Figurative Language Figuring it Out Figurative and Literal

Figurative Language Figuring it Out

Figurative and Literal Language Literal: words function exactly as defined The boy’s room was messy. The left fielder dropped the baseball. Figurative: You have to figure it out The boy’s room was a pigsty. The left fielder has butterfingers. ^These are figures of speech.

Simile A comparison of two different things using the word “like” or “as. ” Examples Telephone wires hung like a musical score Compares telephone wires to a musical score Those faces, sour as vinegar; Compares facial expressions to the taste of vinegar

Warning! “Like” and “as” don’t always make similes. A comparison must be made. Not Simile: I washed the dishes as she dried them. Simile: The dishes were as clean as the inside of a full bottle of soap. In the first example, no comparison is made. In the second, the cleanliness of the dishes is compared to the inside of a soap bottle.

Metaphor A comparison of two different things without using the word “like” or “as. ” Examples Flowers of thought blossom while reading Compares thinking to blossoming flowers Drink of sweet courage until drunk of it Compares courage to a liquid drink She was my lute, by her I sang Compares the girl to a lute

Personification Giving human traits to objects or ideas. Examples The stars are hiding now Gives stars the ability to hide. Or trees that whisper in some far, small town Gives trees the ability to whisper. A tree may wear a nest of robins in her hair Gives the tree hair and the ability to wear things.

Imagery Figurative language used to create word pictures; imagery is created by details that appeal to one or more of the five senses 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Smell Hearing Vision Touch Taste

Imagery Examples • It was dark and dim in the forest. The words “dark” and “dim” are visual images. • The children were screaming and shouting in the fields. “Screaming” and “shouting” appeal to our sense of hearing • He whiffed the aroma of brewed coffee. “Whiff” and “aroma” evoke our sense of smell • The girl ran her hands on a soft satin fabric. The idea of “soft” in this example appeals to our sense of touch • The fresh and juicy orange is very cold and sweet. “Juicy” and “sweet” – when associated with oranges – have an effect on our sense of taste

Hyperbole Exaggerating to express a strong feeling Examples I will love you until the end of time. It is unlikely that the speaker will live that long. My dad would kill me if he knew about this. Dad probably wouldn’t actually kill his own child. My book bag weighs a million pounds. The bag isn’t even close to a million pounds.

Idiom A figure of speech that cannot be defined literally Examples Every cloud has a silver lining You drive me up the wall! Cross your fingers! It cost me an arm and a leg. I’m all ears. Bryce had a change of heart.

Rhyme The repetition of sounds at the end of words Examples Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. All the King’s horses, And all the King’s men Couldn’t put Humpty together again!

Alliteration The repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words that are close together Examples Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. The big, bad bear scared all the baby bunnies by the bushes.

Onomatopoeia The use of words that imitate the sounds of what they describe. Examples Boom! The thunder shook the windows of the house. The crack of the ball hitting the bat scared me! The mooing of the cows kept me up at night.

Repetition The use of the same words or structure over again Examples We live for freedom. We love our freedom. Eventually, we are even willing to die for our freedom. To be or not to be, that is the question. The day at the beach was fun, fun

Symbolism The use of an object, a person, or a place that stands for something else Examples • The dove is a symbol of peace. • A red rose, or the color red, stands for love or romance. • Black is a symbol that represents evil or death.

Symbolism example: “Masks” by Shel Silverstein The mask in the title stands for our tendency to try to hide things about ourselves that we find embarrassing.