denotation the literal meaning of a word Example: Home: where you live

connotation the associations and emotional meaning that go beyond the literal meaning of a word. Example: Home: a place where we find security, love, family and comfort.

imagery Using words or figurative language to create sensory impressions, or mental pictures, of objects, feelings, sounds or ideas. As the last seconds ticked down, the fans gripped their chilled drinks in anticipation. After the clock hit zero, the yellow and black suits stormed the green beaten field. They cried in excitement and exhaustion while they hugged their teammates. The head coach was showered with freezing cold Gatorade that soaked every inch of his body.

alliteration The repetition of the same consonant sounds in a sequence of words, usually at the beginning of a word Example: The big brown bear bought bananas.

assonance The repetition of the same vowel sounds followed by different consonant sounds in a sequence of words, at the beginning, middle, or end of a word. Example: I tried to hide at the side of my ride. Sue threw blue goo on my shoe.

idiom A group of words that together have little or nothing to do with the meaning of the words taken one by one Examples: -A piece of cake -Break a leg -Hold your horses

onomatopoeia The use of a word that imitates the sound it denotes Example: Buzz! Snap! Boom! Crash! Zoom!

oxymoron A word or phrase in which two seemingly contradictory elements are used together Examples: Jumbo shrimp Sweet Tart sweet and sour

symbol A person, object, image, word, or event that stands for itself and an additional, usually more abstract, meaning that its literal meaning. Examples: A rose is a symbol of love.

simile A figure of speech that makes a comparison between two unlike things using ‘like’ or ‘as’ Example: Life is like a box of chocolates.

metaphor A figure of speech that makes a comparison between two unlike things without using ‘like’ or ‘as’ Example: Life is a box of chocolates.

allusion A brief, indirect reference to a person, place, thing, event, or idea in literature or history. Example: Sally didn’t like to spend money. She was no Scrooge, but she seldom purchased anything except the bare necessities.

hyperbole A figure of speech that is an intentional exaggeration for emphasis or comic effect Examples: -I’m so hungry I could eat a horse. -I nearly died laughing.

understatement A figure or speech that says less than is intended; opposite of hyperbole It was kind of windy at my house today.

personification A figure of speech that attributes human characteristics to inanimate objects Example: The flowers smiled up at the sun.

rhyme The repetition of identical or similar concluding syllables most commonly in poetry at the end of lines If school were more like baseball we'd only have to play. We'd hang out in the sunshine and run around all day. We wouldn't have to study. We'd practice and we'd train. And, best of all, they'd cancel whenever there was rain.

rhythm The recurrence of stressed and unstressed sounds Example: Songs on the radio all have different rhythms.

stanza Two or more consecutive lines that form a single unit in a poem My book report is due today. I haven't finished yet. In fact, I haven't started, which I'm coming to regret. I haven't even read the book. I put it off so long. I thought I'd have a lot of time. It looks like I was wrong. Stanza #1 Stanza #2

meter The method of organizing a poem’s rhythm into a specific formal pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables and the number of syllables per line

tone The author’s attitude toward the characters, subject, or reader of a literary work; the mood or atmosphere the author’s attitude creates Examples: -sorrowful -amusing -cheerful

free verse Poetry that lacks established patterns of meter, rhyme, and stanza; also called open form poetry

limerick A humorous, five-line poem with a fixed rhyme scheme and meter