Figurative Language
Top 20 Techniques
1. Simile
An indirect relationship where one thing or idea
is described as being similar to another. Similes
usually contain the words “like” or “as,” but not
always.
“The moon appeared crimson, like a drop of
blood hanging in the sky.”
2. Metaphor

A direct relationship where one thing or idea
substitutes for another.
“The poor rat didn’t have a chance. Our old
cat, a bolt of lightning, caught his prey.”
3. Personification

Where inanimate objects or abstract concepts
are given human qualities.
The wind stood up and gave a shout.
He whistled on his fingers and
Kicked the withered leaves about
And thumped the branches with his hand
And said he'd kill and kill and kill,
And so he will and so he will.
James Stephens, The Wind
4. Alliteration

The repetition of consonant usually in
consecutive words within the same sentence or
line.
“While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there
came a tapping as if someone gently rapping,
rapping at my chamber door.”
Edgar Allan Poe, The Raven
5. Assonance

Identity or similarity in sound between internal
vowels in neighboring words.
“And his eyes have all the seeming
of a demon's that is dreaming.”
Edgar Allan Poe, The Raven
6. Hyperbole

A description that exaggerates, usually
employing extremes and/or superlatives to
convey a positive or negative attribute.
“I’ve told you a million times to clean up your
room.”
A direct quote from
every mother in America
7. Onomatopoeia

When words describing sounds actually sound
like the sounds they describe.
"Plop, plop, fizz, fizz, oh what a relief it is."
Slogan of Alka Seltzer
8. Irony

Use of words to convey the opposite of their
literal meaning. A statement or situation where
the meaning is directly contradicted by the
appearance or presentation of the idea. (Three
types: Verbal, Situational, Dramatic)
In “The Most Dangerous Game,” a professional
hunter finds himself being hunted.
9. Symbol

The use of specific objects or images to represent
abstract ideas. A symbol must be something you
can see or touch, while the idea it symbolizes
must be not seen or universal.
“It’s a shell! I seen one like that before. On
someone’s back wall. A conch he called it. He used
it to blow and then his mum would come. It’s ever
so valuable --.”
William Golding, Lord of the Flies
10. Imagery

Language that describes something in detail, using
words to substitute for and create sensory stimulation,
including visual imagery and sound imagery.
“The plane rolled to the right and blew through the trees, out
over the water and down, down to slam into the lake, skip
once on water as hard as concrete, water that tore the
windshield out and shattered the side windows, water that
drove him back into the seat. Somebody was screaming,
screaming as the plane drove down into the water.”
Gary Paulsen, Hatchet
11. Allusion

A brief, usually indirect reference to a person, place, or
event--real or fictional. Allusions are commonly
made to the Bible, nursery rhymes, myths,
famous fictional or historical characters or
events, and Shakespeare.
“Christy didn't like to spend money. She was no
Scrooge, but she seldom purchased anything
except the bare necessities.”
12. Slant Rhyme

The rhymed words share either the same
vowel or consonant sound but not both.
Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all.
~Emily Dickinson
13. Consonance
Like alliteration, it is the repetition of
consonant sounds but in the middle or at
the end of words.
Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.
~Robert Frost

Test Your Knowledge
Choose the technique used in the
following examples.
1.

He stretched out his arms toward the dark
water in a curious way . . . Involuntarily I
glanced seaward – and distinguished nothing
except a single green light. (The Great Gatsby)




A. Symbol
B. Simile
C. Imagery
D. Assonance
1. A&C – Symbol and Imagery

He stretched out his arms toward the dark
water in a curious way . . . Involuntarily I
glanced seaward – and distinguished nothing
except a single green light. (The Great Gatsby)




A. Symbol
B. Simile
C. Imagery
D. Assonance
2.

Language is a road map of a culture. It tells
you where its people come from and where
they are going. (Rita May Brown)




A. Personification
B. Metaphor
C. Paradox
D. Metonymy
2. B – Metaphor

Language is a road map of a culture. (Rita
May Brown)
 A. Personification
 B. Metaphor
 C. Paradox
 D. Metonymy
3.

Even King Solomon would find my
parent’s disagreements hard to resolve.




A. Anecdote
B. Assonance
C. Allusion
D. Alliteration
3. C – Allusion

Even King Solomon would find my
parent’s disagreements hard to resolve.




