FIGURATIVE
LANGUAGE
DEFINITION
Simile
Comparing two or
more things using
words “like” or “as” in
the comparison
“I wandered lonely as a cloud
that floats on high o’er (over)
vales and hills”
Comparing two or
more things without
using “like” or “as”
Her voice is music to his ears
(Her voice is beautiful and
makes him happy)
Metaphor
EXAMPLE
IMPACT (What is the effect of…)
Clarifies the meaning by creating a visual (picture) for the
reader
- how lonely is the person? He is as lonely as a solitary
cloud floating around
- Brave as a lion- how brave is he? As brave as a lion
1. clarifies the meaning by creating mental pictures
2. Can hint at symbolic meaning or connection that
addresses theme or main idea
Her voice is music to his ears- tells us about the speakerthat he is in love with “her” and tells us more about her voice
than just saying that her voice is lovely.
“I’m just a little black rain cloud hovering under the honey
tree” (Winnie Pooh)- black rain cloud is symbolic for
depression or sadness. If someone said that you were
carrying a dark cloud around you, you would know they
meant sadness or depression. That one line in the song is
repeated and hints to us that the main idea is about
depression and sadness
Personification Giving non-human
things (like animals,
nature…) the
characteristics of a
human
The waves hug the ocean
shore in a continuous dance
“The caged bird sings of freedom” by Maya Angelou – she
grew up during the Civil Rights movement.
This metaphor hints at something symbolic because the
caged bird refers to the African Americans who are seeking
equal rights and the song it sings is of freedom from
inequality.
1. Can set mood and setting
2. Can be making a statement (pay attention to the
characteristics they are giving the non-human things
Ex- gives us the setting which is on the ocean. It also tells us
how the author feels about the ocean waves (maybe nature
in general). He describes them as kind based on saying they
are hugging and dancing. If however, we had “the violent
waves attack the shore in an endless battle”, we would
Alliteration
Hyperbole
Repeating the
beginning consonant
sounds in words
Horton Hears a Who
Sally sells seashells…
Exaggerating on
purpose for effect
“I’ve loved you for a thousand
years, I’ll love you for a
thousand more”
Onomatopoeia A word imitating a
sound
Imagery
Using words to appeal
to out physical senses
(sight, sound, touch,
smell, taste)
perceive a different meaning. The setting would possible be
during a storm and the effect would be that the author may
be making a statement about the aggressiveness of nature
and the fright that can be induced by nature.
Emphasis- where is the emphasis being placed?
Setting? Mood? Character?...
Look at the title “Horton Hears a Who”
This literally tells us the main idea of the entire story
BOOM!
CRACK!
Sight: the red ant crawled up
the broken twig
Sound: The car squealed every
time we pushed the brakes.
Touch: the sharp edge of the
paper cut my finger
Smell: I came home to the a
house filled with the smell of
warm chocolate chip cookies
Taste: Hungry, I poured a glass
of milk to go with my toast
only to taste the lumpy
sourness of the milk.
What is being exaggerated?
What does that reveal about…. Character? Mood? Theme?...
This person is in love and committed to the love for all
eternity. The length of time they will love for is being
exaggerated and that reveals to us the character.
Draws attention to the action and can create suspensefacilitates mood.
Example- reading a story about a girl who is home alone at
night. Suddenly, there is a THUD! This one word changes the
story by adding suspense.
Ex- you are reading about a kid at a baseball game who is up
to bat. He gets ready, sees the pitcher throw the ball and
then SMACK! That immediately makes the story more
exciting.
Vivid detail helps reader relate to story; engages reader;
main idea easier to find
- Again, this is not things that you are physically seeing in
front of you or are literally smelling. These images are pulled
from your own memories and imagination.