Similes

A simile, as most of you probably remember from high school English class, is a comparison using "like"
or "as." for example:

When the pickup hit it, the armadillo came apart like a watermelon flung across the asphalt.

His headache was as painful as a root canal without the benefit of laughing gas.

My love is like a red, red rose. - Robert Burns

Her hair was like gravy, running brown off her head and clumping up on her shoulders.

The day we passed together for a while seemed a bright fire on a winter's night - Maurice Sceve

You are like a hurricane: there's calm in your eye, but I'm getting blown away - Neil Young

The air-lifted rhinoceros hit the ground like a garbage bag filled with split pea soup.

Similes can be very effective, especially when they juxtapose two dissimilar things the reader has never
previously associated.
Metaphors
A metaphor is a comparison that speaks of one thing as if it were another:
The Oldsmobile was a boat, and Jason was the captain. The searchlights on the bow shone through the
heaviest weather. The hold in the back could carry the largest of cargoes. The stateroom was the most
comfortable on the high seas, with wide bench seats and a deluxe stereo system. "All ahead full," Jason
commanded, and shifted into drive.
One danger with both metaphors and similes, with which the above example flirts, is using a simile or
metaphor that does not surprise the reader, such as "The big car was a boat." 1
Other examples of metaphors:

You are my sun.

That throws some light on the question.

The couch is the autobahn of the living room.

Six Flags is the aquarium of roller coasters.

This is a crisis. A large crisis. In fact, if you've got a moment, it's a twelve-story crisis with a
magnificent entrance hall, carpeting throughout, 24-hour porterage and an enormous sign on the
roof saying "This Is a Large Crisis."

"All the world's a stage / and all the men and women merely players: / They have their exits and
their entrances; / And one man in his time plays many parts, / His acts being seven ages." 3

Examples of Metonymy
This statement includes two examples of metonymy: The pen is mightier than the sword. In the oftquoted phrase, "the pen" refers to the the written word, which, according to the statement, is a more
effective and powerful instrument of change than "the sword," which represents military or physical force.
When students say they study Shakespeare, they generally do not refer to a study of the man himself,
but of his literary works. When we use the term the press, we are referring to journalists, not to the
actual printing press that produces their work.
Part of a Whole
All poodles are dogs, but not all dogs are poodles. All synecdoche is metonymy, but not vice versa.
Synecdoche is a special form of metonymy in which the object or idea used to describe something larger
is actually a part or a component of the larger idea. This device may also be used when a smaller group is
used to reference a larger group with which it is a part. Hollywood refers to the entire American movie
making industry, not the suburb that was named Hollywood.
Examples of Synecdoche
I got a new set of wheels usually means, I bought a new car, of which wheels are a part. Boots can
refer to soldiers, and sails to an entire ship. A specific brand of a product often comes to be used to
describe a larger category. Coke is sometimes used to describe all colas, Band-Aid to describe any
small adhesive bandage, and "Kleenex to refer to any facial tissue. In "The Face that Launched a
Thousand Ships," poet Christopher Marlowe writes, "Was this the face that launched a thousand ships, /
And burnt the topless towers of Ilium?" The entire Greek military is represented by a part, "a thousand
ships," while "the towers" represent the entire city and culture of Troy, and Helen's "face" is a part of her
body that refers to her physical beauty as a whole.
What is Allusion?
Allusion (pronounced ah-LOO-zhun) is basically a fancy word for a reference to something else. Its when
a writer mentions some other work, or an earlier part of the current work.
In literature, its frequently used to reference cultural works (e.g. by alluding to a Bible story or Greek
myth). Allusion also exists in other art forms musicians, for example, frequently allude to melodies
used by other musicians.
The verb form of allusion is to allude. So alluding to something is the same thing as making an
allusion to it.
For example:
Youre acting like such a Scrooge!
Alluding to Dickenss A Christmas Carol, this line means that the person is being miserly and selfish, just
like the character Scrooge from the story.

II. Examples of Allusion

We see allusion all the time in everyday speech. For example, has anyone ever told you that you were
about to open up Pandoras box? This is an allusion to the Greek story of Pandora, the first woman, who
accidentally released evil into the world.
For example:
I didnt have any bus fare, but fortunately some good Samaritan helped me out!
This is an allusion to the Biblical story of the good Samaritan, from Luke 10:29-37 a good Samaritan is
someone who helps others in need, just as the Samaritan does in the story.
Allusion is also found in nearly every work of great literature, as well as in scholarly works and all kinds of
non-fiction. Once you know what to look for, youll see it everywhere! Just keep an eye out for moments
when a writer or speaker makes a passing reference to something else.

hat is Antonomasia?
Antonomasia (pronounced an-tuh-nuhmey-zhuh) is a literary term in which a descriptive phrase
replaces a persons name. Antonomasia can range from lighthearted nicknames to epic names.
The phrase antonomasia is derived from the Greek phrase antonomazein meaning to name differently.

II. Examples of Antonomasia

Oftentimes, antonomasia is used to call attention to a certain characteristic.
Example 1
Imagine that you have a friend who is a fantastic chef, and you want to say hello.
Normal sentence:
Oh, look! Sams arrived!
Sentence with Antonomasia:
Oh, look! The great chef has arrived!
Here, the use of antonomasia allows you to greet your friend with a nickname which also reveals
something about his character: hes a great chef.

Example 2
For another example, consider that you have a grumpy teacher:
Normal sentence:
Hes grumpy, boring, doesnt want to listen to anyone, and definitely doesnt want to help anyone.
Sentence with Antonomasia:
Mr. Grumps doesnt want to listen to anyone, and definitely doesnt want to help anyone.
Replacing the teachers actual name with his defining characteristic, grumpiness, serves to highlight just
how much the mood is associated with the man.

A paradox is a statement that contradicts itself, or that must be both true and untrue at the same time.
Paradoxes are quirks in logic that demonstrate how our thinking sometimes goes haywire, even when we
use perfectly logical reasoning to get there.
But a key part of paradoxes is that they at least sound reasonable. Theyre not obvious nonsense, and
its only upon consideration that we realize their self-defeating logic.
For example:
This statement is a lie.
This is the most famous of all logical paradoxes, because its so simple. These five simple words are selfcontradictory: if the statement is true, then its a lie, which means its not true. But if its not true, then its a
lie, which makes it true. Yikes!
In literary analysis, paradox can sometimes have a looser meaning: a person or situation that contains
contradictions. For example, a character who is both charming and rude might be referred to as a
paradox even though in the strict logical sense, theres nothing self-contradictory about a single person
combining disparate personality traits.
Well distinguish these two definitions by calling the strict definition logical paradox, and the loose
definition literary paradox.

II. Examples of Paradox

Example 1
Nobody goes to Murphys Bar anymore its too crowded.
If the bar is crowded, then lots of people are going. But if so many people are going, it makes no sense to
say nobody goes there anymore. (Its possible, though , that this paradox can be escaped by suggesting
that by nobody the speaker just means none of our friends.)

Example 2
A time traveler goes back in time and murders his own great-grandfather.
Time-travel paradoxes are very common in popular culture. In this classic example, the time traveler
murders his own great-grandfather, meaning that the time traveler cannot exist. But if he does not exist,
then theres no one to kill the great-grandfather, and thus he must exist. Logical paradoxes of this sort are
one of the many reasons why time travel is such a difficult proposition for science.
Facts are something that has actually occurred or happened. Facts can be verified or proven
using standard references or scientific experiments. Opinions are subjective beliefs of either one
person a group of people and these need not be true. Opinions are the result of emotion or
interpretation of facts.