Figurative Language

Figurative Language

Also known as descriptive

Figurative Language does
language, or poetic
not always mean what is
language, figurative
being said or read but
language helps the writer
serves to make it more
paint a picture in the
interesting.
reader’s mind.

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 Figurative Language
This is language that is used for descriptive effect, often to imply
ideas indirectly.
In figurative language, words combine to express meaning beyond
the literal definition of each individual word.
Simile, metaphor, personification and imagery are examples of
figurative language.
All can strengthen language by adding specificity, clarity, power
and layers of meaning.
 We’re going to look at:

To understand
figurative language,
one must understand Literal and figurative
the difference
between:

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Literal
To be literal is to mean what you say.

For example:

If I tell you to sit down! I mean it literally: “sit down,” as in: “sit in
your seat now, please.”
My meaning is exactly what I say.
Literal
Here is another example: I’m tired and going
home.
This means “I’m tired and I’m going home” there
is no other meaning other than what is said.
I mean exactly what I say.
Figurative
To be figurative is to NOT mean what you say but imply
something else.
For example: If, I tell you: “Let’s go chill!”

I’m not suggesting we get into the freezer.

“Let’s go chill!” …means let’s relax together and do something fun.

It has nothing to do with temperature.
Literal and Figurative

Confused? Think of it this way:

Literal as real
Figurative as imaginary
Literal
and
Figurative
The figurative language we’re going to look at you’ll
need to:

Understand Identify Know

understand them identify them know how they are

used in writing

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We will look at:

Onomatopoeia Alliteration Assonance Simile Metaphor

Personification Idiom Hyperbole Repetition Pun

Rhetorical
Oxymoron Contrast Imagery
Questions

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Onomatopoeia

Onomatopoeia is the use of words whose sounds make you think of

their meanings.

The formation or use of words such as buzz, murmur or boo that

imitate the sounds associated with the objects or actions they refer to.

Many comic strips use onomatopoeia.

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Examples of the onomatopoeia:

buzz, thump, pop.

Bang, went the gun!

Swoosh went the basketball through the hoop.

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Onomatopoeia

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Alliteration

• Alliteration is a sentence or phrase that begins with the same letter and
sound. Tongue twisters are generally alliterations.
• Alliteration is the repetition of the beginning sounds in two or more words.
Remember alliteration as a tongue twister.
• For example: Busy batters bat baseballs by bases. Peter Piper picked a peck
of pickled peppers.
Alliteration
A poetic device which repeats the same beginning
sound for effect.
Examples of Alliteration:
• Sally Sells Seashells By The Sea Shore
• Rolling, Racing, Roaring, Rapids

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Assonance

Assonance is a literary device

in which the repetition of Assonance most often refers
similar vowel sounds takes to the repetition of internal
place in two or more words in vowel sounds in words that do
proximity to each other within not end the same.
a line of poetry or prose.
Assonance Examples

• “I fear that the human race may with tall words wall me.”
• “He fell asleep under the cherry tree”
 Simile

A figure of speech in which

two essentially unlike
things are compared, often “You sing like an angel.” “She’s as sweet as honey.”
in a phrase introduced by
like or as, as in:

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 Simile

A simile is a figurative language technique where a comparison is made using like or

as.

Examples of similes:

She is like a rainy day.

He is as busy as a bee.

They are like two peas in a pod.

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Complete your custom simile

• The cat was as scary as a ____.

• The night is like a ____.
• The moon is like a ____
• The scarecrow was as scary a ____.

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Metaphor

A comparison that does not use the words like or as. A metaphor aims at
giving added meaning to one of them;as in “a sea of troubles” or “The face is
the mirror of the mind”
Examples of metaphors:
She is a graceful swan.
He is a golden god.
They are honey from the honeycomb.

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Brian was a wall, bouncing every tennis ball back over the net.
This metaphor compares Brian to a wall because __________.
a. He was very strong.
b. He was very tall.
c. He kept returning the balls.
d. His body was made of cells.
We would have had more pizza to eat if Tammy hadn’t been such a hog.
Tammy was being compared to a hog because she __________.
a. looked like a hog
b. ate like a hog
c. smelled like a hog
d. was as smart as a hog

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Cindy was such a mule. We couldn’t get her to change her mind.
The metaphor compares Cindy to a mule because she was
__________.
a. always eating oats
b. able to do hard work
c. raised on a farm
d. very stubborn
The poor rat didn’t have a chance. Our old cat, a bolt of
lightning, caught his prey.
The cat was compared to a bolt of lightning because he was
_______.
a. very fast
b. very bright
c. not fond of fleas
d. very old
Even a child could carry my dog, Dogface, around for hours. He’s
such a feather.
This metaphor implies that Dogface:
a. is not cute
b. looks like a bird
c. is not heavy
d. can fly
 Personification

A figure of speech in which

inanimate objects or abstractions
Personification is a figurative (things that are not human) are
language technique in which endowed with human qualities
human characteristics are given or are represented as possessing
to nonhuman things. human form.

