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FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE

TYPE & DEFINITION EXAMPLEIdiom-Word or phrase that has a figurative meaning and does not make sense (and is often silly) when taken literally. Idioms are specific to a particular culture and usually do not directly translate into other languages.Simile- A sentence or phrase that compares two unlike things using “like” or “as.”The two objects compared may seem very different in real life, but the simile shows how they are similar.Metaphor- A sentence or phrase that compares two unlike things without using “like” or “as.”A metaphor states that one thing is another thing.The two objects compared may seem very different in real life.Onomatopoeia- A word that imitates (sounds like) the sound it represents.

Personification- Language in which an animal or object is described using human characteristics.

Alliteration- The repetition of the same sound throughout a poem or piece of literature (usually within the same line). Includes tongue twisters.

Hyperbole- An exaggeration that is so dramatic that no one would believe the statement is true.

Oxymoron- A phrase that combines a pair of words with opposite meanings to emphasize a point.

Allusion- a reference in a literary work to a person, place, or thing in history or another work of literature. Allusions are often indirect or brief references to well-known characters or events.

Literal Language- language that means exactly what it says.Figurative Language- language that has a deeper meaning other than the direct dictionary meaning of each word.

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Simile: It was too much for him, and he took off down the street, squalling like a scalded cat/ (2)

Simile: The pads were worn down slick as the rind on an apple. (3)

Simile: One was large, with long, upright handles that stood out like wings on a morning dove. (6)

Simile: The other was smaller and made of silver. It was neat and trim, and sparkled like a white star in the heavens. (6)

Simile: I saw the hurt in his eyes. It made me feel like someone was squeezing water out of Literal Language- language that means exactly what it says.Figurative Language- language that has a deeper meaning other than the direct dictionary meaning of each word.

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my heart. (9)

Simile: His tail was as big as a wet corncob. (11)

Simile: He swelled up like a sitting hen. (13)

Simile: I had lost weight and was as thin as a bean pole. (15)

Simile: All through the summer, I worked like a beaver. (20)

Metaphor: His skin was stretched drum-tight over his bony frame. (3)

Simile: I felt as big as the tallest mountains in the Ozarks. (21)

Literal Language- language that means exactly what it says.Figurative Language- language that has a deeper meaning other than the direct dictionary meaning of each word.

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Metaphor: I suppose there’s a time in practically every young boy’s life when he’s infected by that wonderful disease of puppy love. (7)

Metaphor: I was a hunter from the time I could walk. (9)

Metaphor: But on that day, I found the greatest of treasures, an old sportsman’s magazine. (18)

Metaphor: The plate glass was a perfect mirror. (29)

Metaphor: The spider-web pattern of raw-red scratches looked odd in the saddle-brown skin.

Literal Language- language that means exactly what it says.Figurative Language- language that has a deeper meaning other than the direct dictionary meaning of each word.

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(29)

Idiom: I caught my breath. (2)

Idiom: To pen up a dog like that is a sin. It would have broken his heart. (4)

Idiom: There was a story in those cups. (6)

Idiom: Piece by piece the story unfolded. (6)

Idiom: It was the same old story. (9)

Idiom: I went to bed with my heart all torn up in little pieces, and I cried myself to sleep. (10)

Idiom: I jumped up and down, and cried a whole bucketful of tears. (11)Literal Language- language that means exactly what it says.Figurative Language- language that has a deeper meaning other than the direct dictionary meaning of each word.

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Idiom: I heard him laughing fit to kill. (12)

Onomatopoeia: Out of the snarling, growling, slashing mass reared an old redbone hound. (2)

Onomatopoeia: As I sat there in the silence, the fire grew larger. It crackled and popped. (6)

Onomatopoeia: He spit and yowled and dared anyone to get close to him. (11)

Onomatopoeia: Mama shushed them up. (11)

Onomatopoeia: The chickens started cackling. (11) Literal Language- language that means exactly what it says.Figurative Language- language that has a deeper meaning other than the direct dictionary meaning of each word.

