Sonnet 31 Figurative Language Essay
1. Apostrophe- the superscript sign used to indicate omission of a letter or letters from a word, possessive, case, or the plurals of numbers, letters, and abbreviations.
“Those lovers scorn whom that love doth possess? Do they call virtue there, ungratefulness?”
Sir Philip Sidney, “Sonnet 31”
2. Conceit- an elaborate, fanciful metaphor.
“Our two souls therefore, which are one, though I must go, endure not yet a breach, but an expansion, like gold to aery thinness beat.”
John Donne, “A Valediction Forbidding Mourning”
3. Hyperbole- an extravagant statement or figure of speech not intended to be taken literally.
“I brought a heart into the room, but from the room I carried none with me.” …show more content…
John Donne, “ The Broken Heart”
4.
Image- a figure of speech.
“For he on honey-dew hath fed and drunk the milk of Paradise.”
Samuel Taylor Coleridge, “ Kubla Khan”
5. Metaphor- a figure of speech in which a term or phrase is applied to something to which it is not literally applicable in order to suggest a resemblance.
“Till I heard Chapman speak out loud and bold: Then felt I like some watcher of the skies.”
John Keats, “ On First Looking into Chapman’s Homer”
6. Oxymoron- a figure of speech by which a locution produces an incongruous, seemingly self-contradictory effect.
“Ride ten thousand days and nights Till Age snow white hairs on thee”
John Donne, “Song”
7. Paradox- a statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd but in reality expresses a possible truth.
“But am betroth'd unto your enemy; Divorce me, untie, or break that knot again”
John Donne, “Holy Sonnet 14”
8. Personification- giving human qualities, especially to inanimate
objects. “With how sad steps, O Moon, thou climb’st the skies!”
Sir Philip Sidney, “Sonnet 31”
9. Simile- the figure of speech that expresses the resemblance between things of different kinds, using like or as. “A breach, but an expansion, like gold to aery thinness beat.” John Donne, “A Valediction Forbidding Mourning”
10. Symbol- a specific word, idea, or object that may stand for ideas, values, persons, or ways of life. “I told my wrath, my wrath did end. I was angry with my foe: I told it not, my wrath did grow.”
William Blake, “A Poison Tree”
11. Synecdoche- a rhetorical figure in which a part of something is used to stand for the whole.
“But am betroth'd unto your enemy ; Divorce me, untie, or break that knot again”
Gwendolyn Brooks, “The Sonnet-Ballad”
“Those lovers scorn whom that love doth possess? Do they call virtue there, ungratefulness?”
Sir Philip Sidney, “Sonnet 31”
2. Conceit- an elaborate, fanciful metaphor.
“Our two souls therefore, which are one, though I must go, endure not yet a breach, but an expansion, like gold to aery thinness beat.”
John Donne, “A Valediction Forbidding Mourning”
3. Hyperbole- an extravagant statement or figure of speech not intended to be taken literally.
“I brought a heart into the room, but from the room I carried none with me.” …show more content…
John Donne, “ The Broken Heart”
4.
Image- a figure of speech.
“For he on honey-dew hath fed and drunk the milk of Paradise.”
Samuel Taylor Coleridge, “ Kubla Khan”
5. Metaphor- a figure of speech in which a term or phrase is applied to something to which it is not literally applicable in order to suggest a resemblance.
“Till I heard Chapman speak out loud and bold: Then felt I like some watcher of the skies.”
John Keats, “ On First Looking into Chapman’s Homer”
6. Oxymoron- a figure of speech by which a locution produces an incongruous, seemingly self-contradictory effect.
“Ride ten thousand days and nights Till Age snow white hairs on thee”
John Donne, “Song”
7. Paradox- a statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd but in reality expresses a possible truth.
“But am betroth'd unto your enemy; Divorce me, untie, or break that knot again”
John Donne, “Holy Sonnet 14”
8. Personification- giving human qualities, especially to inanimate
objects. “With how sad steps, O Moon, thou climb’st the skies!”
Sir Philip Sidney, “Sonnet 31”
9. Simile- the figure of speech that expresses the resemblance between things of different kinds, using like or as. “A breach, but an expansion, like gold to aery thinness beat.” John Donne, “A Valediction Forbidding Mourning”
10. Symbol- a specific word, idea, or object that may stand for ideas, values, persons, or ways of life. “I told my wrath, my wrath did end. I was angry with my foe: I told it not, my wrath did grow.”
William Blake, “A Poison Tree”
11. Synecdoche- a rhetorical figure in which a part of something is used to stand for the whole.
“But am betroth'd unto your enemy ; Divorce me, untie, or break that knot again”
Gwendolyn Brooks, “The Sonnet-Ballad”