LITERARY TERMS
FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE
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figurative language
•not meant to be taken literally
•main types of figures of speech (repetition,
onomatopoeia, etc.)
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allegory
•an expression of a truth or generalization about
human existence
•fictional characters and actions are used to express
a truth or generalization about human existence
-characters and actions are symbolic
alliteration
“Over the cobble stones he
clattered and clashed.”
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allusion
Carrying the weight of the
world on his shoulders is
an allusion to Greek
mythology.
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hyperbole
“I spent a couple of weeks
there one day.”
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imagery
The elderly tree was as
withered as the pile of
crumpled leaves spread on
the bare earth.
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irony
The irony in Shadow of the
Bull is the people of
Arcangel cheated death by
killing a bull.
•a type of figurative language
•the repetition of the initial consonant sound
-gives musical sound to words
-done on purpose for effect
•a type of figurative language
•a reference to a well-known person, place, event,
literary work, or work of art
•enriches story by adding meaning
•a type of figurative language
•exaggeration for effect
-not meant to be taken literally
-done on purpose
•a type of figurative language
•using the senses to describe
-hear, see, feel, taste, smell
•a type of figurative language
•a surprising or amusing contradiction in a story or
poem
-suggests the opposite of the usual meaning
-an event that contradicts expectations
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Animal Farm is an allegory
for the Russian Revolution.
LITERARY TERMS
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metaphor
“All the world’s a stage,”
(world is a stage)
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onomatopoeia
•a type of figurative language
•one thing described as something else
•comparing two unlike things
•a word that imitates the sound
-hiss
-buzz
-swish
-crunch
-whisper
-whistle
-wheeze
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personification
•a type of figurative language
•giving human traits to an object or animal
“The wind exhaled.”
It looked like the forest had
held its breath.
As the sky weeps...
repetition
“…riding, riding, riding, the
Highwayman came riding
up to the old inn-door.”
simile
•compares two unlike things
•uses words LIKE or AS
“Marley is dead as a
doornail.”
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•a type of figurative language
•on purpose
•use of a word or phrase more than once
•for effect
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