SMAPHOS Understanding Figurative Language Simile and Synecdoche A

SMAPHOS Understanding Figurative Language

Simile and Synecdoche �A simile is a comparison between two unlike things using “like” or “as. ” �The spider was suspended from its thread like an acrobat on a tightrope. �Synecdoche is using part of an object to represent the whole, and vice versa. �The captain wants all hands on deck.

Metaphor, Metonymy, and Motif � A metaphor compares two unlike things without using “like” or “as. ” � The toothpicks were toy soldiers, ready to spear the appetizers. � Metonymy is substituting the name of one object for another closely associated with it. � “The pen [writing] is mightier than the sword [war/fighting]. ” � Motif is a standard theme, element, or dramatic situation that recurs in various works. � The recurring use of onions and sunflowers are motifs in Shrek.

Alliteration, Allusion, Apostrophe � Alliteration is the repetition of two or more consonant sounds at the beginnings of words or syllables. � Silently sighing, he strongly swept her off her feet. � Allusion is a reference to something literary, mythological, historical, or Biblical. � “Just then we heard a war whoop, such as David might have emitted when he knocked out the champion Goliath. ” � Apostrophe is when one directly addresses an absent or imaginary person, or some abstraction. � Twinkle, twinkle little star, / How I wonder what you are.

Assonance, Asyndeton, (&Consonance) � Assonance is the repetition of vowels sounds within words � “The only other sound’s the sweep / Of easy wind and downy flake. ” � Asyndeton is a sentence in which related clauses are presented in a series without conjunctions. � Abraham Lincoln consecrated Gettysburg so “that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth. ” � Consonance consists of identical consonant sounds preceded by different vowel sounds. � I was in a muddle in the middle of the onrushing crowd.

Parallelism, Personification, Polysyndeton, and Pun � Parallelism is the grammatical or structural similarity between sentences or parts. � We went running through the forest, swinging over the ravine, and swimming in the creek. � Personification gives human characteristics and traits to inanimate objects. � The wind whispered through my window, revealing night’s secrets. � Polysyndeton is the use of more conjunctions than is necessary or natural. � Lions and tigers and bears, oh my! � A pun is a play on words when the words have similar sounds but different meanings. � Bill and Sam signed their letter, “Two Desperate Men. ”

Hyperbole, (Understatement, &Litotes) �Hyperbole is a gross exaggeration, something that could never happen. �If she lied to him one more time, he knew his heart would explode. �Understatement is representing something as lesser in magnitude than it actually is. �That Red Chief was only a little troublesome. �Litotes is a type of understatement in which an idea is expressed by negating its opposite. �Looking at the vomit on the floor, the girl said, “That is not a pretty picture. ”

Onomatopoeia and Oxymoron �Onomatopoeia is a word that imitates sounds. �The soda can cracked open with a refreshing fizz. �Oxymoron is an expression in which two words that contradict each other are joined. �Taped live, plastic glasses, Dodge Ram, living dead, and jumbo shrimp are all oxymorons.