Lesson 2

• Identify the figures of speech and other literary techniques in a text
• Explain the use of language in literature as well as the formal features and conventions of literature
• Identify the figurative language in a text; and use figurative language in your own writing
• hyperbole


  Exaggeration
• oxymoron


  Contradicting combination
• connotation


  Suggestive meaning
• metaphor


  Comparing by saying that one thing is another thing
• simile


  Comparing by saying that one thing is like another
• metonymy


  Associated substitution
• Analogy - a comparison that presents the similarities between two concepts or ideas
• Cliché - a word, a phrase, a sentence, or a whole text that used to be perceived as clever but has become démodé
• Connotation - the secondary or suggestive meaning of the word, one that is not its literal or primary meaning in the dictionary
• Euphemism - used to substitute for a description that is considered harsh or blunt
• Hyperbole - a gross exaggeration to achieve an effect, usually for humor or emphasis
• Metaphor - compares two seemingly unlike objects that have similar or common characteristics without the use of like or as
• Metonymy - a word or phrase that is substituted for another that is closely associated to it
• Oxymoron - a combination of two ideas that appear to be opposite or contradictory
• Paradox - an assertion that seems to be contradictory or silly but actually reveals some truth
• Personification - a statement wherein an animal, object, or abstract idea is given human attributes or characteristics
• Simile - compares two seemingly unlike objects by using the words like or as
• Synecdoche - used when a part of something is used to represent the whole or vice versa
• Désirée's Baby by Kate Chopin
• To Rhea by Ralph Waldo Emerson
• How will understanding figurative language help you become a better writer of poetry and/or prose?
• Choose which of the following to write: Two three-stanza poems or One short story (500 to 1000 words)
• For the poems: Each poem must use at least four types of figurative language. Each poem must use at least six separate examples of figurative language. Between the two poems, you must use at least eight of the types of figurative language tackled in this lesson.
• For the short story: The story must include at least eight of the types of figurative language tackled in this lesson. Although figurative language can overlap, the story must contain at least six separate examples of figurative language.
• Do research on short stories in the library or online. Choose a story you like that makes use of at least 8 types of figurative language.