4. Alliteration
Repetition of the same beginning sound in a
sequence.
Examples :
Nursery Rhymes:
Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. A peck of pickled
peppers Peter Piper picked. If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled
peppers How many pickled peppers did Peter Piper pick?
Poetic – Edgar Allan Poe
Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing,
Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before
5. Example #1:
“From the time I was really little-maybe just
few months old-words were like sweet,
liquid gifts, and I drank them like
lemonade.”
~Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper
Example #2:
Tongue Twisters are great examples of alliteration…
Three grey geese in a green field grazing,
Grey were the geese and green was the grazing.
6. Hyperbole
A figure of speech in which exaggeration is used for emphasis or
effect.
An extravagant statement or figure of speech not intended to be
taken literally.
Examples:
I waited an eternity for summer to get here!
He could have slept for a year.
This book weighs a ton.
Listen to the hyperbole of the next poem by Jack Prelutsky.
7. I am making a pizza the size of the sun,
a pizza that’s sure to weigh more than a ton,
a pizza too massive to pick up and toss,
a pizza resplendent with oceans of sauce.
I’m topping my pizza with mountains of cheese,
with acres of peppers, pimentos, and peas,
with mushrooms, tomatoes, and sausage galore,
with every last olive they had at the store.
My pizza is sure to be one of a kind,
my pizza will leave other pizzas behind,
my pizza will be a delectable treat
that all who love pizza are welcome to eat.
The oven is hot, I believe it will take
a year and a half for my pizza to bake.
I hardly can wait till my pizza is done,
my wonderful pizza the size of the sun.
Jack Prelutsky
8. Imagery
Descriptive words or phrases that appeal to the 5 senses: sight,
sound, touch, taste, and smell- creating a picture in the reader’s
mind.
What is the mental picture or image you are left with after
reading the passage from “The Most Dangerous Game”
9. “He leaped upon the rail and balanced himself there, to
get greater elevation; his pipe, striking a rope, was
knocked from his mouth. He lunged for it; a short, hoarse
cry came from his lips as he realized he had reached too
far and had lost his balance. The cry was pinched off
short as the blood-warm waters of the Caribbean Sea
closed over his head.”
“He struggle up to the surface and tried to cry out, but the
wash from the speeding yacht slapped him in the face and
the salt water in his open mouth made him gag.”
“The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell
10. Metaphor
A figure of speech in which two things are compared,
usually by saying one thing is another, or by
substituting a more descriptive word for the more
common or usual word that would be expected.
Examples :
The world's a stage
He was a lion in battle
Drowning in debt
A sea of troubles
11. God looked around His garden
And saw an empty space
He then looked down upon this Earth
And saw your tired face
He knew that you were suffering
He knew you were in pain
He knew that you would never
Get well on Earth again
He knew the roads were getting rough
The mountains hard to climb
So he puts his arms around you and
Whispered Peace be Thine
He closed your weary eyelids
And lifted you for rest
This garden must be beautiful
He only takes the best
Written by an anonymous teenager.
12. Onomatopoeia
A figure of speech in which words are used to
imitate sounds.
Examples :
crash
buzz
quack
zoom
13. ONOMATOTODAY
In the morning
yawn, stretch
to the bathroom
scratch, blink
in the shower
scrub, splash
to the closet
whisk, rustle
down the hall
thump, creak
in the kitchen
clank, clink
to the car
click, slam
on the road
honk, screech
at the office
tick, ring
out to lunch
munch, slurp
return home
thug, moan
on to bed
shuffle, snore
Cathy Christensen
14. Personification
A figure of speech in which things or ideas are
given human attributes.
Examples:
Dead leaves dance in the wind
Blind justice
Winter wrapped her cold fingers around
me
15. “The high mountain wind coasted
sighing through the pass and whistled on
the edges big block of broken granite…”
“A scar of green grass cut across the flat.
And behind the flat another mountain
rose, desolate with dead rocks and
starving little black bushes…”
“Flight” by John Steinbeck
16. Simile
A figure of speech in which two things are
compared using the word “like” or “as”.
Examples:
She felt like a wilted flower.
The boy charged in the room like a bull!
17. The aliens have landed!
It’s distressing, but they’re here.
They piloted their flying saucer
Through our atmosphere.
They landed like a meteor
Engulfed in smoke and flame.
Then out they climbed immersed in slime
And burbled as they came.
Their hands are greasy tentacles.
Their heads are weird machines.
Their bodies look like cauliflower
And smell like dead sardines.
Their blood is liquid helium.
Their eyes are made of granite.
Their breath exudes the stench of foods
From some unearthly planet.
And if you want to see these
Sickly, unattractive creatures,
You’ll find them working in your school;
They all got jobs as teachers!
Kenn Nesbitt
18. IDIOM
Idioms are phrases or expressions that have hidden
meanings. The expressions don't mean exactly what the
words say. NOT LITERAL
The language peculiar to a people or to a district,
community, or class : dialect
Example:
It’s raining cats and dogs.
Things got a little out of hand.
Does the cat have your tongue.
19. Pun:
The use of a word in a way that plays on its
different meanings.
Example:
Noticing the bunch of bananas, the hungry gorilla
went ape.
I recently spent money on detergent to unclog my
kitchen sink. It was money down the drain.
20. Reference to a statement,
person, place, event, or thing
that is known from literature,
history, religion, myth, politics,
sports, science, or the arts
Examples:
"Christy didn't like to spend
money. She was no Scrooge,
but she seldom purchased
anything except the bare
necessities".
ALLUSION
21. Allusion:
Ex: The students were sure that their
teacher had drunk from the river
Styx because of her complete
inattention to their pranks.
Your example—think of a recent
example you’ve heard or seen in
which someone references a well-
known work
22. A comparison made between two things that may initially
seem to have little in common
Used for illustration and/or argument.
Example:
Hand is to glove : Foot is to sock
Happy is to sad : Hot is to cold
ANALOGY
23. to speak well in the place of
the blunt, disagreeable,
terrifying or offensive term.
Example:
death becomes “to pass away”
Victorians first used “limb” for leg
Letting someone go instead of firing someone
Use the rest room instead of go to the bathroom
