FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE AND LITERARY DEVICES REVIEW FOR ENGLISH

FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE AND LITERARY DEVICES REVIEW FOR ENGLISH 10

WHAT ARE THEY? Figurative language and literary devices present ordinary ideas in fresh ways by communicating beyond words’ literal meanings. The skilled use of such devices and language brings richness and clarity to an author’s or speaker’s words.

WHICH DESCRIPTION OF GANNETS IS MORE INTERESTING, ORIGINAL, VIVID The Gannets dive down into the sea, hunting for fish. They disappear briefly under the waves, The Gannets then fly up and out again. — Mrs. Smith blaze down into the water with the power of blunt spears and a stunning accuracy — even though the sea is rile and boiling and gray with fog and the fish are nowhere to be seen, they fall, they explode into the water like white gloves, then they vanish, then they climb out again, from the cliff of the wave, like white flowers… — Mary Oliver

SIMILE A comparison of two unlike things using like, as, resembles, or than. “Life is like a box of chocolates. ” “He was as cool as a cucumber. ”

METAPHOR An implied, direct comparison not using like, as, resembles, or than. All religions, arts, and sciences are branches of the same tree. — Einstein Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life. — Picasso

PERSONIFICATION Giving human qualities to something non-human such as an animal, object, or idea. “The wind stood up and gave a shout, He whistled on his fingers and Kicked the withered leaves about…” — James Stephens

HYPERBOLE An exaggeration used for effect. “My backpack weighs a ton!” "Ladies and gentlemen, I've been to Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan, and I can say without hyperbole that this is a million times worse than all of them put together. “ — The Simpsons

ALLITERATION The repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of two or more words that are consecutive or close together. “Hot-hearted Beowulf was bent upon battle. ” “Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary. ” — Edgar Allan Poe

ONOMATOPOEIA The use of words to imitate sound. “It flitter-twitters and laughs away from me. . . ” — Gwendolyn Brooks The rusty spigot sputters, utters and splutters, spatters a smattering of drops…” — Eve Merriam

SYMBOL An image, object, person, thing, or idea that represents something other than itself. In the play Master Harold and the Boys, Fugard uses “ballroom dancing” to symbolize an ideal world in which prejudice, fear, and hostility do not exist; instead, harmony, beauty, and cooperation define such a world.

IMAGERY Vivid descriptions that are used to produce mental pictures that usually appeal to the five senses. “Sundays too my father got up early and put his clothes on in the blueblack cold, then with cracked hands that ached from labor in the weekday weather made banked fires blaze. ” — “Those Winter Sundays” by Robert Hayden

PARADOX A statement or situation containing apparently contradictory or incompatible elements, but on closer inspection may be true. “I must be cruel, only to be kind. ” — Hamlet, William Shakespeare “It was the best of times; it was the worst of times. ” — A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens

ALLUSION A direct or indirect reference to a person, place, event, or thing in history, or to a work of art or literature. “Christy did not like to spend money, but she was no Scrooge. ”

REPETITION Repeating words, phrases, or lines to emphasize an idea or convey a feeling or meaning. “The buzz saw snarled and rattled in the yard. . . And the saw snarled and rattled, snarled and rattled. ” — “Out, Out” by Robert Frost The woods are lovely, dark and deep. But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep. — “Stopping by Woods” by Robert Frost

PARALLELISM A type of repetition in which the structure or syntax of a sentence or group of words is repeated. "When you are right you cannot be too radical; when you are wrong, you cannot be too conservative. " — Martin Luther King, Jr. Perch are inexpensive; cod are cheap; trout are abundant; but salmon are best.

RHETORICAL QUESTION A question asked merely for effect with no answer expected. “"Marriage is a wonderful institution, but who would want to live in an institution? " — H. L. Mencken “How many times have I told you to pick up your clothes? ” — Mrs. Smith

WHAT IS IT? “When death comes like an iceberg between the shoulder blades…” — “When Death Comes” by Mary Oliver SIMILE

WHAT IS IT? “They thrive on thistle, and I thoroughly thought that I threw the thistle out there. “ — Dorie Thurston ALLITERATIO N

WHAT IS IT? “’On this home by Horror hauntedtell me truly, I implore- Is there- is there balm in Gilead? tell me- tell me, I implore!’ Quoth the Raven, ‘Nevermore. ’” — “The Raven” by Edgar Allan Poe ALLUSION

WHAT IS IT? "I was helpless. I did not know what in the world to do. I was quaking from head to foot, and could have hung my hat on my eyes, they stuck out so far. “ — Mark Twain HYPERBOLE

WHAT IS IT? "When you are right you cannot be too radical; when you are wrong, you cannot be too conservative. " — Martin Luther King, Jr. PARALLELISM

WHAT IS IT? “If you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt — only love. “ — Mother Teresa PARADOX

WHAT IS IT? “Give me the splendid silent sun with all his beams fulldazzling, Give me autumnal fruit ripe and red from the orchard, Give me a field where the unmow'd grass grows, Give me an arbor, give me the trellis'd grape, Give me fresh corn and wheat, give me serene-moving animals teaching content, Give me nights perfectly quiet as on high plateaus west of the Mississippi, and I looking up at the stars, Give me odorous at sunrise a garden of beautiful flowers where I can walk undisturb'd, ” — Walt Whitman IMAGERY and PARALLELISM

WHAT IS IT? “Because I do not hope to turn again Because I do not hope to turn. . . ” — “Ash Wednesday” by T. S. Eliot REPETITION

WHAT IS IT? “The means are at hand to fulfill the age-old dream: poverty can be abolished. How long shall we ignore this under-developed nation in our midst? How long shall we look the other way while our fellow human beings suffer? How long? ” — Michael Harrington RHETORICAL QUESTION

WHAT IS IT? “Life is a broken winged bird that cannot fly. ” — “Dreams” by Langston Hughes METAPHOR

WHAT IS IT? “There were no drums or saxophones, But just the clatter of their bones. ” — “The Carnival of Animals” by Ogden Nash ONOMATOPOIEA