Poetic Sound Devices and Figurative Language

Question 1

alliteration

Answer 1

repetition of initial consonant sounds

Question 2

assonance

Answer 2

repetition of internal vowel sounds

Question 3

consonance

Answer 3

repetition of final consonant sounds

Question 4

onomatopoeia

Answer 4

words that sound like the idea or thing they represent

Question 5

euphony

Answer 5

lines of poetry that are “musically pleasant” to the ear

Question 6

cacophony

Answer 6

lines of poetry that are “musically unpleasant” or discordant to the ear

Question 7

figurative language

Answer 7

words or phrases that are not intended to be interpreted literally

Question 8

antithesis

Answer 8

words or phrases with opposite ideas or meanings are balanced against each other
ex. “To err is human, to forgive, divine”

Question 9

apostrophe

Answer 9

spoken to a person who is absent or imaginary, or to an object of abstract idea

Question 10

conceit

Answer 10

an elaborate extended metaphor (the entire poem compares one thing to another)

Question 11

euphemism

Answer 11

substitution of a mild or less negative word or phrase for a harsh or blunt one
ex. “passed away” or “no longer with us” for “dead”; “with child” or “in the family way” for “pregnant”

Question 12

dysphemism

Answer 12

opposite of euphemism; the usage of intentionally harsh or vulgar phrasing instead of a polite one; usually used for humor or satire
ex. “croak” or “kick the bucket” for “die”; “knocked up” for “pregnant”

Question 13

hyperbole

Answer 13

a deliberate and purposeful exaggeration

Question 14

idiom

Answer 14

an expression whose meaning cannot be inferred from the meanings of the words that make it up; meaning is culturally-dependent

Question 15

litotes

Answer 15

a positive is stated by negating its opposite; a form of understatement
ex. no small victory, not a bad idea, not unhappy

Question 16

metaphor

Answer 16

a comparison of two seemingly unlike things that does not use comparative words

Question 17

metonymy

Answer 17

one word is substituted for another with which it is closely associated
ex. “The pen is mightier than the sword.” Pen means “the written word” and sword means “military power.”

Question 18

oxymoron

Answer 18

a brief phrase that combines two paradoxical ideas or things
ex. from Romeo and Juliet: “Why then, O brawling love! O loving hate! O heavy lightness, serious vanity; Misshapen chaos of well-seeming forms! Feather of lead, bright smoke, cold fire, sick health!”

Question 19

personification

Answer 19

nonhuman things or abstract ideas are given human attributes

Question 20

pun

Answer 20

a play on the meanings and/or sounds of words

Question 21

simile

Answer 21

a comparison of two seemingly unlike things that uses comparative words (such, like, as, etc)

Question 22

symbol

Answer 22

anything (word, phrase, person, action, etc) that represents itself but also stands for a more abstract idea

Question 23

synecdoche

Answer 23

a part is used to designate the whole or the whole is used to designate a part
ex. “All hands on deck!” means “All men on deck,” not just their hands.

Question 24

zeugma

Answer 24

occurs when a word (usually a verb) has the same grammatical relation to two or more other words, but a different meaning in each application
ex. “Mr. Pickwick took his hat and his leave.” “Both the tea and the sympathy were lukewarm.”

Question 25

imagery

Answer 25

descriptive language that relies on at least one of the five senses; can be visual, aural/auditory, tactile/textual, olfactory, or oral/gustatory

Question 26

synesthesia

Answer 26

one sensory experience is described in terms of another sensory experience; a form of figurative language
ex. hearing colors or seeing sounds