Figurative Language Flashcards
Allusion
Figure of explication using a brief or casual reference to a famous person, group, historical event, place, or work of art
Ex. 1 - Chocolate is his kryptonite
Ex. 2 - He was a true Romeo
Simile
Figure of explication in which two things that share at least one attribute are explicitly associated with each other
Ex. 1 - Cool as a cucumber
Ex. 2 - They’re like two peas in a pod
Metaphor
A figure of speech that directly compares one thing to another for rhetorical effect
Ex. 1 - She was a tomato
Ex. 2 - He had a heart of stone
Personification
Figure which represents abstractions or inanimate objects with human qualities, including physical, emotional, and spiritual
Ex. 1 - The light danced on the surface of the water
Ex. 2 - The wind was howling
Hyperbole
A rhetorical and literary technique where an author or speaker intentionally uses exaggeration and overstatement for emphasis and effect
Ex. 1 - Im so hungry, I could eat a horse
Ex. 2 - He’s seen this movie a million times
Understatement
A transitive verb used by writers or speakers in order to intentionally make a situation seem less important or smaller than it is
Ex. 1 - A friend spills food on your shirt and you say, “It’s hardly noticeable.”
Ex. 2 - Getting the highest grade in the class and saying, ‘i did okay on that test.”
Paradox
A statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd but in reality expresses a possible truth
Ex. 1 - Less is more
Ex. 2 - The beginning of the end
Dramatic Irony
A literary device by which the audience’s or reader’s understanding of events or individuals in a work surpasses that of its characters.
Ex. 1 - A character going into an “empty” house but the killer is actually there
Ex. 2 - A woman thinking her boyfriend is acting weird because hes going to propose but in reality hes planning to run away
Verbal Irony
A statement in which the speaker’s words are incongruous with the speaker’s intent
Ex. 1 - Sarcasm
Ex. 2 - Pretending to be ignorant to show someone else is ignorant
Analogy
A kind of extended metaphor or long simile in which an explicit comparison is made between two things for the purpose of furthering a line of reasoning or drawing an inference
Ex. 1 - Life is like a box of chocolates
Ex. 2 - Memory is to love what the saucer is to the cup
Anecdote
A story, spoken, written, acted out, or produced through a combination of these communications
Ex. 1 - A group of people talking about pets and one tells a story about her cat
Ex. 2 - A class talking about amusement parks and a student tells a story about his favorite trip to disney land
Allegory
The rhetorical strategy of extending a metaphor through an entire narrative
Ex. 1 - Tortoise and the hare
Ex. 2 - Wolf in sheep’s clothing
