Figurative LanguageFiguring it Out

Figurative and Literal Language

Literal: words function exactly as definedThe boy’s room was messy.The left fielder dropped the baseball.

Figurative: You have to figure it out

The boy’s room was a pigsty.The left fielder has butterfingers. ^These are figures of speech.

SimileA comparison of two different things

using the word “like” or “as.”

Examples

Telephone wires hung like a musical scoreCompares 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.

A comparison of two different things without using the word “like” or “as.”

ExamplesFlowers of thought blossom while readingCompares thinking to blossoming flowers

Drink of sweet courage until drunk of itCompares courage to a liquid drink

She was my lute, by her I sang Compares the girl to a lute

Metaphor

PersonificationGiving human traits to objects or ideas.

ExamplesThe stars are hiding nowGives stars the ability to hide.

Or trees that whisper in some far, small townGives trees the ability to whisper.

A tree may wear a nest of robins in her hairGives the tree hair and the ability to wear things.

HyperboleExaggerating to express a strong feeling

ExamplesI 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.

UnderstatementExpression with less strength than expected.The opposite of hyperbole.

ExamplesThe 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.

QuizOn 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

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 doorAlex 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.

5There 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.

6And 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.

7Freedom 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.

8The painted leaves are strewnAlong 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

Jeff 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.”

10The 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.