FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE:

FIGURING IT OUT!

FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE

1. A “figure of speech” is a word or phrase that describes one thing in terms of another and is not meant to be understood as literally true.

Figurative and Literal Language

Literally: words function exactly as definedThe car is blue.He caught the football.

Figuratively: not to be taken exactly or word for wordI’ve got your back.You’re a doll.

1. Sound devices are poetic devices that relate to sound, including:

consonanceassonancealliterationonomatopoeia

Consonance-repetition of consonant sounds within a line of

poetry

He gives his harneSS bellS a Shake To aSk if there i Some miStake.The only other Sound’S the SweepOf easy Wind and doWny flake.

Assonance-repetition of vowel sounds in a

line of poetry

DO nOt gO gentle intO that gOOd night,

Old Age should burn And rAve At close of dAy;

RAge, rAge AgAinst the dYIng of the lIght.

Alliteration- repetition of beginning

consonant sounds in words close together

RainRain races,Ripping like wind.Its restless rageRattles likeRocks ripping throughThe air.

Three grey geese in a green field grazing,Grey were the geese and green was the grazing.

Onomatopoeia-the use of

a word whose sound imitates its meaning.

roar

buzzhisssplash

2. Allusion a reference to a well-known person, place, thing or event

with which the writer assumes the reader will be familiar

1. George rushed in like Superman to save the man from the burning building.2. We’re not in Kansas anymore.3. She pulled a ‘Miley.’

"As the cave's roof collapsed, he was swallowed up in the dust like Jonah, and only his frantic scrabbling behind a wall of rock indicated that there was anyone still alive".

"Christy didn't like to spend money. She was no Scrooge, but she seldom purchased anything except the bare necessities".

3. Simile a comparison between two things using “like” or “as.”

She swims like a fish. Peter laughs like a hyena. Mr. John is as wise as an owl. It's as easy as ABC. Because I was embarrassed my face was as red as a ripe

tomato. My love is like a red, red rose. The world is like a stage. As dry as a bone As easy as shooting fish in a barrel They fought like cats and dogs Stand out like a sore thumb

Important!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.

4. Metaphor a comparison between 2

things without using “like” or “as.” These can be implicit or

explicit! He was a tornado, blasting his way through the

opposing team. He was a lion in the fight. The moon was a ghostly galleon tossed upon

cloudy seas. Education is your passport to satisfying

employment. My love is a red, red rose.

5. Personification a figure of speech in which a

non-human thing (an idea, object, or animal) is given human characteristics.

The stars danced playfully in the moonlit sky. The run down house appeared depressed. The first rays of morning tiptoed through the

meadow. She did not realize that opportunity was

knocking at her door. He did not realize that his last chance was

walking out the door.

6.Oxymoron a technique putting two words

with opposite meanings together for a special effect.

jumbo shrimp old newsbittersweet small fortune

http://www.oxymoronlist.com/#b

Oxymoronic PoemsA blind man looks back Into the future with

the Ear-splitting whispers

of Unconcealed ghosts Thundering silently.

A wealthy peasant marches Weakly across a blazing glacier As the stars in the cloudy sky Glisten grimly.

7. Imagery vivid description that

appeals to the senses.

They were flat round wafers, slightly browned on the edges and butter-yellow in the center. With cold lemonade they were sufficient for childhood’s lifelong diet.

8. Symbol a concrete or real object

used to represent an idea

A bird, because it can fly, has often been used as a symbol of freedom.

Colors (emotions), water (purity), fire (love, anger, pain), night/day (dark emotions, death/new life, truth, holiness), etc…

Some other symbol examples: a dove for peace the rose for purity the stars and stripes for America the lion for strength and courage Red rose or red color stands for love or

romance. Black is a symbol that represents evil or

death. A ladder may stand as a symbol for a

connection between the heaven and the earth.

A broken mirror may symbolize separation

“In the spring, I asked the daisiesIf his words were true,And the clever, clear-eyed daisiesAlways knew.

Now the fields are brown and barren,Bitter autumn blows,And of all the stupid astersNot one knows.”

9. Hyperbole an extreme exaggeration or overstatement that a writer

uses for emphasis. He's got tons of money.

Her brain is the size of a pea.

I will die if he asks me to dance.

I'm so hungry I could eat a horse.

He is older than the hills.

I told you a million times not to lie!

10. Understatement

Expression with less strength than expected.

The opposite of hyperbole.

I’ll be there in one second.

This won’t hurt a bit.

11. Irony a technique that uses a word or phrase to mean the exact

opposite of its normal meaning.

(verbal, dramatic, situational)Verbal: Danielle laughs all the time, so

we call her “Grumpy.”Dramatic: The audience watching the

movie knows that the girl’s boyfriend is going to ask her to marry her, but she doesn’t know.

Situational: A fire station is on fire.

12. Idiom

A traditional way of saying something that does not seem to make sense if taken literally

He’s ready to kick the bucket. She’s under the weather.

A chip on your shoulder - means you are holding a grudge

Sick as a dog - means you are very ill

Rub someone the wrong way - meaning to annoy or bother

Jump the gun - would mean to be doing something early or too soon

Pay the piper - means you need to face the consequences of your actions

13. PunThe humorous use of a word or phrase so as to emphasize or suggest its different meanings or applications

Without geometry, life is pointless. She had a photographic memory but

never developed it. That was a punny joke!