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| Figurative Language | inclusive term for words that are used in ways that depart from their literal applications so as to achieve special meanings or effects |
| Figures of Thought (Tropes) | words or phrases used in ways that effect an obvious change (or "turn") in their standard meaning |
| Simile | figure of thought in which one kind of thing is compared to a markedly different object, concept, or experience; the comparison is made explicit by the word "like" or "as" |
| Metaphor | a word or phrase that in literal use designates one kind of thing is applied to a conspicuously different object, concept, or experience, without asserting an explicit comparison |
| Tenor | the literal subject of the metaphor, the aspect that "holds" the meaning |
| Vehicle | the analogy or part of the metaphor that that "conveys" the comparison |
| Mixed Metaphor | occurs when two or more incongruous vehicles are applied to the same tenor. Instead of clarifying some aspect of the subject, the figure confuses it by linking images that clash |
| Extended Metaphor | a trope that is sustained through several lines, ringing changes of the multiple relevance of the vehicle to the tenor. |
| Subtext | the underlying meaning or set of meanings that provide one of the chief challenges and gratifications of literature |
| Personification | figure of thought or trope in which an abstract concept, animal, or inanimate object is treated as though it were alive or had human attributes |
| Allegory | an extended form of personification in which an abstract concept is presented as though it were a character who speaks and acts as an independent being |
| Pathetic Fallacy | special kind of personification in which inanimate aspects of nature, such as the landscape or weather, are represented as having human qualities or feelings. Usually reflects or foreshadows some aspect of the poem or narrative and intensifies the tone |
| Synecdoche | a figure of thought in which the term for part of something is used to represent the whole, or less commonly, the term for the whole is used to represent a part. For example, using "daily bread" to refer to "food" |
| Metonymy | a trope which substitutes the name of an entity with something else that is closely associated with it. For example, "the throne" is a metonymic synonym for "the king" |
| Irony | broadest class of figures of thought that depend on presenting a deliberate contrast between two levels of meaning |
| Verbal Irony | implying a meaning different from, and often the complete opposite of, the one that is explicitly stated |
| Sarcasm | more simple and crude than verbal irony, often signaled by vocal inflection |
| Structural Irony | an implication of alternate or reversed meaning that pervades a work |
| Unreliable Narrator | a narrator who continually interprets events and intentions in ways that the author signals are mistaken |
| Dramatic Irony | occurs when the audience is privy to knowledge that one or more of the characters lacks. May be used for comic or tragic effects |
| Tragic Irony | when dramatic irony occurs in tragedies |
| Cosmic Irony | refers to an implied worldview in which characters are led to embrace false homes of aid or success, only to be defeated by some larger force, such as God or fate |
| Hyperbole | a trope in which a point is stated in a way that is greatly exaggerated. Effect is often to imply the intensity of a speaker's feelings or convictions by putting them in uncompromising or absolute terms |
| Understatement | a form of irony in which a point is deliberately expressed as less, in magnitude, value, or importance, than it actually is. The effect is to create a sort of double take, with the force of the implied meaning |
| Paradox | a trope in which a statement that appears on the surface to be contradictory or impossible turns out to express an often striking truth. |
| Oxymoron | a compressed paradox that closely links two seemingly contrary elements in a way that, on further consideration, turns out to make good sense |
| Litotes | a figure of thought in which a point is affirmed by negating its opposite. It is a special form of understatement, where the surface denial serves, through ironic contrast, to reinforce the underlying assertion. For example, "He's no fool" |
| Periphrasis | a figure of thought in which a point is stated by deliberate circumlocution, rather than directly. One common use of periphrasis is euphemisms. |
| Pun | a figure of thought that plays on words that have the same sound, or closely similar sounds, but have sharply contrasted meanings. The usual effect is a witty or humorous double meaning |
| Figures of Speech (Schemes) | depend upon a change in the standard order or usual syntax of words to create special effects |
| Apostrophe | an address to a dead or absent person or to an inanimate object or abstract concept. Aim is to elevate the style or to give emotional intensity to the address |
| Invocation | special type of apostrophe in which the poet addresses an appeal to a muse or a god to inspire the creative endeavor |
| Rhetorical Question | a figure of speech in which a question is posed not to solicit a reply but to emphasize a foregone or clearly implied conclusion. The goal is to create a stronger effect than might be achieved by a direct assertion |
| Anaphora | intentional repetition of words or phrases at the beginning of successive line, stanzas, sentences, or paragraphs, used to create emphasis |
| Antithesis | a figure of speech in which words or phrases that are parallel in order and syntax express opposite or contrasting meanings. |
| Chiasmus | a figure of speech in which two successive phrases or clauses are parallel in syntax, but reverse the order of the analogous words. Example: "The land was ours before we were the land's" |
