simile
A comparison of two unlike things using like or as
metaphor
comparing two, unlike things by saying one is the other
pun
a humorous play on words
Example: What do you call an alligator in a vest? An investigator!
personification
giving non-human things human characteristics
hyperbole
an obvious exaggeration
symbolism
A device in literature where an object represents an idea.
alliteration
Repetition of initial consonant sounds
Example: Those lazy lizards are lying like lumps in the leaves.
onomatopoeia
A word that imitates the sound it represents.
idiom
A common, often used expression that doesn't make sense if you take it literally.
Example: "We're in the same boat.
oxymoron
A figure of speech that combines opposite or contradictory terms in a brief phrase.
Example: "A business that makes nothing but money is a poor business.
imagery
Description that appeals to the senses (sight, sound, smell, touch, taste)
figurative language
Language that cannot be taken literally since it was written to create a special effect or feeling.
apostrophe writing
writing that addresses a person or thing that is not present
line break
the place where a line ends
stanza break
A blank line that signals that one stanza has ended and a new stanza is beginning.
line (of poetry)
a single line of words in a poem
tone
the attitude of a piece of writing, expressed through the style of writing and the words the author uses
stanza
a section of a poem; consists of a line or group of lines
anaphora
the repitition of words at the start of a series of lines in a poem
Couplet
two consecutive lines of poetry that rhyme