Literary Terms
Sarah Casey
Ms. Curtis
AP English, Period 3
30 September 2011
Didactic
Didactic words are meant to teach; often
times a moral or ethical lesson. Could also be
known as a theme of a story if it teaches a
lesson.
A majority of fables are didactic stories that
have a moral lesson at the end of each one.
Didactic Examples
Example #1: The book Fredrick’s Fables is composed of
many didactic short stories by Leo Lionni, such as “Fish is
Fish” which has a moral lesson to be satisfied with who you
are and where you are from (Lionni).
Example #2: A second short story, “The Biggest House in the
World” by Leo Lionni has a didactic message that one
should be satisfied with what they have and to not waste
time chasing the bigger and better things (Lionni).
Example #3: Finally, a third didactic message from
Frederick’s Fables by Leo Lionni is from the short story
“Swimmy” where the message in the story is to teach
people how to work together for the greater good of a
group (Lionni).
Euphemism
A euphemism is a more appropriate or
agreeable and politically correct way of
mentioning a usually unpleasant phrase or
subject.
Euphemism Examples
Example #1: Telling someone that something
has “gone to a better place” is a euphemism
for if something has died.
Example #2: “Chronologically challenged is a
euphemism for being, in other words, old”
(Euphemism List).
Example #3: “Homefun” can be used as a
euphemism for homework, especially on the
weekends.
Extended Metaphor
An extended metaphor is a metaphor that
extended to be longer than a sentence or
phrase. An extended metaphor could also be
the use of a single metaphor that occurs
frequently throughout the text.
Extended Metaphor Examples
Example #1: In Booker T. Washington’s “Atlanta Compromise
Speech” “cast down your bucket” is an extended metaphor
(Washington).
Example #2: Emily Dickinson wrote an extended metaphor
about hope and comparing it to a bird. "Hope is the thing with
feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune--without the words,
And never stops at all…” and it continues
throughout the passage (Nordquist).
 Example #3: In Martin Luther’s “I Have A Dream” speech, he
uses an extended metaphor that involves checks and balances
that states that there are “insufficient funds in the great vaults
of opportunity of this nation” (King).
Figurative Language
Language that is not meant to be taken
literally and uses figures of speech, to get
across a point. Figurative language can be
expressed through similes, metaphors,
onomatopoeias, personification, hyperbole,
understatement, allusions, etc.
Figurative Language Examples
Example #1:The vase fell with a crash! Is an
example of an onomatopoeia. It is a sound that is
expressed as a word and is a device of figurative
language.
Example #2: The “Atlanta Compromise Speech”
uses figurative language with it’s use of
metaphors, and similes such as “as separate as
the fingers, yet one as the hand” (Washington).
Example #3: “It’s raining cats and dogs” is an
example of figurative language. Cats and dogs
can’t literally rain from the sky.
Figure of Speech
• An expression of speech where words
are not used in their literal sense.
Figures of speech are used in figurative
language.
• Metaphors, similes, personification, and
antithesis are all examples of figures of
speech.
Figure of Speech Examples
• Example #1: “The trees danced in the wind” is an
example of personification because trees cannot
literally dance. Personification is an example of a figure
of speech.
• Example #2: In King’s “I Have a Dream Speech” the
quote “ quick sands of racial injustice to the solid rock
of brotherhood” represents a figure of speech because
it is a metaphor (King).
• Example #3: “Separate as the fingers, yet one as the
hand” is an example of a figure of speech as a simile in
“The Atlanta Compromise Address” (Washington).
Works Cited
Dictionary.com | Find the Meanings and Definitions of Words at
Dictionary.com. Web. 27 Sept. 2011. <http://dictionary.com>.
Euphemism List — Examples & Meanings of Euphemisms. 2009.
Web. 30 Sept. 2011. <http://www.euphemismlist.com/>.
King Jr., Martin Luther. "I Have A Dream." Washington, D.C. 28 Aug.
1963. Speech.
Lionni, Leo. "Fish Is Fish." Frederick's Fables: a Treasury of 16
Favorite Leo Lionni Stories. New York: Scholastic, 1997. Print.
Nordquist, Richard. "Extended Metaphor - Definition and Examples
of Extended Metaphor - Glossary of Rhetorical Terms."
Grammar and Composition - Homepage of About Grammar
and Composition. Web. 30 Sept. 2011.
Washington, Booker T. "Atlanta Compromise Address."
International Exposition. Atlanta. 1895. Address.
All images courtesy of Google Images.