Dead End in Norvelt Week 1 Figurative Language

Dead End in Norvelt Week 1: Figurative Language

Go Figure! Figurative Language

Recognizing Figurative Language The opposite of literal language is figurative language. Figurative language is language that means more than what it says on the surface. • It usually gives us a feeling about its subject. • Poets use figurative language almost as frequently as literal language. When you read poetry, you must be conscious of the difference. Otherwise, a poem may make no sense at all.

Recognizing Literal Language “I’ve eaten so much I feel as if I could literally burst!” • In this case, the person is not using the word literally in its true meaning. Literal means "exact" or "not exaggerated. " By pretending that the statement is not exaggerated, the person stresses how much he has eaten. Literal language is language that means exactly what is said. Most of the time, we use literal language.

Figurative and Literal Language • Literally: words function exactly as defined – The car is blue. – He caught the football. • Figuratively: figure out what it means – I’ve got your back. – You’re a doll.

What is figurative language? Whenever you describe something by comparing it with something else, you are using figurative language.

Types of Figurative Language • • • Imagery Simile Metaphor Alliteration Personification Onomatopoeia Hyperbole Idioms Allusion Repetition

Metaphor A comparison of two unlike things by saying one thing is a similar object or thing. The two objects or thing are compared without using “like” or “as. ” Example from DEN: “My dad had called my uncle a nut. ” (pg. 21)

Simile A comparison of two unlike things using the words like or as. Using “like” or “as” doesn’t make a simile. A comparison must be made. Not a Simile: I like pizza. Simile: The moon is like a pizza. Example from DEN: “The engine started and the sound of the spinning propeller was as loud as a thousand-pound wasp. ” (pg. 266)

Hyperbole An exaggeration that cannot possibly be true. Example from DEN: “You told me about a million times. ” (pg. 286)

Personification Giving human qualities to nonhuman things. Example from DEN: “Death is not a lazy fellow. ” (pg. 289)

Idioms A group of words whose collective meaning is quite different from their individual, literal meaning. Example from DEN: “Cat got your tongue? ” (pg. 176)

Alliteration The repetition of the same initial consonant sound in a series of words. Example from DEN: “I just hoped there wasn’t some hunter who mistook me for Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and let me have it” (76).

Allusion A reference to a person, place, or event from literature, sports, history, movies, or the arts. Example from DEN: “He was bombing the house like the Japanese did when they bombed Pearl Harbor. ” (pg. 269)

Onomatopoeia Words whose sounds suggest their meaning. Example from DEN: “Then he gave his old-man har - har laugh (pg. 291)

Repetition is a literary device that repeats the same words or phrases a few times to make an idea clearer. Example from DEN: “But we were there to harm him. We were going to kill him and gut him and skin him and cut him up and eat him. ”

Activity – Due: Monday 11/21 Figurative Language Hunt • Using your assigned chapter, find as many Figurative Language that you can. – Remember … refer to your ISN Foldable if necessary! • You may not have all of the devices in your chapter, just find as many as you can. – (1) example per device.