Figurative Devices

ALLUSION reference to a well-known person, place, event, literary work, or work of art

IDIOM an expression that is natural to a native speaker; the meaning is not deduced from the definition of the individual words Example: It’s raining cats and dogs. He’s a fair-weather friend.

METAPHOR a figure of speech in which one thing is spoken of as though it were something else Example: You are a rock. “Conscience is a man's compass.”

OXYMORON an expression in which two words that contradict each other are joined Example: pretty ugly jumbo shrimp A lively corpse

PARALLELISM use of components in a sentence that are grammatically the same; or similar in their construction, sound, meaning or meter. Example: I came, I saw, I conquered. He was dedicated, determined, and driven.

PERSONIFICATION a figure of speech in which human characteristics are given to an animal/object

SIMILE a figure of speech that makes a direct comparison between two subjects using either like or as

ALLITERATION the repetition of the same initial letter, sound, or group of sounds in a series of words Example: Tiny Tim talked to Terry. So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.

ANTITHESIS a statement in which two opposing ideas are balanced Example: That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.

ANAPHORA the repetition of words or phrases at the beginning of consecutive lines or sentences Example: My life is my purpose. My life is my goal. My life is my inspiration.

APOSTROPHE a figure of speech in which one directly addresses an absent or imaginary person or some abstraction

ASSONANCE The repetition of similar vowel sounds in a sequence of nearby words. ​ Example: Alfred, Lord Tennyson creates assonance with the “o” sound in this line from “The Lotus-Eaters”: “All day the wind breathes low with mellower tone.”

ASYNDETON/SYNDETON stylistic device used to intentionally eliminate conjunctions between the phrases and in the sentence, yet maintain the grammatical accuracy. Used between words or phrases, or used between sentences and clauses Example: “Are all thy conquests, glories, triumphs, spoils, Shrunk to this little measure?”, "Without looking, without making a sound, without talking"

CLICHE an over-used expression Example: It’s not you; it’s me. Life has many twists and turns. Don’t sweat the small stuff.

CACOPHONY use of words with sharp, harsh, hissing and unmelodious sounds primarily those of consonants to achieve desired results. Example: I detest war because cause of war is always trivial

CHIASMUS Two phrases in which the syntax is the same but the placement of words is reversed.​ Example: Alexander Pope’s The Dunciad  “A wit with dunces and a dunce with wit.”

CONSONANCE the repetition of similar consonant sounds in a sequence of nearby words. Example: The lint was sent with the tent—repetition of “nt” sound

EUPHEMISM an expression that substitutes or softens the meaning of a certain condition Example: “passed away” vs. die “senior citizens” vs. old people

HYPERBOLE an exaggeration that is so dramatic it is not believable Example: I’m so hungry I could eat a horse.

LITOTES a form of understatement that involves making an affirmative point by denying its opposite Example: “Not a bad idea” “It isn’t very serious.

MALAPROPISM Misusing words to create a comic effect or characterize the speaker as being too confused, ignorant, or flustered to use correct diction. ​ Example: “Our watch, sir, have indeed comprehended two auspicious persons." (apprehended, suspicious) Saying “pacifically” instead of “specifically”

METONYMY replaces the name of a thing with the name of something else with which it is closely associated. Example: Friends, Romans, Countrymen, lend me your ears using “suits” instead of “businessmen”

ONOMATOPOEIA the use of a word to describe or imitate a natural sound made by an object or action Example: snap, crackle, pop

PARADOX a statement that appears to be self-contradictory or silly but may include a latent truth. It is also used to illustrate an opinion or statement contrary to accepted traditional ideas. Example: War is Peace Freedom is Slavery

POLYSYNDETON addition of multiple conjunctions Example: “He eats and sleeps and drinks.”

RHETORICAL QUESTION A question that is asked not to elicit a response but to make an impact or call attention to something. ​ Rhetorical questions ask for thought, not answers.