Figurative Language

World Literature

Figurative language is a great way to make your writing more descriptive.

Types of figurative language

Simile
A comparison using the word like or as.

Her sunburned face looked like a strawberry.

Metaphor
A comparison saying one thing is another thing.

Her face a flower.

Personification
Giving human qualities to an object, animal, or idea. The angry sea swallowed up the tiny boat.

Hyperbole
An exaggeration used to make a point.

My backpack weighed a ton.

Anaphora
The deliberate repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of several successive verses, clauses, or paragraphs; "We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills"

Euphemism
- is an expression intended by the speaker to be less offensive, disturbing, or troubling to the listener than the word or phrase it replaces:
"Euphemisms such as 'slumber room' . . . abound in the funeral business"

Litotes
It is a figure of speech in which a positive is stated by negating its opposite.

She's not the brightest girl in the class. (She's stupid!) He's not the most handsome fellow! (he's ugly!)

Onomatopoeia
employs a word, or occasionally, a grouping of words, that imitates, echoes, or suggests the object it is describing, such as "bang", "click", "fizz", "hush" or "buzz", or animal noises such as "moo", "quack" or "meow".

Oxymoron
A figure of speech in which incongruous or contradictory terms appear side by side; a compressed paradox

"We picked a bad year to have a good year.

"O miserable abundance, O beggarly riches!"

Alliteration
When two or more words in a poem begin with the same letter or sound. Rain races, Ripping like wind. Its restless rage Rattles like Rocks ripping through the air.

Chiasmus
is the figure of speech in which two or more clauses are related to each other through a reversal of structures in order to make a larger point.

He knowingly led and we followed blindly. Oh, you haven't, haven't you?"

Pun
A play on words, either on different senses of the same word or on the similar sense or sound of different words.

Kings worry about a receding heir line. "When it rains, it pours. "When it pours, it reigns

Assonance
- similarity in sound between internal vowels in neighboring words.

"If I bleat when I speak it's because I just got . . . fleeced.

Apostrophe
-it is used when you address a dead person or an inanimate object.

Ninoy, wake up!

Practice Time See if you can correctly identify the following types of figurative language.

What kind of figurative language is this? My stomach growled.

Personification The sentence gives a stomach human qualities (growling).

What kind of figurative language is this? Bob was so scared he turned white as a ghost.

Simile The sentence compares Bob to a ghost using the word as.

What kind of figurative language is this? She nearly died laughing.

Hyperbole The sentence exaggerates to prove a point (she didnt really almost die).

What kind of figurative language is this?

1. We have to let you go.

2. Youre well fed.

Euphimism The sentence compares two things by saying my stomach is a bottomless pit.

What kind of figurative language is this? My stomach is a bottomless pit.

Metaphor The sentence compares two things by saying my stomach is a bottomless pit.

What kind of figurative language is this? This couch is as hard as a rock.

Simile The sentence compares the couch to a rock using the word as.

What kind of figurative language is this?

Im not afraid to die, Im not afraid to live, Im not afraid to love, Im not afraid to be alone.

Anaphora

What kind of figurative language is this? Im so hungry I could eat a horse.

Hyperbole The sentence exaggerates to prove a point (I couldnt really eat a horse).

What kind of figurative language is this? Mary is an angel.

Metaphor The sentence compares two things by saying Mary is an angel.

What kind of figurative language is this? Your dog is so ugly, we have to pay the fleas to live on him.

Hyperbole

What kind of figurative language is this? The two large oak trees guarded the path.

Personification The sentence gives the trees human qualities (guarding the path).

What kind of figurative language is this? The cabin was a freezer during the winter.

Metaphor The sentence compares two things by saying the cabin was a freezer.

What kind of figurative language is this? The wind howled through the trees.

Personification The sentence gives the wind human qualities (howled).

What kind of figurative language is this? I tried calling him a million times.

Hyperbole The sentence exaggerates to prove a point (I didnt really call a million times).

What kind of figurative language is this? Jason ran like a cheetah.

Simile The sentence compares Jason to a cheetah using the word like.

What kind of figurative language is this? That poem really spoke to me.

Personification The sentence gives the poem human qualities (the poem speaking).

What kind of figurative language is this? The test was a piece of cake.

Metaphor The sentence compares two things by saying the test was a piece of cake.

What kind of figurative language is this? Her hair flowed over her shoulders like a golden river.

Simile The sentence compares her hair to a golden river using the word like.

What kind of figurative language is this? Ive been waiting forever! she exclaimed.

Hyperbole The sentence exaggerates to prove a point (she didnt really wait forever).

The end.