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Onomatopoeia: Sloppy Ann, our hog, started running in circles, squealing and grunting. (11)

Onomatopoeia: Now and then I could hear the hunter whooping to him. (14)

Onomatopoeia: I heard the old Maxwell car as it snorted and chugged its way out of the bottoms. (17)

Personification: It’s strange indeed how memories can lie dormant in a man’s mind for so many years. Yet those memories can be awakened and brought forth fresh and new, just by something you’ve seen, or something you’ve heard, or the sight of an old familiar face. (3)Literal Language- language that means exactly what it says.Figurative Language- language that has a deeper meaning other than the direct dictionary meaning of each word.

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Personification: A cool breeze drifted down from the rugged Tetons. It had a bite in it, and goosepimples jumped out on my skin. (5)

Personification: Firelight shadows began to shimmer and dance around the room. (6)

Personification: His voice seemed to bore its way through the pillow and ring in my ears. (15)

Personification: I heard the old Maxwell car as it snorted and chugged its way out of the bottoms. (17)

Personification: Feeling the pangs of hunger gnawing at my stomach, I decided I would stop Literal Language- language that means exactly what it says.Figurative Language- language that has a deeper meaning other than the direct dictionary meaning of each word.

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and eat at the next stream I found. (28)

Alliteration: Hearing loud laughter, I looked around. (33)

Alliteration: But it made my blood boil. (102)

Alliteration: One large long limb ran out and hung directly over the gate. (140)

Alliteration: I knew the killing of the coon was out of my control. (143)

Hyperbole: Everything was too perfect for anything unusual to happen. (1)

Hyperbole: One of those rare days when everything is right and nothing is wrong. (1)Literal Language- language that means exactly what it says.Figurative Language- language that has a deeper meaning other than the direct dictionary meaning of each word.

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Hyperbole: He sat down on his rear and let the whole world know he’d been hurt. (2)

Hyperbole: I was ten years old when I first became infected with this terrible disease. I’m sure no boy in the world had it worse than I did. (7)

Hyperbole: Besides, a hunter needed a gun, and that was one thing I couldn’t have, not until I was twenty-one anyway. (8)

Hyperbole: There I was sitting right in the middle of the finest hunting country in the world, and I didn’t even have a dog. (8)

Hyperbole: I reached back in Arkansas Literal Language- language that means exactly what it says.Figurative Language- language that has a deeper meaning other than the direct dictionary meaning of each word.

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somewhere. By the time my fist had traveled all the way down to the Cherokee Strip, it had a lot of power behind it. (40)

Oxymoron: Affected by that wonderful disease of puppy love. (7)

Oxymoron: What I saw in the warm gray eyes of the friendly old hound brought back wonderful memories. (3)

Oxymoron: This one looked absolutely impossible. (55)

Allusion: I tried to make myself believe that his home was in the Ozark Mountains somewhere in Missouri, or Oklahoma. It wasn’t impossible,

Literal Language- language that means exactly what it says.Figurative Language- language that has a deeper meaning other than the direct dictionary meaning of each word.

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even though it was a long way from the Snake River Valley in Idaho. (4)

Allusion: Memories of my boyhood days, an old K.C. Baking Powder can, and two little red hounds. (5)

Allusion: The land we lived on was Cherokee land, allotted to my mother because of the Cherokee blood that flowed in her veins. (8)

Allusion: I was a young Daniel Boone. (9)

Allusion: He told me how hard times were, and that it looked like a man couldn’t get a fair price for anything he raised. Some of the farmers had quit farming and were cutting

Literal Language- language that means exactly what it says.Figurative Language- language that has a deeper meaning other than the direct dictionary meaning of each word.

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railroad ties so they could feed their families. (10)

Allusion: If Santa Clause had come down out of the mountains, reindeer and all, I would not have been more pleased. (11)

Allusion: I heard the old Maxwell car as it snorted and chugged its way out of the bottoms. (17)

Literal Language- language that means exactly what it says.Figurative Language- language that has a deeper meaning other than the direct dictionary meaning of each word.