Simile A simile is an analogy that compares two things that are alike in at least one way.

To help you identify a simile, know that the words like or as are always used. My love is like a red, red rose. You were as brave as a lion.
They fought like cats and dogs. e is as funny as a barrel of monkeys.

This house is as clean as a whistle. e is as strong as an o!.

Your e!planation is as clear as mud.

Metaphor A metaphor is an implied simile. "t is a comparison between two things that have at least one thing in common. ere, words #like$ and #as$ are not used. %The streets were a furnace, the sun an e!ecutioner.% er home was a prison

America is a melting pot

Parallelism &arallelism is a similarity of structure in a pair or series of related words, phrases, or clauses. parallelism of words: 'he tried to make her pastry fluffy, sweet, and delicate. parallelism of phrases: 'inging a song or writing a poem is (oyous. parallelism of clauses: &erch are ine!pensive) cod are cheap) trout are abundant) but salmon are best. She loves eating chocolate clairs, taking moonlit walks, and singing classic jazz. Alliteration

Alliteration refers to the repetition of a particular sound in the first syllables of a series of words and*or phrases. Alice$s aunt ate apples and acorns around August. +ecky$s beagle barked and bayed, becoming bothersome for +illy. ,arries cat clawed her couch, creating chaos. -an$s dog dove deep in the dam, drinking dirty water as he dove. .ric$s eagle eats eggs, en(oying each episode of eating. Allusion An Allusion is a brief, usually indirect reference to a person, place, or event//real or fictional. The girl0s love of sweets was her Achilles heel arriet Tubman was called the Moses of her time. To act or not to act, that was Maria0s dilemma.

The final game was 1ohn0s 2aterloo .

Rhetorical Question 3hetorical 4uestion is asked merely for effect with no answer e!pected. The answer may be obvious or immediately provided by the 4uestioner. %Marriage is a wonderful institution, but who would want to live in an institution5% 6 . 7. Mencken8 % ath not a 1ew eyes5 ath not a 1ew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions5 "f you prick us, do we not bleed, if you tickle us, do we not laugh5 "f you poison us, do we not die5 6'hylock in 2illiam 'hakespeare0s Merchant of Venice8 %,an " ask a rhetorical question5 2ell, can "5% 6Ambrose +ierce8 Analogy An analogy is %reasoning or e!plaining from parallel cases.% &ut another way, an analogy is a comparison between two different things in order to highlight some point of similarity. As 9reud suggested, an analogy won0t settle an argument, but a good one may help to clarify the issues.

 :love is to hand as paint is to wall ,iti;ens are to president as solar system is to gala!y orses are to past societies as computers are to future societies

'he grew on him like she was a colony of .. ,oli, and he was room/temperature ,anadian beef. 'he had a deep, throaty, genuine laugh, like that sound a dog makes (ust before it throws up. er vocabulary was as bad as, like, whatever. e was as tall as a si!/foot, three/inch tree. The revelation that his marriage of <= years had disintegrated because of his wife$s infidelity came as a rude shock, like a surcharge at a formerly surcharge/free ATM machine. The little boat gently drifted across the pond e!actly the way a bowling ball wouldn$t. Mc+ride fell >? stories, hitting the pavement like a efty bag filled with vegetable soup.

Repetition 3epetition is the simple repeating of a word, within a sentence or a poetical line, with no particular placement of the words, in order to emphasi;e something. Seven, Six and Nine 'even, 'i! and @ine all sat down to dine. @ow 'i! is scared of 'even because 'even ate @ine. Irony "rony is the use of words to convey a meaning that is opposite to its literal meaning. Anecdote An anecdote is a short and amusing or interesting story about a real incident or person. Hyper ole yperbole/ an obvious and intentional e!aggeration.

 %" was helpless. " did not know what in the world to do. " was 4uaking from head to foot, and could have hung my hat on my eyes, they stuck out so far.% 6Mark Twain, %Ald Times on the Mississippi%8 % e snorted and hit me in the solar ple!us. %" bent over and took hold of the room with both hands and spun it. 2hen " had it nicely spinning " gave it a full swing and hit myself on the back of the head with the floor.% 63aymond ,handler, %&earls Are a @uisance,% >B<B8 %7adies and gentlemen, "0ve been to Cietnam, "ra4, and Afghanistan, and " can say without hyper ole that this is a million times worse than all of them put together.% 6Dent +rockman, The Simpsons8 Personi!ication &ersonification/ "s generally considered to be a type of metaphor, in which an inanimate ob(ect or abstraction is given human 4ualities or abilities. The wind stood up and gave a shout. e whistled on his fingers and Dicked the withered leaves about And thumped the branches with his hand %The road isn0t built that can make it breathe hardE% 6slogan for ,hevrolet automobiles8 Paradox &arado! is a contradictory or an absurd statement, that in reality e!presses a possibly truth. The boy is the father of man. "f you wish to preserve your secret, wrap it up in frankness. %" have found the paradox, that if you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more love.% 6Mother Teresa8 %2ar is peace.% %9reedom is slavery.% %"gnorance is strength.% 6:eorge Arwell, !"#8 Aphorism Aphorism is a terse saying embodying a general truth or an astute observation.

&ower tends to corrupt, absolute power tends to corrupt absolutely.

%The first rule of 9ight ,lub is//you do not talk about 9ight ,lub.% 6+rad &itt as Tyler -urden, $ight %lu&8 %2e are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful what we pretend to be.% 6Durt Connegut, Mother 'ight8 Antithesis Antithesis is the placing of a sentence or one of its parts against another ,to which it is opposed, to form a balanced contrast of ideas. %"t was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of 7ight, it was the season of -arkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to eaven, we were all going direct the other way.% 6,harles -ickens, ( Tale of Two %ities8 Syllogism 'yllogism/ "n logic, a form of deductive reasoning consisting of a ma(or premise, a minor premise, and a conclusion.

Ma"or premise# All books from that store are new. Minor premise# These books are from that store. $onclusion# Therefore, these books are new.

%nderstatement Fnderstatement/ A rhetorical device in which a writer or speaker deliberately makes a situation seem less important or serious than it is. ,ontrast with hyperbole. The grave0s a fine and private place, %" have to have this operation. "t isn0t very serious. " have this tiny little tumor on the brain.% 6 olden ,aulfield in The %atcher )n The *+e, by 1. -. 'alinger8

 %A soiled baby, with a neglected nose, cannot be conscientiously regarded as a thing of beauty.% 6Mark Twain8

&one Shi!t A poem$s tone is the attitude that its style implies. A poem may have a happy tone or an angry tone and many other tones. 'ometimes the tone shifts from one to another.