Figurative Language and Examples

1. Simile is a figure of speech in which seemingly unlike things are compared by using the word like or as, as in “She’s as light as a feather.”

2. Metaphor is a figure of speech that speaks of one thing as if it were another thing in order to show a connection between the two, as in “The wind is a dancer.”

3. Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds in words that are close to one another, such as “bright, black, and beautiful.” The echoes that alliteration creates increase the poem’s rhythmic and musical effects. List any examples of alliteration from the poem, and explain how they contribute to the sound and sense.

4. Rhyme is the repetition of sounds in accented syllables of two or more words. For example, “rat/cat,” “history/mystery,” and “cheese/wheeze” are rhyming word pairs. Rhyme often occurs at the ends of lines, but it can occur in the middle of lines also. Find some examples of rhyme, and explain their effect on the ideas of the poem.

5. Personification is a figure of speech in which human qualities are given to animals or objects. For example, in Lewis Carroll’s poem all the oysters “are out of breath, And all of us are fat!”

6. Onomatopoeia is the use of a word whose sound imitates or suggests its meaning, such as “buzz,” “hiss,” “crack,” “gurgle,” and “bang.” It often reinforces meaning while creating evocative and musical sound effects. Note any examples of onomatopoeia that you find in the poem, and comment how they contribute to the meaning.

7. Repetition is repeat words, phrases or lines that build rhythm or emphasize a thought.

8. Rhythm is the arrangement of stressed and unstressed syllables in language. Does the poem have metre, a regular pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in each line? Or is the poem written in free verse, a loose kind of rhythm in which sounds of long phrases are balanced against sounds of short phrases? Find examples of rhythm in the poem, and comment on their overall effect.

9. A refrain is a word, phrase, line, or stanza repeated exactly or almost exactly throughout the poem. It is used to create rhythm, build suspense, or emphasize important words or ideas. List any refrains, and explain how they contribute to the poem.