Figurative Language

Question 1

Literal Language

Answer 1

says what it means, for example, ‘It is time to feed the cats and dogs.’
The phrase ‘cats an dogs’ is used in a literal sense, for the animals are hungry and it is
time for them to eat.

Question 2

Figurative Language:

Answer 2

is not meant to be taken literally. Writers especially poets, use
figurative language to help readers see things in new ways.

Question 3

Alliteration

Answer 3

repetition of the initial consonant sounds. (Example: The green grass grew
in the graveyard.

Question 4

Allusion

Answer 4

is a figure of speech where the author refers to a subject matter such as a
person, place, event or literary work in a passing reference. The reference is from
history, literature, current events or popular culture. It is up to the reader to make
a connection to the subject being mentioned.

Question 5

Idiom

Answer 5

is an expression that is peculiar to itself grammatically or cannot be understood
from its elements, but is understood by most people. (Example: down slip: letter that
comes to a student’s home letting parents/guardians know that their student is earning a
“D” or “F” in a specific class.)

Question 6

Metaphor

Answer 6

speaking of something as if it were something else – doesn’t use “like”, “as”,
or “than”. (Example: “It was raining cats and dogs.”)

Question 7

Onomatopoeia

Answer 7

refers to words that imitate or represent a sound.

Examples: splat, sizzle, hiss, thud, etc.

Question 8

Oxymoron

Answer 8

a figure of speech that combines two contradictory terms.

Examples: Act naturally, Pretty ugly, Awfully pretty

Question 9

Personification:

Answer 9

is the practice of attaching human traits and characteristics with
inanimate objects, phenomena and animals. (Example: The black smoke danced across the
sky.)

Question 10

Simile

Answer 10

is a comparison between two things unrelated and dissimilar things using like or
as. (Example: The fog was as thick as soup.)

Question 11

Hyperbole

Answer 11

an exaggerated statement used to heighten effect and make a point.
(Example: I love the whole world.)

Question 12

Repetition

Answer 12

when the writer or speaker knowingly repeats a word or group of words for
effect. (Example: “Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!”

Question 13

Imagery

Answer 13

the author uses words or phrases to create “mental images” for the reader
using the 5 senses. (Sight, Hearing, Taste, Touch & Smell)

Question 14

Rhyme

Answer 14

Rhyme scheme is the repetition of the same or similar sounds in words. Many times writers and
poets repeat vowel sounds and ending sounds that appear close together.
Example: The words run and done rhyme with each other.

Question 15

Symbolism

Answer 15

Symbolism is the practice of representing things by means of symbols or of attributing symbolic
meanings or significance to objects, events, or relationships. Symbols can also have different,
but equally valid, meanings to different people.

Question 16

Ironic/Irony

Answer 16

happening in the opposite way to what is expected, and typically causing wry amusement because of this.