Figurative Language Terms
- 1. Literary Terms You Should Know On your paper, write the definition, and one example for each term.
- 2. Figurative Language a tool a writer uses to help the reader visualize what is happening in a piece of writing
- 3. Simile a comparison between two unlike things using the words like , as or than -The sun is like a yellow ball of fire in the sky. - Her feet were bigger than boats. - They fought like cats and dogs.
- 4. Metaphor a comparison between two unlike things without using the words like, as, or than ; when one thing is the other thing - Her home was a prison. - His hair is straw. - George is a sheep.
- 5. Hyperbole the use of a big exaggeration to make a point or for effect. - He has tons of money. - Her brain is the size of a pea. - I’ve told you a million times to capitalize people’s names.
- 6. Idioms expressions that usually cannot be understood by defining the separate words - I’m so hungry I could eat a horse. - That test was a piece of cake. - Something fishy is going on around here!
- 7. Allusion a reference to something from literature, history, or culture to express a point. - Christy didn't like to spend money, but she was no Scrooge. - The cinnamon rolls were huge and golden brown, reminiscent of the twisted buns on the sides of Princess Leia's head. - I am afraid of spiders, but I'm no cowardly lion!
- 8. Personification giving human qualities to non-human objects - The rain kissed my cheeks as it fell. - The car engine coughed and sputtered as it started. - The microwave timer told me my pizza was ready.
- 9. Alliteration repetition of an initial consonant sound; there should be at least two repetitions in a row - The wooly walrus wonders when we’ll walk by. - Sally sells seashells by the seashore. - Peter Piper picks pickled peppers.
- 10. Onomatopoeia when a word sounds like what it represents - splash - drip - smush - splat
- 11. Imagery the use of vivid sensory description to create mental pictures. - The room was dark and musty and smelled like an old shoe. - The blueberries were as big as your thumb and tasted like soot. - We heard the horses hoofs clatter on the cobblestone street.