STAAR Terms Flashcards
Metaphor
Comparing two things not using like or as
Ex. The clouds are puffy white cotton balls
Simile
Comparing two things using like or as.
Ex. The wind howled like a wild wolf.
Personification
Giving human characteristics to nonhuman things.
Ex. When I walked outside, the sum smiled at me.
Hyperbole
Making an over exaggeration
Ex. Timmy noticed that the girl’s hair was ten feet long!
Understatement
Making something sound less important than it actually is
Ex. gets 100% on test “I did ok.”
Onomatopoeia
The formation of a word from a sound
Ex. Thunk!
Idiom
A saying whose meaning is not predictable from the usual meanings
Ex. Get it done before he kicks the bucket
Pun
A play on words
Ex. Why did the cowboy want a dachshund?
He wanted to get a long little doggy.
Oxymoron
A figure of speech that seems to contradict itself
Ex. Cruel kindness
Tone
The authors attitude toward the subject
Ex. Can someone please tell me what the heck is going on here? (Annoyed tone)
Mood
The overall feeling of a passage.
Ex. The clouds rolled overhead and the rain began to fall. Lightning struck and thunder cracked.
Theme
The main idea or message of a story
Ex. Sherlock Holmes follows the theme of crime and detection.
Alliteration
A device in which a number of words, having the same first consonant sound, occur close together in a series.
Ex. Lucy Lou looked later laboriously
Imagery
Using literary devices to create a mental picture of a story.
Ex. Tom stepped into the dimly lot coffee house and whiffed the aroma of fresh coffee baked muffins.
Proverb
A short popular saying
Ex. Time is money
