Figurative Language Study Guide

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Figurative Language Study Guide Alliteration

Repeated consonant sounds usually at the beginning of words. Examples: Dudley Dursley Martin the Minotaur mumbled menacingly.

Allusion

A reference in one work of literature to another work of literature. Examples: In an episode of The Simpsons, the mayor says, “Ich bin ein Springfielder.” This is an allusion to “Ich bin ein Berliner,” a line from a famous speech by President Kennedy when he was in Berlin, Germany. Taylor Swift’s song, “Love Story”, is filled with allusions to Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, including the famous balcony scene: “I'm standing there / On a balcony in summer air…”

Assonance

Repeated vowel sounds. Examples: Avery gave away tickets for the play. “The June moon loomed…”

Hyperbole

Exaggeration; overstatement to create an effect or to make a point. Examples: You’re going to finish your homework if it takes forever! There did not seem to be brains enough in the entire nursery, so to speak, to bait a fishhook with. —A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain

Metaphor

A direct comparison of two different kinds of things. Examples: "The fog comes / on little cat feet. / It sits looking / over harbor and city / on silent haunches / and then moves on." —“The Fog” by Carl Sandburg All the world’s a stage, / And all the men and women merely players; / They have their exits and their entrances; — As You Like It by William Shakespeare

Onomatopoeia

A word that is spelled in a way that imitates a sound. Examples: Pop…boom…crash….psst. “Baa baa black sheep, have you any wool?” — Nursery rhyme.

Personification

A non-human thing is given human qualities or abilities. Examples: The shattered water made a misty din. / Great waves looked over others coming in… —from “Once by the Pacific” by Robert Frost “The wind stood up and gave a shout. / He whistled on his two fingers….Kicked the withered leaves about….And thumped the branches with his hand.” —“The Wind” by James Stephens

Simile

A comparison between two unlike things using like or as. Examples: Death lies on her, like an untimely frost —from Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare O, my love's like a red, red rose, That's newly sprung in June. —by Robert Burns