Figurative language

is a tool that an author uses to help the reader visualize (or see) what is happening in a story or poem.

Some common types of figurative language are: simile, metaphorsimile, metaphor, alliteration, onomatopoeia, idiom, personification, and sensory language.

Similes Made Simple

WHAT IS A SIMILE?WHAT IS THE USE OF A SIMILE?

CAN YOU IDENTIFY THE SIMILES?

THE SIMILE 

A simile is a comparison using like or as. It usually compares two dissimilar objects. For example:

His feet were as big as boats. We are comparing the size of feet to boats.

Effects of the Simile

The baby’s cry was like an electric drill.

How could the poet be feeling? What is the author trying to say?

I think that the author was feeling unhappy and frustrated because the baby’s cry was so loud. The poet is trying to emphasise how annoying and monotonous

the baby’s cry is…like the electric drill.

Similes Identified

A Hot Day at the School

All day long the sun glared

as fiercely as a cross Head teacher.

Out on the brown, parched field

we trained hard for next week’s Sports Day.

Extract from Wes Magee

The Circus

Of brown lively children roam about.

Goats and barking dogs wander to and fro.

Women in gold and blue and scarlet

And green prepare the meal. Their hair

Like shining water sways and swirls.

The patient donkeys wander , trying

To find some weeds to graze upon.Extract from Albert Rowe

Can you identify the similes in the following poem extracts?

Did you notice the key words

that help you to identify a simile?

FEARFear is black like stormy clouds.

It tastes like cold rice pudding.

It smells musty and damp

It looks like a dark lonely street.

It sounds like echoing footsteps,

It feels like being alone.

What is a Metaphor?

A metaphor states that one thing is something else.

It is a comparison, but it does NOT use like or as to make the comparison.

Example:

Her hair is silk. The sentence is comparing (or stating) that hair is silk. .

Metaphor clues…

Metaphors often use different forms of the verb “to be”. Look for words like is, are, was, were, am, have been, etc.

She is a monster! Compared to the simile: She is like a monster.

Paul and John were snakes! I am a cheetah the way I move swiftly down

the field.

More Metaphors…Can you guess the two up here?

A heart of stone He has the heart of a lion

A heart of stone He has the heart of a lion

ANSWERS:

A heart of stone He has the heart of a lion

Personification

Giving human characteristics to something not human.

EX: The flowers danced in the wind.EX: The sun battled us as we hiked.EX: The ocean waves stretched unto the

shore.

Can you think of any examples? Remember: dancing, battling (fighting), and stretching are things only people do…not objects.