Figurative Language
1B
Part 1
Review of terms
Figurative Language
• Writing that shows feelings or thoughts,
but it is not meant to be interpreted
literally.
• Relies on the reader’s imagination.
• Often used in poetry but can also be used
in prose.
Simile, Metaphor
• Simile – compares two unlike things by
using the words like or as.
– Example
• Metaphor – compares two unlike things
without using like or as. (It is more direct.)
– Example
Analogy
• Is the use of a simile or metaphor that is
extended to show more ways that two
unlike things are similar.
– Living in a dormitory is like a candy bar. The
freedom is sweet, but you can run into some
nuts.
– The Internet is a superhighway because of its
speed and connections to so many
computers.
Personification, Hyperbole
• Personification – gives human
characteristics to a non-human thing.
– Example
• Hyperbole – uses extravagant
exaggeration for emphasis.
– Example
Oxymoron, Idiom
• Oxymoron – combines opposite and
contradictory words.
– Example
• Idiom – is an expression that means
something different from the literal
meaning of the words.
– Example
Hyperbole vs. Idiom vs. Cliché
• A hyperbole deals with inflating or
stretching the truth.
– I have told you the answer a million times.
– She could have cried a river.
• Idioms have nothing to do with what they
mean.
– She sang at the top of her lungs.
– He dragged his feet to get finished.
• A cliché is overused, but it basically
means what it says.
– An apple a day keeps the doctor away.
Hyperbole Vs. Metaphor
Oxymoron Vs. Simile
• His mother had warned him a million times
that he would be severely punished if she
caught him in a lie.
• After studying all night, Charles walked
around like the living dead.
– Remember OXYMORONS are two
CONTRADICTORY terms.
Symbol
• A symbol is an object that represents
something else.
• Popular symbols
– fire in Fahrenheit 451
– night or sleep may symbolize death
Irony
• The use of words to express the opposite
of what one really means or the difference
between the actual result of events and the
expected result.
– Situational – exists when the outcome (tragic
or funny) is the opposite of expectations.
– Verbal – is a person saying the opposite of
what is meant. (This is often sarcastic.)
– Dramatic – occurs when the reader or
audience knows something important that a
character does not know.
Irony examples
• Your teacher says to you, “Well you really
worked hard!” when all you turned in is
half the assignment.
• John is summoned into his boss’s office.
Since John has worked especially hard
this month and has broken sales record,
he is expecting a raise. When he goes
into the boss’s office, he finds that he is
being fired.
Paradox
• Contains ideas that seem to contradict or
go against logic.
• Is different from irony because it contains
the truth but sounds totally impossible!!!
– “Water, water, everywhere and not a drop to
drink.”
– Putting your cell phone on the charger all
night will run down the battery.
– Exercising will increase your energy level.
Allusions
• Are an indirect reference to cultural
works, people, or events.
• Can come from history, literature, sacred
texts, art, or current events.
• Cause the reader to compare one thing
with the thing being alluded to.
– He was a Scrooge around Christmas.
– She threw us to the lion’s den.
– When you spoke about uniforms, you opened
Pandora’s box.
Imagery
• A collection of word pictures that appeal
to the reader’s senses and is sometimes
referred to as sensory imagery.
– Can include literary devices (simile,
metaphor, etc.)
– Can create a picture in the reader’s mind
• The young girl shivered on the icy stone bench as
she watched each breath appear in the frosty air.
The mournful sounds of the large ship horns were
her only company as she waited near the harbor.
Figurative Language and
Stylistic Devices
• FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE
– Symbolism
– Irony
– Paradox
– Allusion
– Imagery
– Oxymoron
– Simile
– Metaphor
– Personification
– Hyperbole
– Analogy
– Cliché
These deal with the
meaning of the words,
the ideas themselves.
• STYLISTIC DEVICES
– Alliteration
– Assonance
– Onomatopoeia
– Rhyme
– Repetition
– Rhythm
These deal with the
sound of the writing,
with the concrete
sense of sound that
you hear when the
writing is read.
Rhyme Vs. Assonance
Vs. Alliteration
• Alliteration is the repetition of similar
sounds at the beginning of the words.
– He was determined to doubt and dared me to
debate it.
• Assonance is the repetition of similar
vowel sounds. (used for effect or sound)
– I saw a life of blind kindness.
• Rhyme is the same / similar sound at the
end of the words.
– Little Miss Muffet sat on a tuffet eating her
curds and whey. Along came that spider and
sat down beside her…
Onomatopoeia, Repetition
• Onomatopoeia – the use of a word that
imitates a sound, such as buzz and hiss.
– The bang outside my window and the whirring
of the chainsaw could mean only one thing;
the men were still working to remove the
fallen tree.
• Repetition – the intentional use of the
same words or words over and over again.
– Often used for emphasis
• “We will not tire, we will not falter, and we will not
fail.” – George W. Bush
Terms
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To convey
To exaggerate
To emphasize
To elaborate
To clarify
To rely
To entreat
To inspire
To express
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To establish
To contrast
To portray
To compare
To reinforce
To underscore
To employ
To heighten
To invoke
PART 2
Going Further
with
Figurative Language
Going Further with
Figurative Language
• You must know the specific type of figure
of speech or stylistic device.
• You must decide what the figure of speech
really means.
• You must tell what the purpose of using it
is (or what it affects).
• You must do this with multiple texts.
Why use figurative language
and stylistic devices?
• Writers use diction and figurative
language to affect these literary elements:
– Setting
– Mood
– Tone
– Atmosphere
– Characterization
Setting
• Is the time and place of a story, which
include the surroundings or the
environment.
– Time may be specified or general
– Place may be specified or general.
• Often described using imagery.
– As I entered the elaborate ballroom, my ears
met the lilting lyrics of softly sung music. The
dancers gracefully waltzed, and I was wooed
to watch.
Mood, Tone, Atmosphere
• Mood – the feeling created in the reader.
• Tone – the writer’s attitude toward the
subject or toward the characters.
• Atmosphere – the overall feeling that an
author creates by using mood, tone, and
setting.
Words to describe
mood and tone
MOOD
happy, contented,
uplifting, sad,
despairing,
depressing, shocking
suspenseful, scary,
horrific, dreadful
TONE
Serious, playful,
humorous, sarcastic,
sympathetic, mocking,
formal, casual, matterof-fact, bitter, critical,
optimistic, carefree,
hopeless
Characterization
• Direct characterization – when the author comes
right out and tells you what the characters are
like.
– Jordan at five is a sweet but mischievous girl who
loves to dress up and play pretend games.
• Indirect characterization – when you have to
learn about the character through his actions.
This is most effective because the author is
showing, not telling.
– The husband was angry with his wife. “That bag of
lettuce is half empty. Why didn’t you try to get one
that had more in it?
Here is what you must decide
• What is the figure of speech or stylistic
device used?
• What is the picture the author wants us to
get in our minds when he used it?
• What literary element is affected by the
author’s choice of words?
Possible questions
• How does the use of figurative language by these
two authors contribute to the mood?
• How does figurative language help reveal the
meaning of the above statements?
• Justify the accuracy or inaccuracy of the analysis
by selecting the statement below that accurately
evaluates the analysis.
• Which statement below accurately evaluates the
use of hyperbole and metaphor in the revised
excerpt?
• Justify the decision to include the personification in
the revised excerpt by selecting the statement
below that correctly evaluates the effect of the
personification on the poem.
Mississippi SATP English II Revised:
Multiple Choice
Student Review Guide for
Vocabulary/Reading