VOCAB WEEK

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Your Assignment• In Class:

Copy down the definition for each device (#1-12)

• For Homework: Come up with 2 synonyms, 2

antonyms, and 2 examples of each device [this week]in a sentence (#1-12)

Figurative LanguageWriting or speech not meant to be interpreted literally

• Simile• Metaphor• Personification

1. SimileA comparison of two unlike things using like or as. You stink like rotten meat. He shot up like a rocket as he

went for the basket.

2. Metaphor

A direct comparison of two unlike things

• Life is a barren field.• Hannah’s eyes are stars brightening

the room.

3. Personification

Giving non-human things human characteristics

• The moonlight danced along the water.

• The thunder clapped angrily in the distance.

Sound DevicesDevices used by a poet to

reflect a musical style• Alliteration• Assonance• Onomatopoeia

4. Alliteration

The repetition of initial consonant sounds

• Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled pepper.

• She sells seashells down by the seashore.

5. Assonance

The repetition of vowel sounds

Weak and wearyLight the fireI must confess my questProud round clown

6. Onomatopoeia

The use of words that imitate the sounds that they name

QuackThudSizzleHiss

Literary Devicesa technique writers use to produce a certain effect

• Imagery

• Irony

• Symbolism

• Hyperbole

• Oxymoron

• Pun

7. Imagery

words that create a mental picture that stimulate one of the five senses

• The children laughed as they ran along the beach, feet pounding the soft sand.

• The salty ocean breeze cooled their faces.

8. Irony

when the meaning is opposite of what was intended

We expect a tiger to be a dangerous beast stalking its prey, not a pet relaxing in a monk’s lap.

9. Symbolism

using objects, people, or things to represent a greater idea

A skull and crossbones represents danger.

Pirates! Poison! Toxic smoke!

10. HyperboleA gross exaggeration • I would walk a thousand miles

to see you.• I’d catch a grenade for you.

11. OxymoronA contradiction in terms•Sound of silence•Cruel to be kind•Good girl gone bad•Canyon Hills

12. PunA humorous play on words that suggests two or more meanings; similar sounding words having different meanings.•A horse is a very stable animal. •Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana. •An elephant’s opinion carries a lot of weight.