Figurative Language
Literal vs. Figurative
Language
•Literal Language – You say
exactly what you mean. You
make no comparison, and you
do not exaggerate or
understate the situation.
•Figurative Language – You DON’T
say exactly what you mean. You
DO compare, exaggerate, and
understate the situation. You use
similes, metaphors, hyperboles,
and other figures of speech to
make your writing more exciting.
Literal or Figurative???
1. Grant always turns in his homework.
2. The water was rising in the river because of
the rain.
3. Her teeth are like stars because they come out
at night.
4. When she sings her voice is like velvet.
5. Half of the class did not complete the assignment.
6. I’m so hungry I could eat a horse.
7. Mike was so angry that steam was coming out of
his ears.
8. The zebras cried when the wise old elephant
died.
9. I’ve told you a million times to clean
up your room.
Literal or Figurative???
1. The snow was coming down by the
bucket-fulls.
2. Mary is always dressed neatly.
3. Native Americans believed that the
sun was a god.
4. These bags are so heavy my arms are
falling off.
5. Mrs. Brown sometimes gives us too
much homework.
Seven Types of Figurative
Language
• Simile
• Hyperbole
• Alliteration
• Metaphor
• Personification
• Onomatopoeia
• Oxymoron
Simile
• comparing two unlike things using the words
“like” or “as”.
Her eyes were like stars.
Susan is as gentle as a
kitten.
Hyperbole
• an exaggeration so dramatic, no one could
believe it; overstate to emphasize a point.
This bag weighs a ton!
I’ve told you a million
times to clean up your
room!
Alliteration
• the repeating of the same letter or
sound, especially consonant
sounds….including tongue twisters.
Miss Warren was worried
when Wendy was waiting.
Rubber baby buggy bumpers.
Peter Piper picked a peck of
pickled peppers.
Alliteration in Poetry
A flea and a fly in a flue
Were imprisoned, so what could they
do?
Said the fly, “Let us flee!”
“Let us fly,” said the flea;
So they flew through a flaw in the flue.
Metaphor
• comparing two unlike things without using like or as.
Calling one thing, another. Saying one thing is something
else.
He’s a lion when he fights.
Her eyes were sparkling
emeralds.
My love is a red, red
rose.
Personification
• giving human characteristics to things
that are not human.
The angry flood waters
slapped the house.
The sun smiled down on us.
Onomatopoeia
• the use of a word to describe or imitate a
natural sound made by an object or
action. Words that sound like what they
mean.
tweet,
pow zoom
tweet
buzz
hiss
Oxymoron
words or phrases in which contradictory or
opposite terms are used together
baby grand
act naturally
jumbo shrimp
adult child
climb down
Personification, simile, metaphor, oxymoron,
hyperbole, alliteration,
or onomatopoeia???
1. The street cars are like frosted cakes covered
with snowflakes.
2. The west wind dances down the road.
3. A train is a dragon that roars through the
dark.
4. The band played to a small crowd at the
concert.
5. She’s as tiny as a mouse.
6. Her blonde hair shined like the sun.
7. Susan suddenly stretched
KEY: Personification, simile, metaphor, oxymoron,
hyperbole, alliteration,
or onomatopoeia???
1. The street cars are like frosted cakes covered
simile
with snowflakes.
2. The west wind dances down the road. personification
3. A train is metaphor
a dragon that roars through the
dark.
4. The band played to a small crowd at the
oxymoron
concert.
simile
5. She’s as tiny as a mouse. simile
6. Her blonde hair shined like the sun.
7. Susan suddenly stretched
alliteration
Practice Test
1. The lightweight fighter lost so much weight,
he looked as thin as a rail.
2. Polly Peters positively played Ping-Pong.
3. When the pitcher finished nine innings, he was
hungry enough to eat a horse.
4. “Crack” went the bat as the pitcher hit a home run.
5. The ice in the arena was as smooth as glass.
6. The kite drank the wind and laughed across the
sky.
7. We ate cat fish for dinner.
8. The trophy glistened like gold in the sun during the
awards ceremony.
9. Happy Harry handles handsprings horribly.
10. The water was a glove that enveloped
the swimmer’s body.
Practice Test KEY
1. The lightweight fighter lost so much simile
weight,
he looked as thin as a rail.
alliteration
2. Polly Peters positively played Ping-Pong.
3. When the pitcher finished nine innings, he was
hyperbole
hungry enough to eat a horse.
4. “Crack” onomatopoeia
went the bat as the pitcher hit a home run.
5. The ice in the arena was as smooth as glass.simile
6. The kite drank the wind and laughed across the
sky. personification
7. We ate catfish for dinner. oxymoron
8. The trophy glistened like gold in the sun during the
simile
awards ceremony.
alliteration
9. Happy Harry handles handsprings horribly.
10. The water was a glove that enveloped
metaphor
the swimmer’s body.
Don’t forget to Shampoo!!
• Simile
• Hyperbole
• Alliteration
• Metaphor
• Personification
• Oxymoron
• Onomatopoeia
Figurative Language Quiz
1. The hockey player lost his control when the puck ran
across the ice.
2. The snow on the ski hill was powdered sugar.
3. The coach was as upset as a lion when his team lost the
game.
4. Freddy French fired five fabulous free throws.
5. The snowmobile was a rocket in the newly fallen snow.
6. The running shoes danced as the runner neared the finish
line.
7. “Bang!” went the gun as the race started.
8. Steven boxes in the light-heavyweight division.
9. Spotlighting several special sports shows seems significant for
TV.
10. After the marathon, the runner was thirsty enough to drink
the ocean.
11. The golf ball walked gently into the ninth hole.
12. The team members remained as cool as cucumbers after the
game.
Quiz Key
1. The hockey player lost his control when the puck ran
personification
across the ice.
metaphor
2. The snow on the ski hill was powdered sugar.
3. The coach was as upset as a lion when his team lost the
simile
game. alliteration
4. Freddy French fired five fabulous free throws. metaphor
5. The snowmobile was a rocket in the newly fallen snow.
personification
6. The running shoes danced as the runner nearedonomatopoeia
the finish
line.
oxymoron
7. “Bang!” went the gun as the race started.
8. Steven boxesalliteration
in the light-heavyweight division.
9. Spotlighting several special sports shows seems significant for
TV. hyperbole
10. After the marathon, the runner was thirsty enoughpersonification
to drink
the ocean.
simile
11. The golf ball walked gently into the ninth hole.
12. The team members remained as cool as cucumbers after the
sports
game.
The Road Not Taken
by Robert Frost 1874 - 1963
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And both that morning equally lay
And sorry I could not travel both In leaves no step had trodden black.
And be one traveler, long I stood Oh, I kept the first for another day!
And looked down one as far as I could Yet knowing how way leads on to way
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
I doubted if I should ever come back.
Then took the other, as just as fair,
I shall be telling this with a sigh
And having perhaps the better claim
Because it was grassy and wanted wear; Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Though as for that, the passing there Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
Had worn them really about the same, I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
