Study the word list: Figurative language terminology

English GCSE

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alliteration	Alliteration involves words that begin with the same sound. *
allusion	Allusion is an indirect reference to another time person or place, e.g. His love of chocolate was his Achilles' heel. *
assonance	Assonance involves words that have the same vowel sound. *
metaphor	Metaphor is an implied comparison of two unlike things, e.g. He was a lion in battle. *
simile	Simile involves describing something by comparing it with something else. *
onomatopoeia	Onomatopoeia is when the sound of a word is the same as its meaning. *
personification	Personification describes something non-human as if it is human. *
foreshadowing	Foreshadowing is to hint at what might happen later in the play. *
aside	The actor said an aside to the audience that the other characters wouldn't hear. *
anachronism	The town is a throwback to medieval times, an anachronism that has survived the passing years. *
irony	Irony is the use of words where the real meaning is the opposite of what is actually said. *
pun	A pun involves the clever use of words that has two meanings. *
soliloquy	Shakespeare uses Macbeth's soliloquy to show that he is unsure about what to do. *
symbol	An object can be a symbol, if it also stands for something larger than itself, a clock might mean time passing. *
style	A writer's style is their characteristic way of writing e.g. choice of words, structure and imagery. *
tone	Tone is the feel of the text, indicated by choice of words, rhythm of sentence and such like. *
protagonist	The protagonist is the main character in the play. *
antagonist	Antagonist is the person or force within a story that opposes the protagonist or hero. *