyric Poetry

• Poetry that expresses the poets thought and
  feelings in a brief but musical way

17
Limerick

• A five-line poem with a rhyme scheme of AABBA
  originated in Limerick, Ireland

18
Epic

• A long story poem about the adventures of a
  courageous hero on an extended quest or journey.
  Ex. The Odyssey

19
Free-Verse Poetry

• Poems without any rhythm or rhyme pattern, often
  having irregular line lengths and pauses

20
Sonnet

• 14-lined poem usually ending with a rhyming
  couplet (two lines that rhyme)

21
Prose

• Any piece of writing which is not written in
  verse or poetic form written in sentences and
  paragraphs

22
Memoir

• A scene or description of experience written from
  memory (not a fully-developed story)

23
Allegory

• A story in which the characters and events are
  actually symbols for more complex issues or
  events in our past or present society.

24
Tall Tale

• An entertaining story with much exaggerationEx.
  Pecos Bill

25
Historical Fiction

• A fiction story set in a real period in the
  nations past

26
Science Fiction

• Imaginary story about a future with far advanced
  science and technology

27
Myth

• A tale containing gods and goddesses and told to
  explain nature and science.

28
1st Person Point of View

• Narrator is a character inside a story, seeing
  events first hand. If the narrator is not the
  main character, this is 1st-person limited.

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3rd Person-Objective

• Narrator is seeing the storys events from the
  outside only, like an uninvolved cameraman.

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3rd Person-Limited

• Narrator is outside, but sees through one
  characters thoughts and feelings

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3rd Person-Omniscient

• Narrator is outside the story but is able to tell
  what several main characters are thinking and
  feeling (seems to know all)

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Tone

• Narrators attitude or feelings about his/her
  subject

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Protagonist

• The general name for the character with whom we
  sympathize in the story

34
Antagonist

• The person who is against the protagonist
  sometimes will be the villain of the story

35
Stereotype

• A character who represents or stands for many
  like him/herself in society

36
Soliloquy

• In a play, a speech spoken by actor alone on
  stage, revealing his private thoughts

37
Monologue

• In a play, a speech spoken by one actor to one or
  more characters

38
Theme

• The main message, lesson, or insights about life
  in any poem, play, or story

39
Allusion

• A one-sentence or one-phrase reference to another
  event, character, etc. in the Bible, mythology, a
  famous work of literature, a historical event, or
  a current event

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Conflict

• Struggle between two opposing forces which
  generates plot/action in a story

41
Situational Irony

• A circumstance or event that is the opposite of
  what is expected

42
Epic hero

• In a long adventure story or poem, a character
  who remains a brave, loyal, skillful, and clever
  leader in the face of danger and adversity

43
Propaganda

• Persuasive slogans, newsletters, speeches, etc.,
  and information aimed at the public in order to
  win support of a cause, a leader, or product.

44
Verbal Irony

• A speaker says the opposite of what he/she really
  thinks or feels

45
Dramatic Irony

• The audience knows something is true or is going
  to happen, but the characters have no idea it is
  going to happen

46
Anecdotes

• Very short stories used to illustrate a point.
  Used in speeches and sermons a lot.

47
Biography

• A true story of someones life written by another
  person

48
Autobiography

• A true story of someones life written by that
  person

49
Persuasive Essay

• A type of essay that attempts to influence the
  thoughts of its readers

50
Compare/Contrast

• A type of essay that explains the similarities
  and differences between two things

51
Tragedy

• A disastrous ending or event in a story
  frequently happens to basically good and noble
  character because of fate

52
Metaphor

• An implied or stated comparison between two
  usually unlike things

53
Foreshadowing

• Clues or hints that suggest some later events

54
Mood

• The feelings that the reader or audience have as
  they experience a story

55
Denotation

• The definitions of a word its basic meaning

56
Connotation

• The positive or negative feelings we associate
  with a word

57
Symbol

• Something which represents or stands for
  something else. Ex. Eagle is a symbol for freedom

58
Flashback

• An interruption in a story or movie in which the
  character stops to think back to a past time

59
Analogy

• One relationship between two things is compated
  to another similar relationship between two other
  things. Ex. Puppy is to dog as kitten is to cat

60
Expository

• A type of writing which explains, represents, or
  interprets

61
Narrative

• Any kind of poetry or prose that tells a story

62
Fable

• Very short stories used to teach a moral or
  lesson usually has talking animals. Ex. The
  Tortoise and the Hare

63
Satire

• A style of writing (or comedy on TV) which uses
  humor to criticize people, ideas, institutions,
  or social/political issues

64
Parody

• A work done to imitate or mock another piece of
  work

65
Anachronism

• Something in a story that could not be possible
  time-wise. Ex. George Washington on a cell phone

66
Dramatic Poetry

• Poetry in which the speaker is clearly someone
  other than the poet frequently contains dialogue

67
Rhetorical Question

• A questions that has no definite answer or that
  the person asking does not expect anyone to answer

68
Dynamic Character

• A character who changes as a result of what
  happens to him or her in the story

69
Static Character

• A character who does not change as a result of
  what happens stays the same

70
Round Character

• A character with good as well as bad qualities
  fully developed character

71
Flat Character

• A character with only one side developed either
  just good or just bad qualities

72
Dialect

• A way of speaking characteristic of a certain
  geographical area or a certain group of people

73
Fantasy

• Imaginative writing that carries the reader into
  an invented, unrealistic world

74
Setting

• Time and place of a story

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Suspense

• The uncertainty or anxiety a reader feels about
  what will happen next in a story adds to the
  mood of a story

76
Archetype

• A universal symbol that shows up repeatedly in
  works of literature or art. Ex. A hero on a
  journey

77
Characterization

• The way a writer reveals the personality of a
  character by actions, speech, thought, etc.

78
Dialogue

• Conversation between two or more characters in a
  story or poem