Figurative Language
We’ll cover tons of them!
We’ll cover these:
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Alliteration
Hyperbole
Metaphor
Simile
Onomatopoeia
Personification
Parody
Synecedoche
Idiom
Irony
Juxtaposition
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Oxymoron
Paradox
Parallelism
Repetition
Allusion
Pun
Satire
Aphorism
Connotation/denotation
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Assonance/Consonance
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Alliteration
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Alliteration happens when the beginning
of words start with the same consonant
or vowel sounds.
All the words must be close together.
Alliteration
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Examples:
Sally Sold seven sea shells at the sea
shore.
The crazy cat climbed up the crooked
cable.
Hyperbole
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Hyperbole is a figure of speech that
uses exaggeration to give a certain
impact within your statement.
You use these a million times a day!
Hyperbole
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Examples:
Sounds like a herd of buffalo!
Working like a dog!
She’s madder than an old wet hen!
I bit off more than I can chew!
Metaphor
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A metaphor is a figure of speech that
compares dissimilar objects that are
alike in some way.
They help create a clearer picture.
DO NOT use these words: like, as,
than, similar to and resembles.
Metaphor
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Examples:
That guy is a motor mouth.
Means that guy is never quiet
That athlete is a powerhouse.
Means the athlete is strong
Simile
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A simile is a figure of speech which
resembles a metaphor but uses these
words: like, as, than, similar to.
Simile
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Examples:
The lie formed like a blister on his lips.
Means: he lied and it was ugly.
Her heart was like a shattered light bulb.
Means: she was heart-broken.
Onomatopoeia
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Onomatopoeia is the usage of word
which best demonstrates the sound it
makes.
Comics are a good resource to find
these “sound words” such as: crash,
boom, bang, crunch, kerplunk, zap and
buzz.
Onomatopoeia
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Examples:
The water gurgled down the drain.
The little kid slurped his soup.
The noisy chicken clucked her head
off!
Personification
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Personification is a figure of speech
which uses a strategy to give objects,
things or animals human characteristics
which we recognize in ourselves.
Personification has the root word
“person” to give you a clue as to how
this figure of speech was developed.
Personification
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Examples:
The camera hates me.
Means: I take an awful picture.
Technology is out to get me!
Means: I can’t get it to work when I want
it to.
Oxymoron
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A two to three word phrase that contains
opposite words or ideas
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Example: Wise fool
Working Vacation
Plastic Glasses
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Paradox
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An extended oxymoron. It pits
contradictory ideas against one another
so that the statement appears to be
untrue. However, when the reader
evaluates a paradox in context, he or
she discovers the paradox to hold a
profound truth.
Paradox
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Example:
“Good men must not obey the laws too
well.” Ralph Waldo Emmerson
“Much Madness is Divinest Sense”
Emily Dickinson
Parallelism
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It the repetition of words, phrases or
sentence structures. It adds
It adds rhythm and emotional impact to
writing.
It appears in poetry, speeches, and
other literary forms.
Parallelism
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Ex. Not only is she my mother, but she
is also my best friend. …not only, but
also
I need her to love me, to comfort me,
and to protect me.
Repetition
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Words or phrases repeated in writing to
produce emphasis, rhythm, and/or
sense of urgency.
Ex. The cook was a good cook, as
cooks go; and as cooks go, she went.
“I…I…I…don’t have Mme. Forestier’s
necklace.”
Allusion
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A reference made to a famous person,
place, or event. Allusions should be
familiar to the author’s intended
audience for them to be effective.
Allusions…
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Mary said, “Cale is my Prince
Charming!”
Kevin doesn’t do so well in math, but in
art class, he’s a regular Picasso.
Pun…a play on words
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People have a happy time vacationing
in Ireland because they are walking on
Eire.
In the winter my dog wears his coat, but
in the summer he wears his coat and
pants.
Satire
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Writing that makes fun of habits, ideas,
or weaknesses in a person, an
institution, an entire society, or humanity
in general.
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Ex. Weird Al Yankovic’s songs
Parody
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Writing that makes fun of a piece of
literature, art or music.
Ex. Saturday Night Live creates
parodies of famous people,
commercials, etc.
Synecdoche
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a figure of speech in which the word for
part of something is used to mean the
whole, e.g. "sail" for "boat," or vice
versa
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bread for food, the army for a soldier, or
copper for a penny
Aphorism
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Is any general truth conveyed in a short
and pithy sentence, in such a way that
when once heard it is unlikely to pass
from memory.
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Example: He who rocks the boat
seldom has time to row it.
Idiom
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A phrase common to people who speakt
he same language that doesn’t literally
mean what it says.
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Ex. Cat got your tongue
Ex. Two Peas in a Pod
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Irony
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Is a contradictory statement or situation
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Ex: Having a free ride on roller coaster
after you have already paid.
Song Lyrics to “Ironic” by Alanis
Morissette
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Juxtaposition
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Is two random objects moving in parallel
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Ex.
Connotation
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Is the thoughts,
feelings, and images
associated with a
word.
Ex. Americaconnotes freedom,
individualism, and
opportunity.
Denotation
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Is the dictionary
definition of a word
Ex. Americadenotes the country
south of Canada
and north of Mexico.
Assonance
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Is the repetition of
vowel sounds at the
beginning, middle,
or end of a word.
Ex. He is all pine,
and I apple orchard
(a sound)
Consonance
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Is the repetition of
consonant sounds
anywhere within a
word.
Ex. Lies stretching
to my dazzled sight/
A luminous belt, a
misty light (s and l
sounds)