Literary Terms By William Lancaster Figurative Language Imagery

Literary Terms By: William Lancaster

Figurative Language

Imagery- The use of words to depict a picture or idea Example from Hamlet- Example from everyday use- “Doubt thou the stars are fire; On a starry winter night in Portugal Doubt that the sun doth move; Where the ocean kissed the southern shore Doubt truth to be a liar; But never doubt I love. ” There a dream I never thought would come to pass Came and went like time spent through an hourglass -Teena Marie, “Portuguese Love”

Simile- A comparison of two things using “like” or “as”. Example from Hamlet- Example from everyday use- “May thy heart sink as the great orb at the end of the day” As busy as a bee As happy as a clam Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're going to get

Metaphor- A comparison of two things; does not need to use “like” or “as” Example from Hamlet- Example from everyday use- “My father's brother, but no more like my father than I to Hercules” Sea of grief The light of my life Time is a thief

Personification- Giving human characteristics to something nonhuman Example from Hamlet- Example from everyday use- “My fate cries out, and makes each petty artery in this body as hardy as the Nemean lion's nerve. ” The stars danced playfully in the moonlit sky The run down house appeared depressed

Apostrophe- The act of addressing some abstraction or personification that is not physically present Example from Hamlet- Example from everyday use- “Do it, England; for like the hectic in my blood he rages, Twinkle, twinkle, little star, How I wonder what you are. Up above the world so high, Like a diamond in the sky And thou must cure me: till I know 'tis done, Howe'er my haps, my joys were ne'er begun. ”

Symbolism- The use of symbols to represent ideas or qualities Example from Hamlet- Example from everyday use- “…Upon my secure hour thy uncle stole Black is used to represent death or evil White stands for life and purity With juice of cursed hebenon in a vial, And in the porches of my ears did pour…”

Allegory- Something that has a greater meaning Example from Hamlet- Example from everyday use- "A little more than kin, and less than kind” All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players; Hamlet states that Claudius is related to him in two ways now, stepfather and uncle, yet still is not really either. they have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts

Paradox- A person, thing, or situation exhibiting an apparently contradictory nature Example from Hamlet- Example from everyday use- “O, that this too solid flesh would melt, You can save money by spending it Thaw, and resolve itself into a dew, Wise fool Or that the Everlasting had not fixed Bittersweet His canon 'gainst self-slaughter. O God, How weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable Seem to me all the uses of this world!”

Hyperbole- An over-exaggeration of something Example from Hamlet- Example from everyday use- “O, my offense is rank, it smells to heaven, It hath the primal eldest curse upon't…” It doesn't get better than this I am so hungry I could eat a horse.

Understatement- An under-exaggeration of something Example from Hamlet- Example from everyday use- Claudius claims that he is afraid of having Hamlet so close to him. He says claims Hamlet is “mad” in order to cover up what he is really doing. The English test was not that hard, you probably don’t even need to study.

Irony- The use of words to convey a meaning that is the opposite of its literal meaning Example from Hamlet- Example from everyday use- Claudius tells Hamlet to think of him a father, yet he killed Hamlet’s real father. As an audience member, you realize that if a character walks into an abandoned warehouse, chances are a killer is waiting. . . but because you are a member of the audience you cannot disclose the information to the character

Chiasmus- A reversal in the order of words in two otherwise parallel phrases Example from Hamlet- Example from everyday use- “Be not too tame neither, but He went to the country, to the town went she. let your own discretion be your tutor. Suit the action to the word, the word to the action. ”

Metonymy- Consists of the use of the name of one object or concept for that of another to which it is related, or of which it is a part Example from Hamlet- Example from everyday use- Denmark- Old Hamlet Norway- Fortinbras The pen is mightier than the sword The White House

Synecdoche- A figure of speech in which a part is used for the whole for a part, the special for the general for the special Example from Hamlet- Example from everyday use- “There were six guns out on the moor” “sails” is often used to refer to a whole ship. "hired hands" can be used to refer to workmen.

