Name: _________________
Figurative Language
Figurative Language is the use of words that go beyond their ordinary meaning. It requires you to use your
imagination to figure out the author's meaning. For example, if someone tells you that it is raining cats and dogs,
you know that there are not actually cats and dogs falling from the sky. You know it really means that it is raining
very hard. Figurative Language makes what we read more interesting and our writing stronger and more vivid and
mature.
#1 Alliteration
Alliteration is the repetition (repeating) of a consonant sound at the beginning of two or more words that are next
to each other or near each other to create a feeling or mood. For example, in the sentence, "Fly away, my fine
feathered friend!" the "f" sound is repeated over and over again.
Directions: Try to complete the following sentences with effective/meaningful alliteration :
1. The two turtles...
2. A tiny kitten...
3. One little mouse...
4. The dirty dog...
#2 Hyperbole
A hyperbole is an exaggeration of the truth, usually meant to be humorous or funny. The sentence, "I can eat a
million ice cream cones", is an exaggeration of the true fact that the speaker likes ice cream cones.
Writers and poets use hyperbole to get a point across or to be funny.
Directions: Read a part of the poem, "Sick", by Shel Silverstein below and see if you can
identify/underline the hyperboles.
'I cannot go to school today, '
Said little Peggy Ann McKay.
'I have the measles and the mumps,
A gash, a rash and purple bumps.
My mouth is wet, my throat is dry,
I'm going blind in my right eye.
My tonsils are as big as rocks,
I've counted sixteen chicken pox
And there's one more-that's seventeen,
And don't you think my face looks green?
My leg is cut-my eyes are blueIt might be instamatic flu.
I cough and sneeze and gasp and choke,
I'm sure that my left leg is broke#3 Idiom
An idiom is a phrase that is made up of words which can't be understood by literal, or ordinary, meaning. For
example, the idiom, or expression, "hit the road", has nothing to do with going out your door and smacking your
street. It really means "go away".
Below is a list of some common idioms and their actual meanings.
Idiom
Cross that bridge when you come
to it.
Actual Meaning
Don't worry about problems until they actually happen.
hit the hay
go to bed
raining cats and dogs
raining hard
on cloud nine
once in a blue moon
very happy; joyous
almost never; not very often
Directions: Underline the idiom found in each sentence and underneath it, write the actual meaning.
You will need to use context clues to figure out the real meanings if you have never heard of the
idiom before.
1. If you don't hand in your report, you will miss the boat for an "A".
2. Tomorrow is Jack's surprise party, so don't let the cat out of the bag when you see him.
3. Joe is down in the dumps since his friend moved away.
4. Mary wasn't paying attention and seemed out in left field when the teacher called on her.
5. George said I would lose, but since I didn't, he will have to eat his words.
6. You shouldn't spend an arm and a leg on a foolish video game!
#4 Simile
A simile is a comparison of two unlike things using the words like or as. For example, in the sentence, "The lion
purred like a kitten," the lion's purring is compared to that of a kitten's. Similes give the reader a new way to see
or understand something and can create a strong mental picture. Try to think of a simile that makes SENSE and
gives the reader a mental image. Similes are not meant to be funny, and they become ineffective when they are
overused. For instance, we have all heard, “He was as fast as a cheetah.” So try to think of something new like,
“He was as fast as a Nascar racing car.”
Directions: Complete each simile below with an appropriate ending so the simile is ORGINAL,
creative, meaningful, and creates a VIVID picture in the reader’s mind.
1. The pearls on the necklace were as big as
2. The kids in class were as busy as a/n
3. The light is as bright as
4. The class was wild like
5. The fish was small as
6. I am hungry like a
7. He was as a fast as
# 5 PERSONIFICATION
Personification is the technique of giving a non-human things, human qualities such as hearing, feeling, talking, or
making decisions. Writers use personification to emphasize something or make it stand out. Personification makes
the material more interesting and creates a new way to look at every day things.
Directions: Read the poem "Summer Grass" by Carl Sandburg and think about how personification is used to
make the poem more descriptive.
"Summer Grass" by Carl Sandburg
Summer grass aches and whispers
It wants something: it calls and sings; it pours
out wishes to the overhead stars.
The rain hears; the rain answers; the rain is slow
coming; the rain wets the face of the grass.
Directions: Underline the examples of personification in the sentences below. Then if you have time,
try to write two of your own.
1. The winter wrapped its icy claws around Northeast Pennsylvania.
2. The alarm clock screeched that it was time to get up.
3. Fear grabbed me as I heard footsteps behind me.
4. The washer sputtered and groaned as it removed the mud from the knees of my old jeans.
5. The printer spit out more copies than I needed.
6. The branches of the tree pointed to the old dirt road.
7. The flood waters swallowed the trees in one big gulp.
8. The stars winked at us from the night sky.
9. Listening to the piano sing its happy tune made me want to dance.
10. That carrot cake with the cream cheese icing is calling my name.
11.
12.
#6 Metaphors
A metaphor is a comparison of two different things to show a likeness between them. Metaphors do NOT use the
words like or as when making comparisons. Sometimes, they say that one thing is another, such as "her teeth are
pearls". Metaphors also suggest a comparison. For example, in the line, "The fog comes in on little cat feet", from
"The Fog" by Carl Sandburg, the fog is being described as if it were a cat.
Directions: Read the metaphors below and then try writing two of your own.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
John is a real pig when he eats.
My father is a rock.
How could she marry a snake like that!
America is a melting pot.
Her home was a prison.
6.
7.
#7 Five sense detail/show not tell
When you use 5 sense detail you let the reader taste, smell, see, hear, and feel things in their own mind. Example
of 5 sense detail focusing on smell: “She smelled perking coffee, sizzling bacon, and hot biscuits. The aromas
around her nose made the chunks of dry dog food taste ten times better.”
When you use show not tell, instead of telling an emotion to the reader (I am depressed. Henry was enraged.),
you show the reader by giving vivid description. Example of show not tell: Henry felt like his fists were tight like
after he went swimming in a chlorine pool. His face felt hot, and his heart was racing. He knew he was becoming
irrationally angry. Thoughts of what he would do and say to Alex when he saw him were flying threw his head.
Henry punched the wall.
Directions: Read the examples below and make them 5 sense detail/show not tell.
1.John was sad and tired._____________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________ .
2.The streets of the city were loud and smelly.____________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________ .