Literary Terms: Figurative Language Comparison and Contrast notes from Mr. Steven Van Zoost

Figurative language 1. Comparison Simile Metaphor Personification Metonymy Allusion Symbol Euphemism 2. Contrast Oxymoron Irony Verbal Irony Dramatic Irony Situational Irony Antithesis Litotes Paradox Juxtaposition

1.Comparison Simile - a kind of comparison that uses “like” or “as”: a) John is as friendly as a dead fish. b) Mrs. G. looks like a dried prune. c) My love is like a red, red rose.

Metaphor - a comparison of two different things; the figurative part, while different, shares in key ways an identity with the literal part: a) My brother is a donkey. b) Ah, sweet rose, be my love.

Personification – a kind of metaphor in which the literal, non-human element is given human qualities: a) The sea whispered its secrets to me (verb). b) The green hair lay fallen on the ground (noun). c) Truth spoke to me last night.

Metonymy – referring to one part of something, intending for it to represent the whole: a) I am loyal to the crown (king). b) Honest sweat is what makes money (hard work). c) The government gives us security from the cradle to the grave (birth, death). d) He is a man of the cloth. e) The pen is mightier than the sword

Allusion – casual but meaningful reference to an historical or literal personage or event.

Symbol – a concrete image which is literally present but which by its continued use suggests a secondary level(s) of meaning, richer and deeper and broader than the first. a) raven – death b) rain – rebirth c) voyage – life

Euphemism - glossing over the blunt and often unpleasant truth by means of indirect statement a) died – passed away b) drunk – tipsy c) toilet - w.c. (water closet, restroom)

2. Contrast Oxymoron – combining opposite ideas in one expression for effect: a) She endured a living death. b) His eloquent silence moved the crowd. c) What a wise fool.

Irony is a contrast between reality and what seems to be real. Situational irony exists when the outcome of the situation is the opposite of someone’s expectations. Verbal irony exists when a person says one thing and means another. Dramatic irony occurs when the audience has important information that characters in a literary work do not have.

Antithesis - opposition, or contrast of ideas or words in a balanced or parallel construction. a) Brutus: Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more. (Shakespeare, Julius Caesar) b) “The vases of the classical period are but the reflection of classical beauty; the vases of the archaic period are beauty itself.” (Sir John Beazley)

Litotes - understatement, for intensification, by denying the contrary of the thing being affirmed. (Sometimes used synonymously with meiosis.) a) A few unannounced quizzes are not inconceivable. b) War is not healthy for children and other living things. c) One nuclear bomb can ruin your whole day. (meiosis)

Paradox - A situation or a statement that seems to contradict itself, but on closer inspection, does not. “What a pity that youth must be wasted on the young.” (George Bernard Shaw)

Juxtaposition - Juxtapose is simply the placement of two things closely together to establish comparisons or contrasts.