Go Figure!
Figurative Language
Sherwood Brooks
Driftwood Middle School
Recognizing Figurative
Language
The opposite of literal language is figurative
language. Figurative language is language
that means more than what it says on the
surface.
 It usually gives us a feeling about its subject.
 Poets use figurative language almost as
frequently as literal language. When you read
poetry, you must be conscious of the
difference. Otherwise, a poem may make no
sense at all.
Recognizing Literal Language
“I’ve eaten so much I feel as if I could
literally burst!”
 In this case, the person is not using the word
literally in its true meaning. Literal means "exact"
or "not exaggerated." By pretending that the
statement is not exaggerated, the person
stresses how much he has eaten.
Literal language is language that means
exactly what is said.
Most of the time, we use
literal language.
What is figurative language?
 Whenever you describe something
by comparing it with something else,
you are using figurative language.
Types of Figurative Language
 Imagery
 Simile
 Metaphor
 Alliteration
 Personification
 Onomatopoeia
 Hyperbole
 Idioms
 Euphemism
Oxymoron
Pun
Irony
Symbolism
IMAGERY
 Language that appeals to the senses.
Descriptions of people or objects
stated in terms of our senses.
• Sight
• Hearing
• Touch
• Taste
• Smell
SIMILE
 A figure of speech which involves a
direct comparison between two
unlike things, usually with the words
like, as or than.
Example: “The muscles of his brawny
arms are strong as iron bands.”
I am as hungry as a horse.
You run faster than a rabbit.
She is as happy as a clam.
He is sneaky like a snake.
METAPHOR
 A figure of speech which involves an
implied comparison between two relatively
unlike things using a form of be. The
comparison is not announced by like or
as.
Example: The road was a ribbon wrapped
through the desert.
The sofa is fertile soil for a couch potato.
But my heart is a lonely hunter that hunts on a
lonely hill. - William Sharp, The Lonely Hunter
The girl was a fish in the water.
The clown was a feather floating away.
ALLITERATION
 Repeated consonant sounds occurring at
the beginning of words or within words.
Example: She was wide-eyed and
wondering while she waited for Walter
to waken.
Stan the strong surfer saved several
swimmers on Saturday.
Don't delay dawns disarming display.
Dusk demands daylight. - Paul Mccan
Sara's seven sisters slept soundly in
sand.
Tiny Tommy Thomson takes toy
trucks to Timmy’s on Tuesday.
She sells sea shell by the
sea shore.
PERSONIFICATION
 A figure of speech which gives the
qualities of a person to an animal, an
object, or an idea.
Example: “The wind yells while blowing."
The wind cannot yell. Only a living thing can
yell.
The friendly gates welcomed us.
The flowers danced in the wind.
The Earth coughed and choked in
all of the pollution.
Onomatopoeia
Chug chug chug!!
 The use of words that mimic
sounds.
Example: The firecracker made a
loud ka-boom!
Yeeeeee Ahhhhhhhh
Swish swish swish
Hyperbole
 An exaggerated statement used to
heighten effect. It is not used to
mislead the reader, but to emphasize
a point.
Example: She’s said so on
several million occasions.
I'm so busy trying to accomplish ten million things at once. I'm trying to accomplish several things at one time.
Your dog is so ugly, we had to pay the fleas to live on him. Here the hyperbole has been used as an insult.
Idioms
 An idiom or idiomatic expression is one
that cannot be matched or directly
translated word-for-word in another
language.
Example: "She has a bee in
her bonnet," meaning "she is
obsessed," cannot be literally
translated into another
language word for word.

I would do that at the drop of a hat.
 I failed my Math test, so it’s back to square
one.
 I would tell the truth, but I don’t want to
upset the apple cart.
 You’ve been wasting too much time, get
your act together!
Euphemism/Understatement
 Substitution of a mild, inoffensive or politically
correct term for one considered offensive or
explicit





Ethnic cleansing
Enhanced interrogation
Pre-owned
Mentally challenged
Chemical dependency
 We have to let you go. Read: You're fired.
 You're well fed. Read: You're fat.
SYMBOLISM
The use of a specific item to represent or
stand for another item or a vague idea
 Harry Potter’s mark symbolizes……
 “Remember,” John said. “wear your red
hat to lunch if the test was easy and
your blue one if it was hard.”
Oxymoron
 The use of two words that are
opposite in meaning being used
together