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Examples of Personification:

The heat ripped the breath from her lungs.

The leaves danced in the wind
Hunger sat shivering on the road
Flowers danced about the lawn.
The sleeping water reflected the evening sky.
Humidity breathed in the girl's face and ran its greasy fingers through her hair.
The tree arrested the oncoming car.

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Examples of Idioms

• We were chewing the fat.

• It’s raining cats and dogs.
• She’s as sharp as a tack.
• I wish he would kick the bucket.

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Hyperbole

Is exaggerated We use hyperbole

statements or all the time when
claims not meant to we want to
be taken literally. emphasize or effect.
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Hyperbole Examples

• “He never speaks to her.”

Never? That is a very long time. Hyperbole means to exaggerates.
• We have a ton of work.
A ton is a lot of work. A ton is also a thousand pounds.
• I ate a thousand pounds of pasta.
A thousand pounds is also known as a ton, this person must be really obese.
• I told you a million times.
I don’t mind repeating myself, but a million times? That’s a lot.

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Repetition

Example: The people of

Repetition occurs when
this city deserve a mayor
words are repeated n
they can trust, a mayor
order to make a stronger
they can respect, a mayor
impact on the reader.
they can count on.
“There were so many important moments. If I’d
missed the ticket, I wouldn’t be here. If I hadn’t
gone to the show, I wouldn’t be here. If I hadn’t
stuck around to see what Steve was up to, I wouldn’t
be here. If I hadn’t stolen Madam Octa, I wouldn’t
be here. If I’d said no to Mr. Crepsley’s offer, I
wouldn’t be here.

A world of “ifs”, but it made no difference.

What was done was done. If I could go back in
time…” ~Cirque Du Freak by Darren Shan
Pun
• A form of “word play” in which words have a
double meaning.
• I wondered why the baseball was getting bigger
and then it hit me.
• I’m reading a book about anti-gravity. It’s
impossible to put it down.
• I was going to look for my missing watch, but I
didn’t have the time.
Oxymoron
When two words are put together that contradict each
other. “Opposites”
Examples
• Jumbo Shrimp
• Pretty Ugly
• Freezer Burn
Rhetorical Questions

• The Rhetorical Question is commonly used in speech and writing.

• The Rhetorical Question requires no response since the response is implied
within the question
• Rhetorical questions are asked to make a point, rather than to get an
answer.
Examples of Rhetorical Questions
Contrast
• In contrast, the writer or speaker explains how two or
more events, places, objects, persons are different
• These are two apples yet, they are different. (Contrast)
Imagery

• Imagery refers to words and phrases that appeal

to our senses.
• Imagery may be defined as pictures created by
words.
• Imagery on the whole, helps us to experience a
situation more vividly, to recreate in our own
minds what the writer imagines, to share the
writer’s sensations and thoughts, in fact, to
participate actively in the experience.
• There are special devices of imagery- simile,
metaphor, personification.
Let’s look at:

They help us to hear sounds

the writer describes
Aural Imagery Eg: “The waves beat against
(Hearing) the rocks as they rushed to
the shore.

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Let’s look at:

These images help us to better

appreciate the touch or the feeling
the poet wishes to describe.
Tactile Imagery
E.g.: 1)The curved smoothness of an
(Touch) apple.
2)The rough jagged feel of a stone

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Let’s look at:

These are the most commonly

used images. They help us to see
Visual Imagery what the writer is describing.
(Seeing) E.g.: The lush green lawn looked
like a carpet.

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Let’s look at:

These appeal to the sense

of taste.
Gustatory Imagery
E.g.: Words commonly used
(Taste)
are: bitter, sweet, pungent,
sour, rancid, delicious.

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Let’s look at:

These appeal to our sense

of smell.
Olfactory Imagery
E.g.: The stench that
(Smell)
came from the river
caused the tourists to flee

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What can you see, hear, smell, taste, feel when
you look at this picture?
We’ve looked at:

Remember:
Literal vs.
Figurative Real vs. Imaginary

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The End
 This Power Point was created by
Mr. Stéphane Joyet
for 9th and 10th grade English. Pre-set for continuous loop.
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FIN

Joyet 2004 49