Figures Of Speech

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Allusion

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A brief, undeveloped reference to a presumably familiar place, event, or figure from history, literature, mythology, or the bible.

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Euphemism

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The substitution of an inoffensive term for an offensively explicit one ( ex. the sales person was aggressive' rather then ' the sales person was pushy and rude')

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Extended Metaphor

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A metaphor that carries into other words or phrases beyond the original word (ex. a metaphor carried out for a whole stanza or poem)

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Figure of speech

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language used in a deliberately unconventional way in order to achieve a speicial effect (ex. simile, metaphor)

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Hyperbole (overstatement)

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Figure of speech which makes conscious use of exaggeration for emphasis, serious, or humorous effects (ex. I have a ton of homework)

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Metaphor

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A common figure of speech in which a direct comparison or identification is made between two unlike opbjects (without using like or as)

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oxymoron

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the deliberate side by side placement of words that seem contradictory (ex. she was rediculously intelligent)

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Paradox

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A statement which, on first reading, appears to be self contradictory (saying two opposite things) but which, on closer examination, proves to be true (ex. my story has been heard, but has not been told)

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personification

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A figure of speech that attributes human qualities to a animals, inanimate objects or ideas (ex. thie wind sang a mournful song)

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Pun

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A play on words (ex. when Bart Simpson calls up Moe's Tavern and asks for a woman named Amanda, last name: Huginkiss)

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Sensory Imagery

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imagery that is expressed through and appealing to he senses(ex: the toast smelled like melted plastic)

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Simile

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A figure of speech in which an indirect comparison is made between two dissimilar things using like or as (ex. He is as slow as a turtle.

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Abstract

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Not concrete or specific (ex. love)

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Blank Verse

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Poetry with regular meter but no rhyme

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Concrete

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Specific as opposed to general, not abstract(ex. a rose) also refers to poetry that is written in the form of its content

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Couplet

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Two successive rhyming lines of vers- Couplets end the pattern of a Shakespearean sonnet.

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Free verse

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Poetry without regular rhyme or rhythm

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Imagery

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vivid word or figures of speech that convey mental pictures

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Stanza

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lines which have been grouped together to form units in a poem

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Tone

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the attitude conveyed by a poet towards the subject or topic of the poem

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Alliteration

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the occurrence of two or more words having the sam initial sound (ex: a funny, frolicking furball)

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Anaphora

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repetition of the same word or phrase at the beginning of a line throughout a section of a poem

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Assonance

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repetition of vowel sounds in a series of words (ex: see the mean, green ferret.)

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Consonance

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the repetition of a similar or idectical consonants in words whose vowels differ(ex. grape,grope,gripe

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Onomatopoeia

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the use of aword whose sound imitates,suggests and reingforces its meaning(ex: crash,roar,hum)

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Rhyme Scheme

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a labeling system used to descrive the rhyming pattern of a poem ( ex: AABBA)

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Rhythm

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the pattern of recurrence of stressed and unstressed syllables

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Ambiguity

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the possibility of interpreting an expression in two or more distinct ways.

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Ballad

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a narrative poem in short stanzas of popular origin, originally sung to a repeated tune

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Blank Verse

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Verse written in iambic pentameter, without rhyme.

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Connotation

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the associated or secondary meaning of a word or expression in addition to its explicit or primary meaning: A possible connotation of “home” is “a place of warmth, comfort, and affection.”

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Denotation

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a word that names or signifies something specific: “Wind” is the denotation for air in natural motion. “Poodle” is the denotation for a certain breed of dog.

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Consonance

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correspondence of sounds; harmony of sounds

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Dissonance

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inharmonious or harsh sound

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Dramatic monologue

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a poetic form in which a single character, addressing a silent auditor at a critical moment, reveals himself or herself and the dramatic situation.

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Elegy

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a mournful, melancholy, or plaintive poem, especially a funeral song or a lament for the dead.

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Enjambment

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the running on of the thought from one line, couplet, or stanza to the next without a syntactical break.

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Epic

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noting or pertaining to a long poetic composition, usually centered upon a hero, in which a series of great achievements or events is narrated in elevated style:

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Apostrophe

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the sign ('), as used: to indicate the omission of one or more letters in a word, whether unpronounced, as in o'er for over, or pronounced, as in gov't for government; to indicate the possessive case, as in man's; or to indicate plurals of abbreviations and symbols, as in several M.D.'s, 3's.

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Epigram

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a short, often satirical poem dealing concisely with a single subject and usually ending with a witty or ingenious turn of thought.

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Epitaph

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a commemorative inscription on a tomb or mortuary monument about the person buried at that site.

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Euphemism

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the substitution of a mild, indirect, or vague expression for one thought to be offensive, harsh, or blunt.
the expression so substituted: “To pass away” is a euphemism for “to die.”

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Euphony

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agreeableness of sound; pleasing effect to the ear, especially a pleasant sounding or harmonious combination or succession of words

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Cacophony

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harsh discordance of sound; dissonance: a cacophony of hoots, cackles, and wails.
a discordant and meaningless mixture of sounds: the cacophony produced by city traffic at midday.

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idyll

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a poem or prose composition, usually describing pastoral scenes or events or any charmingly simple episode, appealing incident, or the like.

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Light Verse

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verse that is written to entertain, amuse, or please, often by the subtlety of its form rather than by its literary quality.

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Meiosis

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a figure of speech that consists of saying less than one means, or of saying what one means with less force than the occasion warrants - an understatement.

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Meter

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the rhythmic arrangement of syllables in verse, usually according to the number and kind of feet in a line

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Metonymy

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a figure of speech that 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, as “scepter” for “sovereignty,” or “the bottle” for “strong drink,” or “count heads (or noses)” for “count people.”

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Moral

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of, pertaining to, or concerned with the principles or rules of right conduct or the distinction between right and wrong; ethical: moral attitudes.

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Octave

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a group of eight lines of verse, especially the first eight lines of a sonnet in the Italian form

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Ode

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A kind of poem devoted to the praise of a person, animal, or thing. An ode is usually written in an elevated style and often expresses deep feeling

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Pastoral

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having the simplicity, charm, serenity, or other characteristics generally attributed to rural areas: pastoral scenery; the pastoral life.

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Quatrain

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a stanza or poem of four lines, usually with alternate rhymes
"Lizzie Borden took an axe
And gave her mother fort..."
"She kisses her killed boy.
And she is sorry.

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Satire

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the use of irony, sarcasm, ridicule, or the like, in exposing, denouncing, or deriding vice, folly, etc.
2. a literary composition, in verse or prose, in which human folly and vice are held up to scorn, derision, or ridicule

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Scansion

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the metrical analysis of verse. the usual marks for scansion are ˘ for a short or unaccented syllable, ¯ or  for a long or accented syllable, ^ for a rest, | for a foot division, and ‖ for a caesura or pause.

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Sestet

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the last six lines of a sonnet in the Italian form, considered as a unit.

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Subjective

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of, relating to, or emanating from a person's emotions, prejudices, etc: subjective views

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Synecdoche

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a figure of speech in which a part is used for the whole or the whole for a part, the special for the general or the general for the special, as in ten sail for ten ships or a Croesus for a rich man.