MODULE 2

Figurative Language / Figure of Speech The term “figurative” language has traditionally
referred to language which differs from every day, “non-literary” usage. Figures were used by
writers to dress up their language to make it more entertaining, and to clarify the meanings they
wanted to convey.

Simile is a comparing two unlike things or particulars using words as, like or as if.
Metaphor uses direct comparison of two unlike things, particulars or ideas without using as, like
or as if.
Assonance focuses on the repetition of vowel sounds in the middle of the word.
Alliteration is a repetition of the first consonant sounds in several words
Consonance is a repetition of two or more consonant sounds within a line or mostly in the
middle of a word.
Personification gives human characteristics and capabilities to things which are inanimate or
non-human objects or idea.
Onomatopoeia is a word that describes a natural sound or the sound made an object or a
certain action. Examples are “buzz”, “crunch”, “tinkle”, “gurgle”, “sizzle”, “hiss”, “splash”, and
“crash”.
Hyperbole makes of exaggeration for emphasis or effect.
Euphemism is an expression intended by the speaker to be less offensive, disturbing, or
troubling to the listener than the word or phrase it replaces.
Imagery words or phrases a writer uses to create a certain picture in the reader’s mind.
Idiom is an expression whose meaning is not predictable from the usual meanings of the words
that make it up. Its meaning is different from the dictionary definitions.
Cliches are statements that have been heard so often that their once colorful play on words has
become expected and stale.
Symbolism occurs when a word which has meaning in itself but is used to represent something
entirely different.