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Figurative Language
figurative language
Term | Definition |
---|---|
poetry | a type of literature in which words are carefully chosen and arranged to create certain effects. |
form | The way a poem looks on the page. |
line | A single word, phrase, or sentence within a poem. |
stanza | Groups of lines of poetry. |
rhyme | The repetition of sounds at the ends of words. Examples: cat/hat fancy/Nancy |
rhyme scheme | A pattern of rhyme based on the rhyming sounds at the end of each line. (Examples: abab; aabb) |
rhythm | The beat you hear as you read a poem aloud. It is affected by which syllables are stressed and which are unstressed. |
repetition | The use of a word, phrase, sound, or line more than once. |
alliteration | The repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words that are close together. |
assonance | The repetition of vowel sounds in words that are close together. |
onomatopoeia | The use of words whose sounds echo their meaning. Examples: buzz, whisper, murmur |
imagery | Words and phrases that appeal to a reader’s five senses. They help the reader imagine how things look, feel, smell, sound, and taste. |
simile | A comparison of two unlike things using the words like or as. Example: His eyes sparkled like diamonds. |
metaphor | A comparison of two unlike things that does NOT use the words like or as, but states it as though it were a fact. Example: He was a tornado, blasting through the other team. |
personification | A description of an object, animal, or idea as if it were human or had human qualities. Example: The tree waved. |
hyperbole | Exaggeration. |
theme | The message or lesson about life or human nature that the writer shares with the reader. |
symbol | A person, place, object, or activity that stands for something beyond itself. Example: A white dove is a bird that symbolizes peace. |
tone | The writer’s attitude toward his or her subject. |
mood | The feeling or atmosphere that a writer creates for the reader. |
prose | Ordinary Writing; not poetry. |
lyric poetry | A type of poetry that focuses on the thoughts or feelings of a single speaker. |
narrative poetry | A type of poetry that tells a story. |
speaker | The voice in the poem that “talks” to the readers. |