Walking dead
Honest thief
Pretty ugly
Plastic glass
Loners club
A stripper's dressing room
I'd give my right arm to be ambidextrous!
Allusion – a reference to an event,
time period or work of literature that the
writer feels the reader will recognize
 She has the patience of Job.
 Telling the story opened a
Pandora’s box yesterday.
 The boxer’s weak chin was his
Achilles’ heel and cost him the
match.
Irony - the contrast between what is
expected and what actually is
 Verbal irony – the difference
between what is said and what is
meant
 Situational irony – what is
happening is the opposite of what
is expected
 Dramatic irony – the audience or
reader knows more than the
characters do
Irony
 Having a fight with your best friend just before your
birthday, and commenting -"Great, this is just what I
needed". - Verbal Irony (It is probably the worst
thing that could happen before your birthday.)
 In Romeo and Juliet, when Juliet is drugged,
Romeo assumes her to be dead, and kills himself.
Upon waking up Juliet finds him dead, and kills
herself. - Dramatic Irony (mainly based on
miscommunication and misunderstanding)
A Pun is a play on words
Multiple meaning words
Homophones
Homographs
Usually used in jokes and riddles
 I bet the butcher the other day that he
couldn't reach the meat that was on the top
shelf. He refused to take the bet, saying that
the steaks were too high.
 Santa's helpers are subordinate Clauses
 What is a prisoner’s favorite punctuation
mark?.
OK….Let’s Practice!!
 Identify the figurative language used in each
case.
I got your back!!
She was on cloud nine
when she won the lottery.
IDIOM
SIMILE
The metal twisted like a ribbon.
The willow is as sleek as a
velvet-nosed calf.
Her hair is softer than silk.
METAPHOR
Men are dogs.
Life is a broken-winged bird that
cannot fly.
The sun is a yellow ball of fire in
the sky.
PERSONIFICATION
 The sun was smiling down on me.
 Sorrow knocked at my door, but I
was afraid to answer.
 The trees bowed gracefully to the
wind.
HYPERBOLE
 I'd rather take baths
with a man-eating shark,
or wrestle a lion
alone in the dark,
eat spinach and liver,
pet ten porcupines,
than tackle the homework,
my teacher assigns.
PERSONIFICATION
 Ravenous and savage
from its long
polar journey,
the North Wind
is searching
for food—
HYPERBOLE
 The ice cream was piled a mile
high on the cone.
 The teacher told us a million times
to stop talking.
 My book bag weighed a ton.
METAPHOR
I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear
in the tide.
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
IRONY
 Bill Gates winning a computer.
 Anne Frank did not know how her
story would end, but her readers
do.
Pun
 A circus lion won’t eat clowns
because they taste funny.
 The boy had to brace himself for
the orthodontist visit.
Oxymoron
 Jumbo shrimp
 Graduation was a bittersweet
experience
 The kind robber left him with enough
money for bus fare.
ALLITERATION
 Peter Piper picked a pack of pickled
peppers.
 Rubber baby buggy bumpers
 Sharon showed Shana some shiny
shoes.
ONOMATOPOEIA
 With the click of a mouse, I can open another
window on my computer
 The microwave dinged when the dinner was
ready.
SYMBOLISM
I don’t want them to turn
my little girl into a swallow.
she would fly far away into the sky
and never fly again to my straw bed,
or she would nest in the eaves
Where I could not comb her hair.
I don’t want them to turn
my little girl into a swallow.
Euphemism/Understatement
 I had to put my dog to sleep
yesterday.
 Peter was sent away for four years.
 My grandmother is no longer with
us.
ALLUSION
 Enjoy your night at the theatre. Don’t have a
Lincoln experience.
 That couple was around since Adam
married Eve.
 Please walk through the metal detectors.
We want to avoid another Columbine.
IMAGERY
 The cool clear water flowed over
the stony creek bed.
 It was a gloomy summer night and
creepy shadows fell on the wall.
 My mouth watered hungrily as I bit
greedily into the creamy delicious
chocolate cake.