Mr. Choi
Language Arts
Hot List Handout
1. Euphemism
A polite or vague word or phrase used to replace another word or phrase that is thought of as too direct or rude.
Ex: The room where the toilet is. My dog passed away.
2. Foreshadowing
A narrative device that hints at coming events; often builds suspense or anxiety in the reader.
3. Hyperbole
The use of exaggeration for emphasis not meant to be taken literally.
Ex: Someday I'll have tons of money. She cried a flood of tears.
4. Metaphor
A figure of speech that compares 2 unlike things by saying that one thing is the other.
Ex: The world is a stage.
5. Simile
A figure of speech that compares 2 unlike things in order to describe something but uses the word “like” or “as”.
Ex: The fullback was built like a tank. She stood as still as a statue.
6. Onomatopoeia
The use of a word whose sound imitates or suggests its meaning.
Ex: crash, bang, hiss, crunch, buzz
7. Personification (special kind of Metaphor)
When you give something that is nonhuman or nonliving (animals, plants, forces of nature, or abstract thoughts like love) human attributes qualities.
Ex: Love is kind. The leaves danced along the sidewalk.
8. Imagery/Sensory Language (same thing)
Language that appeals to the five senses: sight, sound, taste, smell, and touch.
9. Irony: The contrast between what is expected what really happens.
Ex: A shoemaker wears shoes with holes in them.
10. Context Clues: A vocabulary strategy in which the reader looks at the words around an unfamiliar word to find clues to its meaning.
11. Idiom
Commonly used expressions that are not literally true; figure of speech.
Ex: “break a leg”; “piece of cake”; “fell in love”
12. Tone
The attitude a writer takes toward an audience, subject, or a character. TIP: look at the writer’s choice of words details.
Ex: light & humorous; serious & sad
13. Mood – the overall emotion created by the work of literature
Ex. eerie, dreamy, mysterious, depressing
14. Symbol – a person, place, a thing, or an event that has its own meaning and stands for something beyond itself as well
Ex. skull and crossbones, dove, red rose
15. Point of View
The vantage point from which the story is told.
16. 1st Person POV – one of the characters is telling the story; uses pronouns I, my, we, us
17. 3rd Person Omniscient POV – the narrator knows everything about everyone, incl. emotions & thoughts; uses pronouns him, her, they, them
18. 3rd Person Limited POV – the narrator focuses on the thoughts & feelings of 1 character; you see the story from this character’s eyes only