Greetings, Wizard Writers!
This week on The Wizard of Writing, let’s take a look at figurative language along with some helpful writing terms. These will be presented in list format, so you can easily access them as you write. As writers, we rely on language to evoke emotion in our readers. There are many ways to play around with language, including the use of similes, metaphors, and symbols. We might also use strategies such as alliteration, assonance, and consonance to make our writing sing. These terms are useful in writing, but not always easy to remember, or we might be familiar with some of them, but not all. Mastering them, however, will help your writing stand out, particularly when it comes to your own signature style, tone, and meaning. So without further ado, let’s get to our list!
Figurative Language: Nonliteral language, such as similes, metaphors, and symbols that help plant vivid images in the minds of readers.
Simile: A comparison of two things using like or as to link ideas. Ex: As thin as a stick.
Metaphor: A comparison of things that is more straightforward than a simile and takes away the like or as to link the ideas. Ex: Her veins are spider webs.
The Vehicle: The actual, concrete image produced by a simile or a metaphor.
The Tenor: The intended meaning, or abstraction in a simile or metaphor.
Alliteration: Occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of two or more words in a connected line. Ex: Pepperoni Pizza Pie.
Assonance: Occurrence of the same vowel sounds in a string of two or more words. Ex: “You’ll be safe for days if you shave your legs with Renee’s razor blade” (Eminem).
Consonance: Occurrence of the same consonant sounds in a string of two or more words. Ex: “He clasps the crag with crooked hands” (Tennyson).
Onomatopoeia: Formation of a word that sounds like the object or action. Ex: Buzz or Hum.
Personification: Rendering inanimate objects as living by using human terms. Ex: The clouds were sad. The ocean was angry. My pen was alive.
Oxymoron: Combining words that contradict each other. Ex: Jumbo Shrimp.
Hyperboles: Exaggerations, an exaggerated claim, suggestion, or statement. Ex: This vacation is going to cost me a billion dollars.
Linguistic Deviations: Language which pulls against the normal of standard language. Ex: purposely incorrect grammar or rearrangement: Saw you anything?
Paradox: A contradictory, two events presented together that seem unlikely as a pairing. Ex: War is peace.
Idiom: Words or phrases used in everyday conversation that are metaphorical in nature and paint an identifiable picture. Ex: Raining cats and dogs, a dime a dozen.
Allusion: A reference made to something else. External Allusion: An allusion to something not in the author's current work (a mention of a play, song, book or event). Internal Allusion: A reference back to a thing or event in the author's provided work (an author might reference a symbol or joke inside a scene, for example).
Metonymy: When an object or a concept is referred to by the name of something closely related to it. Ex: using heart to denote the concept of love.
Anaphora: Repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of a passage for emphasis.
Ex: I remember my nights . . . I remember my days . . . I remember loving you.
Kenning: First put into use in Old English, a metaphorical replacement of a word that typically uses a two-word phrase instead of a one-word noun. Some examples of kennings would include: water-pool for lake, petal-maker for flower, life-giver for mother, night-wheel for moon.
Repetition: Repeating a passage, word, or idea for emphasis. Ex: “And miles to go before I sleep / And miles to go before I sleep” (Frost).
Irony: A statement of one thing, written, expressed, or uttered, with intent to mean the opposite. Ex: a shy cat named Tiger.
Please let us know in the comments if you think of any other terms that writers may find useful, or any other examples of the terms listed above!
Up Next Week: Wizard Writing Woes: 7 Ways to Avoid "Middle Sag" in Storytelling
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