Figurative Language
PRACTICE
“Five miles meandering with
mazy motion” is an example of
which device?
Alliteration
“Hum, buzz, clang, boom, hiss,”
and “crack” are examples of which
device?
Onomatopoeia
“However, then, next, therefore, in
conclusion,” and “similarly” are
words that would probably be used
as ____________
Transitions
A(n) ____________ is a short,
informal reference to a famous
person or event. The best sources
for _______ are literature, history,
Greek myth, and the Bible.
Allusion
“The mind is but a barren soil; a
soil which is soon exhausted and
will produce no crop, or only one,
unless it be continually fertilized
and enriched with foreign matter.” –
Joshua Reynolds
This is an example of which
device?
Metaphor
Obvious, extravagant exaggeration
or overstatement, not intended to
be taken literally, but used
figuratively to create humor or
emphasis.
Hyperbole
The making of “pictures in words,”
the pictorial quality of a literary
work achieved through a collection
of images.
Imagery
“Language that contains figures of
speech, such as metaphor, simile,
personification, and hyperbole,
expressions that make
comparisons or associations meant
to be interpreted imaginatively
rather than literally.”
What is this a definition for?
Figurative Language
Similar vowel sounds repeated in
successive or proximate words
containing different consonants.
Assonance
(sheer, peel, steam)
“The ship began to creak and
protest as it struggled against the
rising sea.”
This is an example of which
device?
Personification
“There are a thousand reasons why
more research is needed on solar
energy”
This is an example of which
device?
Hyperbole
“Ping pong” “tip top” and “flim flam”
are examples of which device?
Consonance
“After two hours of political
platitudes, everyone grew bored.
The delegates were bored; the
guests were bored; the speaker
himself was bored. Even the chairs
were bored.”
This is an example of which
device?
Personification
A Greek word meaning “acutely
silly,” ___________ names a figure
of speech that combines
contradictions.
It is also a paradox reduced to two
words.
Name the device
Oxymoron
“We bought this house instead of
the one on Maple because this one
is more friendly”
This sentence contains the device
_______________
Personification
“The 1906 San Francisco
earthquake interrupted business
somewhat in the downtown area”
Considering the fact that the 1906
earthquake was actually extremely
destructive, this sentence is an
example of which device?
Understatement
“After such long exposure to the
direct sun, the leaves of the
houseplant looked like pieces of
overcooked bacon.”
This is an example of which
device?
Simile
_________ compares two things, which
are alike in several respects, for the
purpose of explaining or clarifying
some unfamiliar or difficult idea or
object by showing how the idea or
object is similar to some familiar
one…_______ serves the more
practical end of explaining a thought
process or a line of reasoning or the
abstract in terms of the concrete, and
may therefore be more extended.
Analogy
“If you like plop, plop, plop of a
faucet at three in the morning, you
will like this record”
This is an example of which
device?
Onomatopoeia
Money is like muck, not good
except it be spread.”
–Francis Bacon
This is an example of which
device?
Simile
“If you take his parking place, you
can expect World War II all over
again.”
This is an example of which
device?
Allusion
“The truth is the only thing that no
one will believe”
-George Bernard Shaw
This statement is an example of
which device?
Paradox
“Thunderous silence” and “jumbo
shrimp” are examples of which
device?
Oxymoron
“Mary changed her mind as often
as she inhaled” is an example of
which writer’s device(s)?
Hyperbole and simile
Which device is “a figure of speech
in which the intended meaning of a
word it stated is the opposite of its
literal meaning”
Irony
“Plan ahead: it wasn’t raining when
Noah built the ark.”
–Richard Cushing
Which device is this an example
of?
Allusion
“Scandalously nice” “wise fool” and
“freezing fire” are examples of
which writer’s device?
Oxymoron
Deliberately expressing an idea as
less important than it actually is.
This is called
_____________
Understatement
“When it comes to midterms, it’s kill
or be killed. Let’s go in and slay this
test. Let’s take the beast head on,
let’s shred it with our pencils and
claim victory.”
This is an example of which
device?
Extended metaphor
“The moon pools on the tombs” is
an example of _________
Assonance
“I can’t get this fuel pump back on
because this bolt is being
uncooperative.”
Name the device being used.
Personification
“The cost-saving plan became an
expensive economy.”
Name the device
Oxymoron
“I said ‘rare’ not ‘raw.’ I’ve seen
cows hurt worse than this get up
and get well.”
Name the device.
Hyperbole
“The soul in the body is like a bird
in a cage”
Name the device
Simile
“Life is far too important a thing
ever to talk seriously about”
–Oscar Wilde
Name the device
Paradox
Examples and definitions from
http://www.virtualsalt.com/rhetoric.htm
or
NTC’s Dictionary of Literary Terms by
Kathleen Morner & Ralph Rausch, 1991
or
www.writersdigest.com