Literary and Language
Elements Set #2:
Figurative Language
English I
2011-2012
I. Irony
The
difference between what we expect and what
actually happens
There are three types of irony:
•Verbal Irony: Saying something when you mean the
opposite(ex: General Zaroff in “TMDG” says, “We try to be
civilized here.”)
•Situational Irony: Occurs when a situation turns out to be
just the opposite of what we expect (ex: Meeting the Wizard
of Oz)
•Dramatic Irony: When we know something that the
characters in the story do not (ex: In many scary movies, the
audience can see the killer, but the victim cannot)
II. Symbolism
Symbol: a specific
object, person, or
event that
functions as itself
but also functions
as something more
than itself.

Symbols help to
reinforce theme!
Dove= Peace
Sun=Power that produces life
Fork in the road = ?
A torrential rainstorm = ?
III. Comparisons
Personification: A figure of speech in which
human qualities are given to an object, animal,
or idea.
Examples:
“The wind whistled through the trees.”
“The earth trembled beneath my feet.”
III. Comparisons
Simile: A figure of speech that makes a DIRECT
COMPARISON between two unlike words, often (but
not always) using comparisons such as “like” or “as.”
Examples:
 “The wind sounded like a freight train as it tore apart the
house.”


Comparison is between the sound of the wind and a freight train
“’What I like best about this tree,’ he said in that voice of his,
the equivalent in sound of a hypnotist’s eye…”

Comparison between his voice and the effect of a hypnotist’s eye
III. Comparisons
Metaphor: A figure of speech that makes an
INDIRECT COMPARISON between two unlike
things that have something in common. They DO
NOT contain the words “like” or “as.”
Examples:
 “His face was a stone mask. It did not move or
show any emotion.”
 “The tree was a steely black temple beside the
river.”
IV. Theme
A theme is the central idea of a
work of literature. It is not
the same thing as the
subject. It is what the work
means.

It is the “BIG PICTURE”
message that the author wants
us to discover as we read.
IV. Theme
How do we talk about theme?
 A theme is NOT a one-word concept. That is the
subject. We state theme as a full sentence.
 EXAMPLE:


If a story is about revenge, the theme of that story is
not revenge. Revenge is the subject.
The theme is the idea or insight about revenge, such as
“Revenge is not always as sweet as it seems.”
V. Motif
A motif is a recurring subject, theme, or idea.
A motif is important because through repetition, it
allows the reader to see what the main points and
themes of a story are.
For example: The Bible and other similar religious
texts have the recurring theme of the triumph of
good over evil. This is a motif.