Figurative Language Handout
Regalbuto
Figurative Language
I. Figurative language is not literal, but
symbolic or imaginative. Figurative language
employs figures of speech to supplement and
modify literal, denotative meanings with
connotative interpretations. Figurative language
provides detail and richness to a work of
literature; it gives readers keener insight into
a writer’s meaning and helps them to better
understand the text.
For example: When someone says, “I am so
hungry I could eat a horse,” that person is
using figurative language, or language that is
not literal. No one can literally eat an entire
horse. Think about it: can anyone eat the tail,
the bones, the teeth? Moreover, a horse might
weigh up to 1200 pounds! This person uses
hyperbole, or exaggeration, a form of figurative
language, to explain that he/she is EXTREMELY
hungry.
Use this space to record some other figurative sayings you know:
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Name ____________________________________
Per. ________
Date__________
Figurative Language Handout
Regalbuto
II. Figure of Speech: A literary device involving the
unusual use of language to associate or compare
distinct things. Figures of speech help to create an
image in the reader’s mind.
A. Some Figures of Speech:
1. Simile: Compares two distinct things using
the words “like” or “as.” For example: “Blind
as a bat.”
2. Metaphor: Associates two distinct things
without using “like” or “as.” For example: “All
the world’s a stage.”
3. Personification: A figure of speech that
bestows human characteristics upon anything
nonhuman. For example: “The stars danced
playfully in the moonlit sky.”
4. Allegory: The presentation of an abstract
idea through concrete means. For example, in
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown,”
the main character has a wife “aptly named”
Faith. The character (a concrete, physical
being)represents the religious faith (abstract
idea)with which Goodman Brown struggles in the
story.
5. Symbol: Something that has complex
associated meanings. Symbols can represent a
wide range of interrelated ideas. Batman, for
example, can be a fearful symbol of dark
justice to criminals in Gotham; he represents
their own dark crimes returning to haunt
and hurt them. He can also be a symbol of
heroic justice to the average citizen.
Similarly, a pen may symbolize creativity,
strength, or justice.
Name ____________________________________
Per. ________
Date__________
Figurative Language Handout
Regalbuto
Analyzing symbols and other metaphorical language
Here are some questions to ask that will help you delve into the
realm of symbolism:
1). What is it? Usually, a symbol is something concrete that
could represent an abstract concept. So begin by identifying it:
a tree, a sword, a fence, etc.
2). What are its qualities? Is it strong, tall, decrepit, higher
than a building, sharp, bloody, soft, perplexing? Identifying
its qualities will assist you in determining the symbol’s
additional connotative meanings.
3). What is its relationship to people or the world? Why do they
use it or how do they treat it or work with it? Additionally,
how does this item or animal function?
4). Now that you’ve thoroughly considered the possible symbol in
light of your topic, along with its qualities and uses, what
could it represent? It is important to remember that there could
be several representations.
Now, try this process on the following object: a carnival mask.
Record your thoughts and discoveries below.
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Name ____________________________________
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