Figurative Language & Sound Devices

Idioms A word or saying many people in a certain place or area say. They do not mean what they say. “Break a leg!” “You got up on the wrong side of bed.”

Hyperbole/overstatement Exaggeration used for emphasis or effect I’m so hungry, I could eat a horse. Opposite is understatement: It’s just a little brain tumor.

Personification When the writer makes a thing, idea, or an animal do something only humans can do. The knife and fork danced as the baby banged on the table.

Simile A comparison using ‘like’ or ‘as’ The dog’s coat was as smooth as silk. The coffee cup steamed like an ocean liner.

Metaphor Comparison not using ‘like’ or ‘as’ The woman’s head was an egg. The man’s eyes were deep oceans.

Adage and Proverb A saying that is believed to be true Birds of a feather flock together. Clothes make the man. Practice makes perfect

Onomatopoeia The use of words that imitate the sounds associated with the objects or actions they refer to Moo, buzz, splat

Allusions A figure of speech that points to a person, event, place, or another passage within writing. The boy came out of the locker room like a young Hercules ready to show off his strength and athleticism.

Alliteration The repetition of the beginning sounds of words He is a lily-livered landlubber.

Assonance The repetition of vowels without repetition of consonants It’s a holy stony pony.

Consonance The repetition of consonant sounds

Rhyme Similarity of sound or an exact correspondence of two words Run and done

Internal Rhyme The rhyming words is somewhere within a line of poetry and both rhyming words are often in the same line. A spatter a scatter a wet cat a clatter.

Slant Rhyme A partial or imperfect rhyme (assonance/consonance) Dry and died Grown and moon If love is like a bridge Or maybe like a grudge,

rhythm A pattern of sounds that makes a poem sound musical. The high and low sounds the syllables in words make when they are written out in lines

Puns When you play with those different meanings to be funny or clever When a clock is hungry, it goes back four seconds. I used to be a carpenter, but then I got bored. Old doctors never die, they just lose their patience.

Euphemism A mild and pleasant expression that is used as a substitute for a harsh and blunt one. It means the same thing, but makes something sound more appealing. Bath tissue=toilet paper Exchanging words=argued

Oxymoron A phrase that uses contradicting words The silence was deafening Minor crisis Only choice Working vacation Organized mess

Paradox A statement contrary to commonly accepted opinion We must sometimes be cruel in order to be kind.

Allegory An extended metaphor in which all of the elements of the story has meanings that lie outside the narrative. Meaning has moral, social, religious, or political significance. Characters are personifications of abstract ideas as charity, greed, or envy. Wizard of OZ The Lorax Animal Farm

Parallelism "It is important to remember that you are the future of this country, that you are the future leaders of corporate America, that you are the future politicians and leaders in Washington, D.C." is an example of parallelism.

Satire When the writer or speaker tries to make the reader or listener have a negative opinion about something by laughing at it or making it seem ridiculous