Figures Of Speech Flashcards
Allusion
A reference to some person, place or event that has literary, historical or geographical significance.
Reference to mythological figures in Shakespeare plays.
Antithesis
Opposite or strongly contrasting statements are balanced against each other for emphasis
His body is active, but his mind is sluggish.
Assonance
The same vowel sound with different endings
Purple curtains; molten golden notes
Atmosphere
The mood or feeling of a piece of writing
Romantic; weird
Cliché
A phrase that has lost it’s force through over use
Busy as bees; last but not least
Connotation
The impression that a word gives beyond it’s defined meaning; connected to other emotions, values or images associated with a word
Horse suggests steed
Consonance
The repetition of final consonant sounds that are preceded by different vowel sounds
The beasts climbed fast to the crest
Denotation
The exact literal meaning of a work
Mother- a female animal who has borne one or more children
Euphemism
When an indirect statement or word is substituted for a direct one in an effort to avoid bluntness or offensiveness
Passed on for died; plump for fat; perspire for sweat.
Hyperbole
An obvious exaggeration for the sake of effect without an attempt at deception
The teacher bored me to death; I’m so hungry I could eat a horse
Irony
Saying the opposite of what you mean in a tone or manner that shows what you think (sarcasm).
It was kind of you to remind me of my humiliation.
Metaphor
A comparison of two things without using the words “like” or “as”
He was a lion in the fight; the sun was a medicine ball
Onomatopoeia
The imitation of sounds by words whether directly (buzz, bang, splash, plop) or suggestively (the swish of ladies’ skirts across the grass); they correspond to auditory sounds
Oxymoron
A phrase bringing together two contradictory terms ( only two words)
Wise fool; sweet sorrow
Paradox
A statement which contains contradictory ideas, yet still has valid meaning
I love to hate; you will have life after death.
Personification
Gives human qualities to inhuman objects or abstract ideas
The lights of the city twinkled and smiled at us; duty whispers
Repetition
The repetition of a word or phrase for emphasis
Alone, alone, all,all alone; government for the people, by the people, of the people
Simile
When two essentially different objects are compared and shown to have one or more qualities in common; comparison introduced by “like” or “as”
As green as emerald; the shark’a jaws gripped like a clamp
Symbol
When a concrete object is used to stand for an abstract idea
Cross=Christianity; dove=peace; rose= love
Tone
The feeling conveyed by the author’s attitude toward his subject and the particular way he writes about it. Tone reveals the authors attitude toward his subject
Sarcastic, cynical, ironic.
Alliteration
Repetition of initial sound in words
The woeful woman went wading Wednesday
