Figurative Language

We’ll cover tons of them!

We’ll cover these:
● Alliteration ● Oxymoron
● Hyperbole ● Paradox
● Metaphor ● Parallelism
● Simile ● Repetition
● Onomatopoeia ● Allusion
● Personification ● Pun
● Parody ● Satire
● Synecedoche ● Aphorism
● Idiom ● Connotation/denotation
● Irony ● Assonance/Consonance
● Juxtaposition
Alliteration

● Alliteration happens when the beginning

of words start with the same consonant
or vowel sounds.
● All the words must be close together.
Alliteration

● Examples:
● Sally Sold seven sea shells at the sea
shore.
● The crazy cat climbed up the crooked
cable.
Hyperbole

● Hyperbole is a figure of speech that

uses exaggeration to give a certain
impact within your statement.
● You use these a million times a day!
Hyperbole

● Examples:
● Sounds like a herd of buffalo!
● Working like a dog!
● She’s madder than an old wet hen!
● I bit off more than I can chew!
Metaphor

● A metaphor is a figure of speech that

compares dissimilar objects that are
alike in some way.
● They help create a clearer picture.
● DO NOT use these words: like, as,
than, similar to and resembles.
Metaphor

● Examples:
● That guy is a motor mouth.
● Means that guy is never quiet

● That athlete is a powerhouse.

● Means the athlete is strong
Simile

● A simile is a figure of speech which

resembles a metaphor but uses these
words: like, as, than, similar to.
Simile

● Examples:
● The lie formed like a blister on his lips.
● Means: he lied and it was ugly.
● Her heart was like a shattered light bulb.
● Means: she was heart-broken.
Onomatopoeia

● Onomatopoeia is the usage of word

which best demonstrates the sound it
makes.
● Comics are a good resource to find
these “sound words” such as: crash,
boom, bang, crunch, kerplunk, zap and
buzz.
Onomatopoeia

● Examples:
● The water gurgled down the drain.
● The little kid slurped his soup.
● The noisy chicken clucked her head
off!
Personification

● Personification is a figure of speech

which uses a strategy to give objects,
things or animals human characteristics
which we recognize in ourselves.
● Personification has the root word
“person” to give you a clue as to how
this figure of speech was developed.
Personification

● Examples:
● The camera hates me.
● Means: I take an awful picture.
● Technology is out to get me!
● Means: I can’t get it to work when I want
it to.
Oxymoron

● A two to three word phrase that contains

opposite words or ideas

● Example: Wise fool

● Working Vacation
● Plastic Glasses
Paradox

● An extended oxymoron. It pits

contradictory ideas against one another
so that the statement appears to be
untrue. However, when the reader
evaluates a paradox in context, he or
she discovers the paradox to hold a
profound truth.
Paradox

● Example:
● “Good men must not obey the laws too
well.” Ralph Waldo Emmerson
● “Much Madness is Divinest Sense”
Emily Dickinson
Parallelism

● It is the repetition of words, phrases or

sentence structures.
● It adds rhythm and emotional impact to
writing.
● It appears in poetry, speeches, and
other literary forms.
Parallelism

● Ex. Not only is she my mother, but she

is also my best friend. …not only, but
also
● I need her to love me, to comfort me,
and to protect me.
Repetition

● Words or phrases repeated in writing to

produce emphasis, rhythm, and/or
sense of urgency.
● Ex. The cook was a good cook, as
cooks go; and as cooks go, she went.
● “I…I…I…don’t have Mme. Forestier’s
necklace.”
Allusion

● A reference made to a famous person,

place, or event. Allusions should be
familiar to the author’s intended
audience for them to be effective.
Allusions…

● Mary said, “Cale is my Prince

Charming!”
● Kevin doesn’t do so well in math, but in
art class, he’s a regular Picasso.
Pun…a play on words

● People have a happy time vacationing

in Ireland because they are walking on
Eire.
● In the winter my dog wears his coat, but
in the summer he wears his coat and
pants.
Satire

● Writing that makes fun of habits, ideas,

or weaknesses in a person, an
institution, an entire society, or humanity
in general.

●
Parody

● Writing that makes fun of a piece of

literature, art or music.
●

● Ex. Weird Al Yankovic’s songs

Synecdoche

● a figure of speech in which the word for

part of something is used to mean the
whole, e.g. "sail" for "boat," or vice
versa

● bread for food, the army for a soldier, or

copper for a penny
Aphorism

● Is any general truth conveyed in a short

and pithy sentence, in such a way that
when once heard it is unlikely to pass
from memory.

● Example: He who rocks the boat

seldom has time to row it.
Idiom

● A phrase common to people who speak

the same language that doesn’t literally
mean what it says.

● Ex. Cat got your tongue

● Ex. Two Peas in a Pod
Irony

● Is a contradictory statement or situation

Juxtaposition

●Is two random objects moving in parallel

Examples:
● A butler spends his days in a beautiful mansion dressed in a
tuxedo, but returns home to a closet-sized apartment in a
rundown part of town.
● A waitress is remarkably rude and impatient with a doting
couple. She is extremely kind, though, to a quiet man who is
eating alone with a book.

● http://literarydevices.net/juxtaposition/
Connotation Denotation

● Is the thoughts, ● Is the dictionary

feelings, and images definition of a word
associated with a ● Ex.
word. America-denotes the
● Ex. America- country south of
connotes freedom, Canada and north of
individualism, and Mexico.
opportunity.
Assonance

● Is the repetition of
vowel sounds at the
beginning, middle,
or end of a word.
● Ex. He is all pine,
and I apple orchard
(a sound)