The document outlines various forms of figurative language including alliteration, hyperbole, metaphor, simile, onomatopoeia, personification, oxymoron, paradox, parallelism, repetition, allusion, pun, satire, and synecdoche, providing definitions and examples for each. It emphasizes how these literary devices enhance writing by adding imagery, emotional impact, and depth. Additionally, it explains the nuances of connotation and denotation, as well as other related figures of speech.

1. Figurative Language
We’ll cover tons of them!

2. We’ll cover these:
● Alliteration
● Hyperbole
● Metaphor
● Simile
● Onomatopoeia
● Personification
● Parody
● Synecedoche
● Idiom
● Irony
● Juxtaposition
● Oxymoron
● Paradox
● Parallelism
● Repetition
● Allusion
● Pun
● Satire
● Aphorism
● Connotation/denotation
● Assonance/Consonance

3. Alliteration
● Alliteration happens when the beginning
of words start with the same consonant
or vowel sounds.
● All the words must be close together.

4. Alliteration
● Examples:
● Sally Sold seven sea shells at the sea
shore.
● The crazy cat climbed up the crooked
cable.

5. Hyperbole
● Hyperbole is a figure of speech that
uses exaggeration to give a certain
impact within your statement.
● You use these a million times a day!

6. Hyperbole
● Examples:
● Sounds like a herd of buffalo!
● Working like a dog!
● She’s madder than an old wet hen!
● I bit off more than I can chew!

7. Metaphor
● A metaphor is a figure of speech that
compares dissimilar objects that are
alike in some way.
● They help create a clearer picture.
● DO NOT use these words: like, as,
than, similar to and resembles.

8. Metaphor
● Examples:
● That guy is a motor mouth.
● Means that guy is never quiet
● That athlete is a powerhouse.
● Means the athlete is strong

9. Simile
● A simile is a figure of speech which
resembles a metaphor but uses these
words: like, as, than, similar to.

10. Simile
● Examples:
● The lie formed like a blister on his lips.
● Means: he lied and it was ugly.
● Her heart was like a shattered light bulb.
● Means: she was heart-broken.

11. Onomatopoeia
● Onomatopoeia is the usage of word
which best demonstrates the sound it
makes.
● Comics are a good resource to find
these “sound words” such as: crash,
boom, bang, crunch, kerplunk, zap and
buzz.

12. Onomatopoeia
● Examples:
● The water gurgled down the drain.
● The little kid slurped his soup.
● The noisy chicken clucked her head
off!

13. Personification
● Personification is a figure of speech
which uses a strategy to give objects,
things or animals human characteristics
which we recognize in ourselves.
● Personification has the root word
“person” to give you a clue as to how
this figure of speech was developed.

14. Personification
● Examples:
● The camera hates me.
● Means: I take an awful picture.
● Technology is out to get me!
● Means: I can’t get it to work when I want
it to.

15. Oxymoron
● A two to three word phrase that
contains opposite words or ideas
● Example: Wise fool
● Working Vacation
● Plastic Glasses

16. Paradox
● An extended oxymoron. It pits
contradictory ideas against one another
so that the statement appears to be
untrue. However, when the reader
evaluates a paradox in context, he or
she discovers the paradox to hold a
profound truth.

17. Paradox
● Example:
● “Good men must not obey the laws too
well.” Ralph Waldo Emmerson
● “Much Madness is Divinest Sense”
Emily Dickinson

18. Parallelism
● It is the repetition of words, phrases or
sentence structures.
● It adds rhythm and emotional impact to
writing.
● It appears in poetry, speeches, and
other literary forms.

19. Parallelism
● Ex. Not only is she my mother, but she
is also my best friend. …not only, but
also
● I need her to love me, to comfort me,
and to protect me.

20. Repetition
● Words or phrases repeated in writing to
produce emphasis, rhythm, and/or
sense of urgency.
● Ex. The cook was a good cook, as
cooks go; and as cooks go, she went.
● “I…I…I…don’t have Mme. Forestier’s
necklace.”

21. Allusion
● A reference made to a famous person,
place, or event. Allusions should be
familiar to the author’s intended
audience for them to be effective.

22. Allusions…
● Mary said, “Cale is my Prince
Charming!”
● Kevin doesn’t do so well in math, but in
art class, he’s a regular Picasso.

23. Pun…a play on words
● People have a happy time vacationing
in Ireland because they are walking on
Eire.
● In the winter my dog wears his coat, but
in the summer he wears his coat and
pants.

24. Satire
● Writing that makes fun of habits, ideas,
or weaknesses in a person, an
institution, an entire society, or humanity
in general.
●

25. Parody
● Writing that makes fun of a piece of
literature, art or music.
● Ex. Weird Al Yankovic’s songs

26. Synecdoche
● a figure of speech in which the word for
part of something is used to mean the
whole, e.g. "sail" for "boat," or vice
versa
● bread for food, the army for a soldier, or
copper for a penny

27. Aphorism
● Is any general truth conveyed in a short
and pithy sentence, in such a way that
when once heard it is unlikely to pass
from memory.
● Example: He who rocks the boat
seldom has time to row it.

28. Idiom
● A phrase common to people who speak
the same language that doesn’t literally
mean what it says.
● Ex. Cat got your tongue
● Ex. Two Peas in a Pod

29. Irony
● Is a contradictory statement or situation

30. Juxtaposition
● Is two random objects moving in parallel
Examples:
– A butler spends his days in a beautiful mansion dressed in a
tuxedo, but returns home to a closet-sized apartment in a rundown
part of town.
– A waitress is remarkably rude and impatient with a doting couple.
She is extremely kind, though, to a quiet man who is eating alone
with a book.
–http://literarydevices.net/juxtaposition/

31. Connotation Denotation
● Is the thoughts,
feelings, and images
associated with a
word.
● Ex. America-
connotes freedom,
individualism, and
opportunity.
● Is the dictionary
definition of a word
● Ex. America-
denotes the country
south of Canada
and north of Mexico.

32. Assonance
● Is the repetition of
vowel sounds at the
beginning, middle,
or end of a word.
● Ex. He is all pine,
and I apple orchard
(a sound)