Figurative Language Figurative Language is language using figures

Figurative Language

Figurative Language …is language using figures of speech (a way of saying one thing and meaning another) In other words, language that should not be taken literally. Figurative language can be found in literature and poetry. Figurative language helps readers gain new insights to what they are reading.

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

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

Simile Compares two things using the words “like” or “as” • • • Busy as a bee Clean as a whistle Brave as a lion Stand out like a sore thumb As easy as shooting fish in a barrel As dry as a bone As funny as a barrel of monkeys They fought like cats and dogs Like watching grass grow

I am hungry as a horse. You run like a rabbit. She is happy as a clam. He is sneaky as a snake.

A way of describing something by comparing it to something else; implied comparison between two unlike things When using a metaphor, you make a statement that doesn’t make sense literally, like “time is a thief. ” It only makes sense when the similarities between the two things becomes apparent or someone understands the connection. • The world is my oyster • You are a couch potato • Time is money • He has a heart of stone • America is a melting pot • You are my sunshine

to give human characteristics to something that is not human (i. e. animals, objects, or ideas) Personification really affects the way the reader imagines things. It is used in children’s books, poetry, and fictional literature. • Opportunity knocked at the door • The sun greeted me this morning • The sky was full of dancing stars • The vines wove their fingers together to form a braid • The radio stopped singing and stared at me • The sun played hide and seek with the clouds

The flowers danced in the wind. The friendly gates welcomed us. The hurricane’s winds are yelling while blowing outside my window.

Alliteration repetition of the first consonant sound at the beginning of words Peter Piper picked a pickled pepper. Sally sold seashells by the seashore. We lurk late. We shoot straight. We were wide-eyed and wondering while we wait for others to waken. • Betty bought butter but the butter was bitter, so Betty bought better butter to make the bitter butter better. • • •

Stan the strong surfer saved several swimmers on Saturday. Tiny Tommy Thomson takes toy trucks to Timmy’s on Tuesday.

Onomatopoeia The use of words that sound like their meaning, or mimic sounds • The burning wood hissed and crackled EXAMPLES Buzz Fizz Woof Hiss Clink Boom Beep Vroom Zip Whirr Click Whoosh Swish Zap Zing Ping Clang Bong Hum Munch Gobble Crunch Pow Smash Wham Quack Meow Oink Tweet Crash

The firecracker made a loud ka-boom! The ball went swish as it hit the net. I knew the car was going to break down because it went chug…

Hyperbole An outrageous exaggerated statement used to heighten effect or make a point. It is not used to mislead the reader, but to emphasize a point. It can be ridiculous or funny • She’s said so on several million occasions. • You snore louder than a freight train. • She is so dumb, she thinks Taco Bell is a Mexican phone company. • I had to walk 15 miles to school in the snow, uphill! • You could have knocked me over with a feather. • It took forever to get there. • My teacher gave me a hundred homework assignments.

IDIOMS An expression that carries a different meaning because of the context in which it is used - The context can help you understand what an idiom means. Example: "She has a bee in her bonnet, " meaning "she is obsessed, " cannot be literally translated into another language word for word. • Up the creek without a paddle • On top of the world • Fingers crossed • Shake a leg • Break a leg • Put a lid on it • It’s raining cats and dogs • You have a green thumb • Zip your lips • Something fishy

Identify the Figurative Language • There’s a faucet in the basement that has dripped one drop all year since he fixed it, and we can’t find it without wearing scuba gear. • The road was a ribbon of moonlight over the purple moor. • The leaves are little yellow fish swimming in the river. • Oh, never, if I live to be a million, shall I feel such a terrible pain.

Answers • Hyperbole: it’s saying there’s so much water you need scuba gear in your own basement • Metaphor: it’s comparing the road to a ribbon • Metaphor: comparing the leaves to yellow fish • Hyperbole: exaggerating how long you could live.

Identify the Figurative Language • Silently and softly the swans swam on the lake. • The boys dove on the ball like angry dogs snarling for a bone. • The dark consumes the daylight. • The students, ant-like, crowded around the pizza box. • He is as strong as an ox and cannot be beaten on the field. • I like ice cream!

Answers • Alliteration: uses “s” repeatedly • Simile: compares the boys to dogs using “like” • Personification: consumes (eats) is something a human does • Simile: compares the students to ants using “like” • Simile: compares ‘he’ to an ox • None: this is simply a sentence. Nothing is being compared to ice cream