Musical Devices

Alliteration- The commencement of two or more stressed syllables of a word group either with the same consonant sound or sound group or with a vowel sound that may differ from syllable to syllable Example from Hamlet- Example from everyday use- “For we will fetters put about this fear, Good as gold Which now goes too free-footed. ” Alice’s aunt ate apples and acorns around August Becky’s beagle barked and bayed, becoming bothersome for Billy

Assonance- The repetition of the same vowel sound Example from Hamlet- Example from everyday use- “With witchcraft of his wit, with traitorous gifts, -- O wicked wit and gifts, ” Hear the mellow wedding bells -Edgar Allen Poe I must confess that in my quest I felt depressed and restless

Consonance- The repetition of the same consonant sound Example from Hamlet- Example from everyday use- “Till then Sit Still, my Soul: foul deeds will rise though all the earth o'erwhelm them, to men's eyes. ” He struck a streak of bad luck.

Rhyme- The same end sound of words Example from Hamlet- Example from everyday use- “The time is out of joint. O cursed spite That ever I was born to set it right” villa and manilla amore and favor sure and kreatur lay and lei sitar and guitar

Rhythm- movement with uniform or patterned recurrence of a beat, accent, or the like Example from Hamlet- Example from everyday use- “Doubt thou the stars are fire; Because I could not stop for Death, Doubt that the sun doth move; He kindly stopped for me; Doubt truth to be a liar; The carriage held but just ourselves But never doubt I love. ” And Immortality. 6 beats per line and ABAB rhyme scheme. 6, 8 beats per line and a slight rhyme scheme Each character talks with a different

Meter- A line of speech; can be set in patterns Example from Hamlet- Example from everyday use- The “O, what a rogue and peasant slave am I” speech is set in iambic pentameter. All poetry is written in meters. These meters can be written in rhyme scheme patterns and syllable patterns . . 1. . . 2. . . . 3. . . 4. . . . 5 Shall. I. . |. . com. PARE. . |. . thee. TO. . |. . a. SUM. . |. . mer’s DAY

End-Stopped Line- A thought that is completed at the end of a line of speech Example from Hamlet- Example from everyday use- “Till then sit still, my soul: foul deeds will rise though all the earth o'erwhelm them, to men's eyes. ” I am not prone to weeping, as our sex Commonly are; the want of which vain dew Perchance shall dry your pities; but I have That honourable grief lodged here which burns Worse than tears drown.

Run-On Line- A thought that is left incomplete at the end of a line of speech Example from Hamlet- Example from everyday use- His canon 'gainst self-slaughter. O God, That's my last Duchess painted on the wall, Looking as if she were alive. I call That piece a wonder, now How weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable Seem to me all the uses of this world!” Both lines end without completing their The first and second lines are left incomplete.

Caesura- A break, pause, or interruption Example from Hamlet- Example from everyday use- "To be, // or not to be, //that is the question: Whether 'tis Nobler in the mind to suffer The Slings and Arrows of outrageous Fortune, Or to take Arms against a Sea of troubles, And by opposing end them: // to die, //to sleep” He thought he'd 'list, perhaps, Off-hand-like--just as I-Was out of work-had sold his traps-No other reason why.

Free Verse- A verse that does not follow a fixed metrical pattern Example from Hamlet- Example from everyday use- “Indeed this counselor All writing is written like this when it is written without a pattern. Is now most still, most secret, and most grave, Who was in life a foolish prating knave” Uneven beats per line and no rhyme scheme.

Iambic Pentameter- A line containing 10 syllables Example from Hamlet- Example from everyday use- “O that this too solid flesh would melt, Her vestal livery is but sick and green Thaw, and resolve itself into a dew! And none but fools do wear it; cast it off. Romeo and Juliet Or that the Everlasting had not fix’d His canon ’gainst self-slaughter! O God!” 10 beats per line

Grammatical/Rhetorical Pauses- A pause in speech that is either written in with punctuation or is implied Example from Hamlet- Example from everyday use- Hamlet’s soliloquies are filled with pauses that are mostly rhetorical, yet are sometimes written in. Most presidential debates have grammatical pauses intended to let you think about what that person said.

Concluding Couplet- The last two lines of speech that rhyme with each other Example from Hamlet- Example from everyday use- “Foul deeds will rise, He that loves a rosy cheek Or a coral lip admires, Or from star-like eyes doth seek Fuel to maintain his fires; As old Time makes these decay, So his flames must waste away. Though all the earth's o'erwhelm them, to men's eyes. ” But a smooth and steadfast mind, Gentle thoughts, and calm desires, Hearts with equal love combined, Kindle never-dying fires: Where these are not, I despise Lovely cheeks or lips or eyes.