Allegory: Expression through (generalized) symbolic fictional figures
Ex. A female character named Faith who is a representation of religious belief
Alliteration: Repetition of initial consonant sounds in two or more words in a line
Ex. Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.
Allusion: Reference to something someone of the same culture would understand
Ex. In Western culture, a character named Noah might be a boat builder or a good man.
Analogy: Similarity between like features of two things, base for comparison
Ex. A Heart and a Pump.
Assonance: Repetition of a vowel sound in two or more words in a line
Ex. I scream; you scream; we all scream for ice cream.
Euphemism: A polite circumlocution
Ex. Passed Away or At Rest for Dead
Hyperbole: Exaggeration
Ex. There were a million people at the concert I went to last night.
Metaphor: Comparison of two seemingly unalike things.
Ex. He is a bear, to describe someone who is hairy or grouchy.
Metonymy: Reference to something by using something closely related to it
Ex. Plow for farmer, or badge for cop
Onomatopoeia: A word which sounds like what it is or means
Ex. Bang! Splash! Meow!
Oxymoron: Conjunction of opposites
Ex. Jumbo shrimp, plastic glass, upside down
Personification: Attributing human qualities to something not human
Ex. The wind whistled in the trees.
Simile: Metaphor using like or as
Ex. He is as hungry as a bear.
Symbol: Something which stands for something else because of association, convention, or accident
Ex. Bald Eagle for the USA, a rose for love
Synecdoche: Reference to something using a whole for the part or the part for the whole
Ex. Texas beat Ohio, or asking for a woman's hand in marriage
Understatement: Deliberately downplaying effects or seriousness to emphasize the opposite
Ex. The Beatles were a pretty good band.
Zooification: Attributing animal qualities to something not animal
Ex. The wind growled as it passed through the town.