Transcript Figurative Language

Figurative
Language
(a.k.a. Figures of Speech)
Literal Language
• You have probably read or heard someone make a
comment similar to this one:
The store was literally bursting with shoppers!
• In this case, the person is NOT using the word
literally in its true meaning.
• Literal means "exact" or "not exaggerated."
• By pretending that the statement is not exaggerated,
the person stresses the fullness of the store.
• Literal language is language that means exactly what
is said.
• Most of the time, we use literal language.
Figurative Language
• The opposite of literal language is figurative
language.
• Figurative language is language that means more
than what it says on the surface.
• It usually gives us a feeling about its subject.
• For example, one poet writes about the "song of
the truck." She does not mean that a truck can
actually sing. Rather, she is speaking figuratively.
She is referring to road noises as music. By using
the word song, and suggesting music, she brings
joyful feelings to mind.
Figurative Language Cont.
• Poets use figurative language almost as frequently as
literal language.
• For example, can you explain these lines from "The
Storyteller"
He talked, and as he talked,
Wallpaper came alive.
• Of course, the poet is not using literal language. He
doesn't mean that the wallpaper literally jumped off
the walls. Rather, he is using figurative language.
This exaggeration suggests the power of the
storyteller.
• When you read poetry, you must be conscious of the
difference; otherwise, a poem may make no sense at all.
Here Are Some
Examples of Literary
Devices That Help
Poets Create
Figurative Language.
Idiom
• A word or phrase that is used by a group
of people from a certain area (and not by
others in other areas).
• Examples:
– That’s a piece of cake.
– She was singing at the top of her lungs
about how great they did in the competition.
– They got a kick out of the movie.
– You’re just pulling my leg!
MORE?
Metaphor
• Compares two unlike things that have
something in common without using like or
as.
• Examples:
– Her hair was silk.
– He is a pig!
– He’s a pit-bull in the ring.
– Her words were arrows piercing my heart.
Simile
• A comparison between two unlike things
that have something in common. A simile
always uses the words like or as to make
a comparison.
• Examples:
– He moves like an elephant down the hall.
– Our love is like a red, red rose.
– She is pretty as a picture.
– After Fido’s bath he was fresh as a daisy.
Onomatopoeia
• A word that sounds like the sound it is
describing or naming.
• Examples:
– He screeched his tires pulling out of the
driveway.
– I wish that dog would stop barking!
– The fizz of the Coke went up my nose!
– Her balloon popped on the nail sticking out of
the ceiling.
Personification
• Giving human qualities to objects or
animals.
• Examples:
– The moon was smiling down on us.
– The chair danced as the baby bounced back
and forth.
– The sun stretched its warmth across the land.
– The darkness wrapped its arms around me.
Hyperbole
• An extreme exaggeration for humor or
emphasis (often used with metaphors or
similes).
• Examples:
– I nearly died laughing!
– I have so much homework my book bag
weighs a ton.
– I have asked you a million times to take out
the trash!
– This PowerPoint is taking forever!
NOW YOU TRY!
On a sheet of paper, give me your own
example of the following:
• Idiom
NOTE: Make
• Metaphor
sure you label
• Simile
which literary
• Onomatopoeia
device your
example is
• Personification
demonstrating!
• Hyperbole