Figurative Language vs Literal Language What does it

Figurative Language vs. Literal Language What does it mean?

Standard ELACC 8 RL 4: Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including analogies or allusions to other texts.

Literal Language • Literal language is language that means exactly what it says. For example, if I said, “Sit down, ” I literally mean “take a seat in your chair”

Figurative Language • Figurative language is language that does not mean exactly what it says. • It is understood that the words mean something different. Ex. I am burning up!

Figurative and Literal: Would you please chill these sodas in the refrigerator? Figurative: Would you please chill out!

Don’t mix them up! In basketball, if we say, “He is on fire, ” we mean that he hasn’t missed a shot in a while.

But what if…. What if we took that literally…. He’s on fire!

Examples She is a peach! Literal: She is a fuzzy piece of fruit that we can cook in a pie! Figurative: She is really sweet!

Examples I’ll do that when pigs fly. Literal: As soon as I look out my window and see a flying pig, I will get right on that. Figurative: It’s never going to happen.

Examples You are one smart cookie! Literal: You are a real, live cookie with a very big brain. Figurative: You are an intelligent person.

Remember… Figurative is language that you have to “figure out. ” You can’t go exactly by what it means.

Types of Figurative Language Simile, Metaphor and Personification

Standard ELACC 8 RL 4: Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including analogies or allusions to other texts.

Simile A simile is a comparison of two people, objects, or ideas that uses the words “like” or “as” or “than”

Example The shop owner is as busy as a bee.

Example It was quiet like a library at midnight. (Brenda Woods)

Example She floated gracefully down the halls like a butterfly.

Poem Sample Flint by Christina Rossetti An emerald is as green as grass, A ruby red as blood; A sapphire shines as blue as heaven; A flint lies in the mud. A diamond is a brilliant stone, To catch the world's desire; An opal holds a fiery spark; But a flint holds a fire.

Metaphor A metaphor compares people, things or ideas without using the words like or as. It makes a direct connection.

Example You are what you eat.

Example He was a solid rock against his enemies.

Example That test was a nightmare!

Metaphor Poem by Lill Pluta My brother is a dragon. My Mom’s a teddy bear. I am a shaggy sheep dog With a ton of tangled hair. My father is a monkey He likes to make us laugh, Especially my sister Who is a tall giraffe We are a busy family With many things to do. Our home is always happy, But sometimes it’s a zoo.

Personification • Personification describing something that isn’t human by giving it human-like qualities.

Example The stars danced playfully in the moonlit sky.

Example Most pianos have pretty good manners but Steven can make them sound rude.

Example The trees dropped their leaves and rested.

Example Any trust I had for him walked right out the door.

My Dinner is Dancing My food loves to prance, to jump, to dance; I wait for the time, I wait for the chance! As mommy goes in and out of the room; tables and chairs become their ballroom! I flick my fingers; swing my wrist. Beans and turkey are doing the twist! Peas, plumbs, apples or a mango; on to the walls, they're doing the tango!

Types of Figurative Language 2 Hyperbole and Idiom

Standard ELACC 8 RL 4: Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including analogies or allusions to other texts ELACC 8 L 5: Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings. a. Interpret figures of speech (e. g. verbal irony, puns) in context.

Hyperbole • Hyperbole An exaggerated statement used to create an effect. It is used to emphasize a point. Example: She’s said for you to be quite on several million occasions.

Poetry Sample On a Snowy Day Everyone looks like snowmen. So much snow that it’s piling up to heaven. The fireplace is aglow like a giant’s oven. Our cups of hot chocolate are piled To the roof of the house With marshmallows. We scurry in the house, a bunch of hurried mice, On a snow day.

Poetry Sample School Fight You can’t hear a pin drop As all the kids gather around; They are vultures Waiting for the corpse Of the one who loses. The tall kid… He swings his fist with his hurricane force. A torrential spray of blood Explodes from the smaller boy’s nose And covers the tiled floor. The vultures fly away As the teachers quickly approach.

Idiom • An idiom is an expression in one language that cannot be matched or directly translated word-for-word in another language. It is commonly known that it’s meaning is not literal.

Example It’s raining cats and dogs outside!

Example • Don’t count your chickens before they hatch.

Example He is head over heels for her!

Example You are the cheese to my macaroni.

Poem Sample 'You can't cry over spilled milk! ' my mother always said. 'Life's not a piece of cake! ' she hammered in my head. 'That's the way it goes, ' that's the way the cookie crumbles' My mother saved her idioms for all my idiotic troubles. --John Randal

Poem Sample Cat Got Your Tongue I was feeling shy when my uncle came. "Has the cat got your tongue? " he said. He must have meant, "Why aren't you talking? “ Because my tongue was still in my head. —Adele Tolley Wilson

I’ll give you the moon!

The Difference Hyperbole Idiom This is general exaggeration for an effect. It is not a specific saying. This is a special expression used for an effect. It would not make sense literally. Ex. I’m so hungry, I could eat a horse. Ex. I am about to starve to death.

Task • Requirement: Create a poem using two of the following: personification, metaphor, idiom, hyperbole or simile. Form: Author’s Choice Topic: Author’s Choice