Figurative Language Note
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.
Types of Figurative Language
• Idiom/ Imagery
• Simile
• Hyperbole
• Alliteration/ Allusion
• Metaphor
• Personification
• Onomatopoeia
• Oxymoron
• Repetition
Idiom
• An expression whose meaning is not predictable from the
usual meanings.
Eg:
The coach and players threw in the towel.
You are a hot potato.
A penny for your thoughts.
Costs an arm and a leg.
The ball is in your court.
Imagery
• Language in which descriptions of people or objects appeals
to the senses.
• Sight
• Hearing
• Touch
• Taste
• Smell
Simile
• comparing two unlike things using the words “like” or “as”.
Eg. 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.
Eg. 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.
Eg. Miss Warren was worried when Wendy was waiting.
Rubber baby buggy bumpers.
Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.
Allusion
A reference to something else. It’s when a writer mentions
some other work, or refers to an earlier part of the current
work.
something that is said or written that is intended to make you think of
a particular thing or person:
Eg. You’re acting like such a Scrooge!
You don’t have to be Albert Einstein to understand poetry.
There is no need to act like a Romeo for her.
Sadly, a Pandora’s box of crime has been opened due to the bad living
conditions of the town.
The tropical island was just like a garden of Eden.
Metaphor
• comparing two unlike things without using like or as.
Calling one thing, another. Saying one thing is something
else.
Eg. 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.
Eg. 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.
Eg. Bang! Zip! Meow! Pow! Zoom! Tweet tweet! Hiss! Buzz!
Oxymoron
words or phrases in which contradictory or opposite terms are used
together
Eg. Baby grand, Jumbo Shrimp, act naturally, climb down, adult child
Examples
• We saw a comedian last night; he was seriously funny.
• The model who won the competition was awfully pretty.
• He had an air of foolish wisdom about him.
• These are the original copies of the manuscript.
• The substance was a liquid gas.
• The couple seemed to have a love-hate relationship.
• We wore our virtual reality helmets to play the game.
• The workers were actually paid volunteers.
• She kept telling me the same thing, it was old news.
• I am going to need an exact estimate of the cost.
• Many fighters were killed in friendly fire.
• I was absolutely uncertain of the cause.
• We will have to agree to disagree on the subject.
SOUND DEVICE: REPETITION
The repeating of sound, words, phrases or lines in a poem
used to emphasize an idea or convey a certain feeling.
Examples of repetition:
• “Sing a song full of faith that the dark past has taught us, Sing a
song of the hope that the present has brought us…”
• “I think I can, I think I can, I think I can, I think I can…”
• “The isolation during my vacation created a situation of relaxation.”
• The soup was stirred and stirred until thickened.
• 'The apartment was on the top floor—a small living room, a small
dining room, a small bedroom, and a bath.'