A. Anecdote
B. Assonance
C. Allusion
D. Alliteration
4.

War is peace. Freedom is slavery.
Ignorance is strength. (George Orwell, 1984)




A. Irony
B. Metaphor
C. Personification
D. Paradox
4. B- Metaphor

War is peace. Freedom is slavery.
Ignorance is strength. (George Orwell, 1984)




A. Irony
B. Metaphor
C. Personification
D. Paradox
5.

All right, let’s huddle up. I expect you to
give one hundred and one percent. Let’s
own the paint. There’s no I in team.




A. Imagery
B. Cliché
C. Motif
D. Hyperbole
5. D –Hyperbole

All right, let’s huddle up. I expect you to
give one hundred and one percent. Let’s
own the paint. There’s no I in team.




A. Imagery
B. Cliché
C. Motif
D. Hyperbole
6.

Under her small black-freckled hand her
cane, limber as a buggy whip, would switch
at the brush as if to rouse up any hiding
things. (A Worn Path)




A. Personification
B. Simile
C. Imagery
D. Motif
6. B and C – Simile and Imagery

Under her small black-freckled hand her
cane, limber as a buggy whip, would switch
at the brush as if to rouse up any hiding
things. (A Worn Path)




A. Personification
B. Simile
C. Imagery
D. Motif
7.

Bang! Went the pistol.Crash! Went the
window. Ouch! Went the son of a gun.




A. Onomatopoeia
B. Hyperbole
C. Repetition
D. Personification
7. A – Onomatopoeia

Bang! Went the pistol. Crash! Went the
window. Ouch! Went the son of a gun.




A. Onomatopoeia
B. Hyperbole
C. Repetition
D. Personification
8.

The lightning lashed out with anger.




A. Onomatopoeia
B. Hyperbole
C. Alliteration
D. Personification
8. C&D – Personification and
Alliteration

The lightning lashed out with anger.




A. Onomatopoeia
B. Hyperbole
C. Alliteration
D. Personification
9.

She sells sea shells down by the sea shore.




A. Assonance
B. Alliteration
C. Allusion
D. Anecdote
9. B – Alliteration

She sells sea shells down by the sea shore.




A. Assonance
B. Alliteration
C. Allusion
D. Anecdote
10.

My backpack weighs a ton.




A. Hyperbole
B. Idiom
C. Imagery
D. Metaphor
10. A – Hyperbole

My backpack weighs a ton.




A. Hyperbole
B. Idiom
C. Imagery
D. Metaphor
11.

For every sound that floats
From the rust within their throats
Is a groan. ( Edgar Allan Poe, The Bells)




A. Imagery
B. Symbol
C. Assonance
D. Alliteration
11. C – Assonance

For every sound that floats
From the rust within their throats
Is a groan. ( Edgar Allan Poe, The Bells)




A. Imagery
B. Symbol
C. Assonance
D. Alliteration
12.

Water, water, every where,
And all the boards did shrink;
Water, water, every where,
Nor any drop to drink.
(Coleridge, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner)




A. Paradox
B. Parallelism
C. Imagery
D. Irony
12. C&D – Irony and Imagery

Water, water, every where,
And all the boards did shrink;
Water, water, every where,
Nor any drop to drink.
(Coleridge, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner)




A. Paradox
B. Parallelism
C. Imagery
D. Irony
13.

When I see birches bend to left and right
Across the lines of straighter darker trees,
I like to think some boy's been swinging
them.
But swinging doesn't bend them down to
stay.
Ice-storms do that. Often you must have seen
them
Loaded with ice a sunny winter morning
After a rain. They click upon themselves
As the breeze rises, and turn many-colored
As the stir cracks and crazes their enamel.
A. Metaphor
B. Repetition
C. Imagery
D. Hyperbole
13. C – Imagery

When I see birches bend to left and right
Across the lines of straighter darker trees,
I like to think some boy's been swinging
them.
But swinging doesn't bend them down to
stay.
Ice-storms do that. Often you must have seen
them
Loaded with ice a sunny winter morning
After a rain. They click upon themselves
As the breeze rises, and turn many-colored
As the stir cracks and crazes their enamel.
A. Metaphor
B. Repetition
C. Imagery
D. Hyperbole
14.

O pardon me thou bleeding piece of earth that I am
meek and gentle with these butchers . . . That was
the most unkindly cut of all . . .




A. Symbol
B. Imagery
C. Motif
D. Personification
14. D –Personification

O pardon me thou bleeding piece of earth that I am
meek and gentle with these butchers . . . That was
the most unkindly cut of all . . .




A. Symbol
B. Imagery
C. Motif
D. Personification
Congratulations!