Figuring OutFigurative Language

Figurative language is the use of words that go beyond their ordinary

meanings.  Figurative language requires you to use your imagination to figure out the author's meaning. 

The opposite of literal language, in which words

match their definition

Figurative and Literal Language

Literally: words function exactly as defined

The car is blue.

He caught the football.

Figuratively: figure out what it means

You’re a doll.

I was like a fish out of water.

^Figures of Speech

literal vs. figurative language

The kitten had white fur and blue eyes.

The kitten had fur like snow and eyes like the sky.

Types of Figurative Language

There are many different types of figurative languages, but we’re

going to look at 10 of them.

METAPHOR

IDIOM

ONOMATOPOEIA

PERSONIFICATION

ALLITERATION

ALLUSION

SIMILE

PUN

OXYMORON

HYPERBOLE

Simile

Comparison of two unlike things using the words “like” or “as.”

Examples

The metal twisted like a ribbon.

You were as brave as a lion.

He is as cold as ice.

They fought like cats and dogs.

She is as sweet as candy.

Metaphor

Two things are compared without using “like” or “as.”

The comparison is made by stating that one thing is something else.

Examples

He is a beast.

The clouds are balls of cotton.

The classroom was a refrigerator.

Her heart is stone.

Onomatopoeia• Words whose sound imitates that which it

names.• A word that “makes” a sound

EXAMPLES• BUZZ• SNAP• BOOM• POP• CRASH

Idiom

• A common saying that isn’t meant to be taken literally.

• Doesn’t “mean” what it says

EXAMPLES• Eyes in the back of your head • Costs an arm and a leg.• I’ve got your back.

PERSONIFICATION:giving human characteristics to

things that are not human

Examples

• The sunlight danced.• Water on the lake shivers. • The streets are calling me.• The moonlight walked across the water.• The wind whistled as it blew past the trees.

HyperboleAn exaggeration or overstatement that is not

meant to be taken literally. The statement is used for emphasis or to show strong feeling.

Examples

• He snores louder than a freight train.• I am so hungry I could eat a whole cow.• My house is a million miles away.• If I fail this test, my mom will kill me.• He’s so tired that he could sleep for a month.

• figurative language using the repetition of a consonant sound at the beginning of two or more neighboring words

• Examples:– Sandy sells seashells by the seashore– Tiny Tommy Tucker took toy trucks to Timmy’s on

Tuesday.

Officer Olivia only wrote Wanda the Witch a speeding ticket because she was flying and flipping over the fifty-

five mile an hour limit.

Alliteration

Allusion•An allusion is a reference to a real or fictitious person, event, place, work of art, or another work of literature within writing.

•In order for an allusion to be effective, the reader must be familiar with the original work. In the example below, the reader must be familiar with the fairy tale Cinderella.

•Example:

People hardly recognized Kayla when she arrived to the prom in a limo and wore her mother's beautiful gown. Kayla was the Cinderella of the senior class.

• Readers who know that Cinderella is a character who was given a magical evening know what the author means by this statement.

You can commonly find allusions to well-known works:•Roman/Greek mythology•The Bible•Shakespearean plays•Fairy tales

Examples:•I can tell by your silly smile that you've been struck by Cupid's arrow.•That old woman is fighting a David and Goliath court battle with the huge corporation.

OxymoronWhen two words are put together that

contradict each other. “Opposites”• Jumbo Shrimp• Freezer Burn• Clearly confused• Act naturally• Living dead• Alone together• Random order• Original copy• Awfully good• Small crowd

Oxymoron

• Example: “Pretty ugly”• Written in context: Even though everyone

thought the black duckling was pretty ugly, he turned out to be a beautiful swan.

• Explanation: An oxymoron is a contradiction in a sentence. The contradiction in this sentence is pretty and ugly. They mean the complete opposite and therefore it is an oxymoron. Usually, something is either pretty or ugly, but not both.

Pun

• 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.

A form of “word play” in which words have a double meaning.

(Using words that have more than one meaning for a humorous effect)

Pun• Example: “Wooden Shoe”• Written in context: I would like to go to

Holland someday. Wooden shoe?• Explanation: A pun is a play on words. In

the example above “Wooden Shoe” is replacing the words “wouldn’t you”. Since wooden shoes are an important icon from Holland it adds humor and ties the whole statement together.

I was scared when I heard the tiger’s frightening roar.

Onomatopoeia

I was surprised his nose was not growing like Pinocchio’s.

Allusion

The lady is a songbird.

Metaphor

The trees danced back and forth in the wind.

Personification

Graduating from high school will be a bittersweet

experience.Oxymoron

The old man was moving like a snail.

Simile

Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.

Alliteration

I’ve got your back.

Idiom

My pony is a little hoarse today.

Pun

My backpack weighs a million pounds!

Hyperbole