Simile
A comparison that uses “like” or “as” For example, “I’m as hungry as a wolf,” or “My love is like a rose.”
Metaphor
A comparison that doesn’t use “like” or “as”—such as “He’s a rock” or “I am an island.”
Hyperbole
A huge exaggeration. For example, “Dan’s the funniest guy on the planet!” or “That baseball card is worth a zillion dollars!”
Soliloquy
A monologue in which a character expresses his or her thoughts to the audience and does not intend the other characters to hear them.
Sarcasm
Language that conveys a certain idea by saying just he opposite such as if it’s raining outside and you say, “My what a beautiful day.”
Rhetorical Question
A question not meant to be answered such as “Why can’t we just get along?”
Pun
The use of a word in a way that plays on its different meanings. For example, “Noticing the bunch of bananas, the hungry gorilla went ape.
Personification
Giving inanimate object human characteristics. For example, “The flames reached for the child hovering in the corner.”
Parody
A humorous, exaggerated imitation of another work.
Paradox
A seeming contradiction. For example, “It was the best of times. It was the worst of times.”
Myth
A legend that embodies the beliefs of people and offers some explanation for natural and social phenomena.
Literal Language
Language that means exactly what it says.
Fable
A story that illustrates a moral often using animals as the character—for example, The Tortoise and the Hare.
