FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE
Figuring it Out
FIGURATIVE AND LITERAL LANGUAGE
Literal: words function exactly as defined
The boy’s room was messy.
The lef t fielder dropped the baseball.
Figurative: You have to figure it out
The boy’s room was a pigsty.
The lef t fielder has butterfingers.
^These are figures of speech.
SIMILE
A comparison of two dif ferent things using the word “like” or
“as.”
Examples
Telephone wires hung like a musical score
Compares telephone wires to a musical score
Those faces, sour as vinegar;
Compares facial expressions to the taste of
vinegar
WARNING!
“Like” and “as” don’t always make similes.
A comparison must be made.
Not Simile: I washed the dishes as she dried them.
Simile: The dishes were as clean as the inside of a full bottle of
soap.
In the first example, no comparison is made.
In the second, the cleanliness of the dishes is compared to the
inside of a soap bottle.
METAPHOR
A comparison of two dif ferent things without using the word
“like” or “as.”
Examples
Flowers of thought blossom while reading
Compares thinking to blossoming flowers
Drink of sweet courage until drunk of it
Compares courage to a liquid drink
She was my lute, by her I sang
Compares the girl to a lute
PERSONIFICATION
Giving human traits to objects or ideas.
Examples
The stars are hiding now
Gives stars the ability to hide.
Or trees that whisper in some far, small town
Gives trees the ability to whisper.
A tree may wear a nest of robins in her hair
Gives the tree hair and the ability to wear
things.
HYPERBOLE
Exaggerating to express a strong feeling
Examples
I will love you until the end of time.
It is unlikely that the speaker will live that
long.
My dad would kill me if he knew about this.
Dad probably wouldn’t actually kill his own
child.
My book bag weighs a million pounds.
The bag isn’t even close to a million pounds.
UNDERSTATEMENT
Expression with less strength than expected.
The opposite of hyperbole.
Examples
The guillotine will give you a bad hair day.
The results will be much worse than bad hair.
Kidnapping your host is considered rude.
This is a serious crime much worse than
rudeness.
Lets Practice! 1
Let it be forgotten as a flower is forgotten,
ANSWER
This is a simile because it compares a thing that should be
forgotten to a flower.
2
Your hand was honey -comb to heal,
Your voice a web to bind.
ANSWER
This is a metaphor because the subject’s hand was compared
to honey -comb and the subject’s voice was compared to a
web. The speaker did not use like or as.
3
After smashing through the garage door
Alex acknowledge that he may have parked a little too close to
the house.
ANSWER
This is an understatement because Alex parked more than a
little too close.
4
The brooks laugh louder when I come ,
The breezes madder play.
ANSWER
This is personification because the brooks are given the ability
to laugh and the breezes are given the ability to play.
5
There are some, like stars, that dwell apart,
In a fellowless firmament;
ANSWER
This is simile because some are compared to stars using the
word like.
6
And there will I keep you forever,
Yes, forever and a day,
Till the walls shall crumble to ruin,
And molder in dust away!
ANSWER
This is hyperbole because the speaker is exaggerating how long
he will keep the person. You can ’t add a day to forever
without exaggerating.
7
Freedom weeps,
Wrong rules the land, and waiting Justice
sleeps.
ANSWER
This is personification because freedom is given the ability to
weep, wrong is given the ability to rule, and justice is given
the ability to sleep.
8
The painted leaves are strewn
Along the winding way.
ANSWER
This is a metaphor because the coloration of the leaves is
compared to paint without using the word like or as.
9
Jef f probably should have said “Thanks” after Vic saved his life.
ANSWER
This is an understatement because if someone saves another ’s
life, more gratitude is expected than the informal “Thanks.”
10
The graveyard of my soul is filled with flowers, so that I may
stroll in meditation, at my ease.
ANSWER
This is a metaphor because the speaker compares his soul to a
graveyard without using the word like or as.
QUIZ
On a separate sheet of paper…
1. I will figurative language examples on the board.
2. You will write whether each is an example of simile,
metaphor, personification, hyperbole, or understatement.
3. You can use your notes.
1
He drew a line as straight as an arrow.
2
Knowledge is a kingdom and all who learn are kings and
queens.
3
Can I see you for a second?
4
The sun was beating down on me.
5
A flag wags like a fishhook there in the sky.
6
I'd rather take baths
with a man-eating shark,
or wrestle a lion
alone in the dark,
eat spinach and liver,
pet ten porcupines,
than tackle the homework,
my teacher assigns.
7
Ravenous and savage
from its long
polar journey,
the North Wind
is searching
for food—
8
The tree of liberty must be refreshed
from time to time with the blood of
patriots and tyrants.
9
Can I have one of your chips?
10
I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear
in the tide.
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
ANSWERS
1. Simile
2. Metaphor
3. Understatement
4. Personification
5. Simile
6. Hyperbole
7. Personification
8. Metaphor
9. Understatement
10. Metaphor
1
He drew a line as straight as an arrow.
2
Knowledge is a kingdom and all who learn are kings and
queens.
3
Can I see you for a second?
4
The sun was beating down on me.
5
A flag wags like a fishhook there in the sky.
6
I'd rather take baths
with a man-eating shark,
or wrestle a lion
alone in the dark,
eat spinach and liver,
pet ten porcupines,
than tackle the homework,
my teacher assigns.
7
Ravenous and savage
from its long
polar journey,
the North Wind
is searching
for food—
8
The tree of liberty must be refreshed
from time to time with the blood of
patriots and tyrants.
9
Can I have one of your chips?
10
I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear
in the tide.
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
ANSWERS
1. Simile
2. Metaphor
3. Understatement
4. Personification
5. Simile
6. Hyperbole
7. Personification
8. Metaphor
9. Understatement
10. Metaphor
