Figures of Speech

Question 1

What do you look for when analyzing text?

Answer 1

1. Text
2. Context
3. Subtext

Question 2

Text

Answer 2

• What is visible/readable to the reader
• Look at title, dialogue, and narration

Question 3

Context

Answer 3

• Information that is clearly presented
• What is being portrayed by the characters/mood/setting?
• What background information helps of identify the plot?
• Who, what, when, where

Question 4

Subtext

Answer 4

• Hidden meaning of text
• Why was this created? What is the purpose?
• What is the author trying to show?

Question 5

Onomatopoeia

Answer 5

• A word that signifies a sound
  Ex. bang, boom, clatter

Question 6

Oxymoron

Answer 6

• When words with opposite meanings are placed together
  Ex. freezer burn, false truth, painfully beautiful

Question 7

Simile

Answer 7

• Comparing two things using “like” or “as”
  Ex. As slow as a sloth, As busy as a bee

Question 8

Irony

Answer 8

• When one thing is said, while another contracting thing is meant
  Ex. The name of India’s biggest dog is “Tiny”

Question 9

Hyperbole

Answer 9

• Exaggerated statements
  Ex. He was as hungry as a horse, I love you to the moon and back

Question 10

Metaphor

Answer 10

• Comparing two things without using “like” or “as”
  Ex. He’s a house potato, She has a heart of gold

Question 11

Pun

Answer 11

• A joke focused on words with multiple meanings
  Ex. A boiled egg for lunch is hard to beat

Question 12

Idiom

Answer 12

• Phrases or expressions that contain a figurative meaning that is different from the phrase’s literal meaning
  Ex. It was raining cats and dogs, spill the beans

Question 13

Personification

Answer 13

• Giving a non-human object human qualities of capabilities

Question 14

Extra

Answer 14

• Look at the body language of the characters
• Look at any features on the characters that seem to be overblown
• See if any of the text looks exaggerated