Figures of Speech Flashcards
The various strategic and creative uses of language that deviate from its conventional order, construction, or meaning
Figures of Speech
Direct comparison of two objects presented through the use of “as” or “like”
Simile
Direct comparison of two objects
Metaphor
Gives animals, ideas, abstractions, and inanimate objects human-like characteristics
Personification
Exaggeration used to heighten effect or for humor
Hyperbole
Placing two contradicting words side-by-side
Oxymoron
Combining two contradicting statements that may actually be proven to be true
Paradox
A part of something signifies its whole; the whole of something signifies its part
Synecdoche
Replacing the name of the object w/ the name of something else which it is closely associated w/
Metonymy
Putting two or more clauses that are balanced against each other by the reversal of their structures
Chiasmus
The repetition of a consonant sound as initial or dominant sound in several words in a line
Alliteration
Repetition of a vowel sound in several words in a line
Assonance
Words that imitate sounds
Onomatopoeia
Repeating similar sounding words; usually at the end of lines in poems or songs
Rhyme
Uses language to express something that is opposite of what is actually meant
Irony
The words conveyed by someone is the opposite of what they intend to express
Verbal Irony
The situation or action that happened in the story is the opposite of what is expected to occur
Situational Irony
The readers know something in the story that the characters do not
Dramatic Irony
An absent or a nonexistent person, an inanimate object, or an abstract quality is addressed directly in the text as if they are present
Apostrophe
A polite word or expression that is used to refer to things that people may find upsetting or embarrassing to talk about
Euphemism
A casual reference to a famous historical or literary figure or event
Allusion
The repetition of the same word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses or verses
Anaphora
Plays w/ words, sometimes on different senses of the same word and sometimes the similar sense or sound of different words
Pun/Paronomasia
A writer or speaker deliberately makes a situation seem less important or serious than it is
Understatement
