FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE:
 
SOUNDS:
 
ALLITERATION:
 Repeated consonant sounds
 "Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers"
 
ASSONANCE:
 Repeated Vowel sounds
 "The June moon loomed over the horizon"
 
ONOMATOPOEIA:
 Words sound like what they are
 "The fire crackled and the popcorn popped."
 
 
IMAGRY:
(Creating pictures for the senses)
 
METAPHORS:
(Various kinds of comparison)
 
SIMILE:
 A comparison using "Like" or "as"
 "She dances like a princess."
 
HYPERBOLE:
 An exaggeration
 "My date last night was the most beautiful girl in the world."
 
PERSONIFICATION:
 Making an inanimate object act like a person or animal
 "The fog crept in on little cat feet."
 
ALLUSION:
 A cross reference to another work of art
 "My boyfriend dances like King Kong."
 
SYNECDOCHE:
 Using part of an object to stand for the whole thing
 "Have you got your wheels, man?"
 
CONCEIT:
 An extended metaphor that doesn't make sense at first.
 "My compass love for you is true."
(This John Donne conceit makes sense only when we realize he is talking about a
drawing compass and he means his love is the center of his universe.)
 
PARADOX:
 Something that at first seems to contradict itself
 "A little learning is a dangerous thing."
(This line from Alexander Pope requires a bit of thought to realize the key
word is "little". Pope wants us to learn all we can.)
 
SYMBOLISM:
 Something represents a completely different thing or idea.
(The sneetches symbolize various prejudice in people.)
 
ANTITHESIS:
 Saying the opposite of what you really mean, for effect
 "That was a cool move, man."
 
 
 RETURN TO POETRY PAGE


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