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Name ___________________________________________
Figurative Language
Complete the following activities to help you understand figurative language.
A. Metaphor:
1. Definition:
2. Underline the metaphors in the following example:
Fifth of July
My family is an expired firecracker
set off by the blowtorch of divorce. We lay
scattered in many directions.
My father is the wick, badly burnt
but still glowing softly.
My mother is the blackened paper fluttering down,
blowing this way and that, unsure where to land.
My sister is the fallen, colorful parachute,
lying in a tangled knot, unable to see the beauty she
holds.
My brother is the fresh, untouched powder that
was protected from the flame. And I,
I am the singed, outside papers, curled away
from everything, silently cursing
the blowtorch.
Read more on TeacherVision: http://www.teachervision.fen.com/poetry/literarytechniques/5453.html#ixzz2dNX5ELnX
3. Create five different metaphors to describe family members or friends. Each metaphor should refer
to a different person.
1. ______________________________________________________________________________
2. ______________________________________________________________________________
3. ______________________________________________________________________________
4. ______________________________________________________________________________
5. ______________________________________________________________________________
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B. Simile:
1. Definition:
Pattern 1: like
verb + like + noun
She swims like a fish.
He looks like an ogre.
He walks like a duck.
Pattern 2: as
as + adjective + as + noun
He is as tall as a giant.
She is as fast as a rocket.
He is as quiet as a mouse.
2. How could I use a simile to describe that somebody…
runs fast ______________________________________________________________________
is pretty ______________________________________________________________________
jumps _________________________________________________________________________
is strong ______________________________________________________________________
3. How could I use a simile to describe that something…
is hard ________________________________________________________________________
feels soft ______________________________________________________________________
is sweet _______________________________________________________________________
feels rough ____________________________________________________________________
is heavy ______________________________________________________________________
sounds noisy ___________________________________________________________________
is light ________________________________________________________________________
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C. Hyperbole:
1. Definition:
2. Underline three hyperboles in the following example:
THE OLYMPIC RUNNER by Jacinta Ramayah, Malaysia
The sun beat down so hard it burnt his back,
His feet ate the dust as he ran the endless track,
The wind gave him wings and the miles flew by,
He was gunning for gold, for victory he’d die.
Critics had a field day when he entered the arena,
They could have knocked him down with a feather,
“Sideways you can’t see him through a 50-cent coin,
Bones on a cold carcass make up his manly loin.”
“His feet so long he will surely fall flat on his face,
Legs stretch down like two bamboo poles in place,
From the land of famine he gets not his daily bread,
If he wins, we’ll eat our hats,” in mockery they said.
As he touched the finish line, the crowd went wild,
Cheers heard across the land by every man and child,
His heartbeats so erratic they were beating out of time
If he could take a shot at his critics it’d be no crime.
Sweat streamed down, pooled like rivulets on the floor,
A warrior back from the battlefield, battered and sore,
Standing tall as a Brobdingnagian, the anthem sung
The joy so sweet, he could taste it on his tongue.
He was so tired he felt he could sleep for a year
The cynics struck dumb, had no cause to jeer,
‘A man in a million’ were the headlines that day
“Not a mere man but a giant in spirit,” they say.
3. Create three hyperboles of your own.
1. ___________________________________________________________________________
2. ___________________________________________________________________________
3. ___________________________________________________________________________
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D. Imagery:
1. Definition:
2. Underline five examples of imagery in the following poem and tell whether the example pertains to sight,
sound, touch, taste, and/or smell.
Cherry Blossoms Adrift
By: Mary O. Fumento
Pink petals passing
Scents above so high
Painted porcelain perfection
Blossoms caress the sky
Swaying silent shroud
Suitors strolling by
Pink petals passing
Lover's gentle sigh
Pastel hues falling
Slow fluttering grace
Pink petals passing
Lining streams in lace
Pink petals passing
Smoothest transit by
Soft essence floating
In most subtle lullaby
Inducing springtime slumber
Upon a satin shore
Sailing with the current
Pink petals pass before
3. Using imagery, identify and describe three items. You must describe how each item looks, smells, feels,
sounds, and tastes.
Ex: The brightly lit, obnoxiously loud classroom is uncomfortably warm with putrid, humid air that
tastes like rancid pencil shavings.
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E. Allusion:
1. Definition:
2. He was a real Romeo with the ladies.
What piece of literature is this alluding to?
3. Write a sentence that has an allusion in it.
F. Symbol:
1. Definition:
2. Give an example of a symbol and its meaning.
G. Personification:
1. Definition:
2. Underline every example of personification in the following poem.
Hey diddle, Diddle,
The cat and the fiddle,
The cow jumped over the moon;
The little dog laughed
To see such sport,
And the dish ran away with the spoon.
3. Create your own example of personification using either an animal or an inanimate object: