Transcript Figurative Language

EQ 9 & 10
“The first baseman hit a bomb over the fence!”
“The outfielder threw a frozen rope to the catcher.”
“The pitcher was like a machine throwing strikes.”
What are some other examples you hear at different
sporting events?
Figurative language creates images for the
reader or listener.
Writers uses descriptions that are comparisons,
repetitions, exaggerations, and imitations to
make the writing more interesting and
engaging.
There are 6 types that we will focus on:
Simile
 Metaphor
 Personification
 Hyperbole
 Alliteration
 Onomatopoeia

Similes and metaphors are used to compare
things that are not usually seen as similar.
Metaphors imply the comparison and similes
state the comparison directly.
Metaphor
“That test was a bear!”
Simile
“That test was like struggling with a bear!”
You are not saying that the test was a literal
bear but that it was unpredictable and hard to
deal with.
A metaphor implies a comparison in order to
bring fresh, rich meaning to writing (and
speaking).
A simile is a comparison too, but it is directly
stated. It is still non-literal language, but you
still come right out and state the comparison.
Similes have signal words; as, like, than, similar
to, and resembles. Be careful because these
words don’t always indicate similes.
“I look like my sister,” is not a simile.
To be a simile or metaphor, the comparison
must be of essentially unlike things.
Literal and Figurative terms
The literal term is what we are comparing to
something else. It is what is real; it means what it is.
The literal term in “That test was a bear!” is test.
The figurative term is what is being compared to the
literal term. The figurative term means something
other than itself, something non-literal. The
figurative term in the metaphor is bear.
“I got a flood of mail yesterday.”
Metaphor or simile?
Metaphor
Literal term?
mail
Figurative term?
flood
“Cindy sang like a crow.”
Metaphor or simile?
simile
Literal term?
Cindy
Figurative term?
crow
“Jeff was taller than the Empire State Building.”
Metaphor or simile?
simile
Literal term?
Jeff
Figurative term?
Empire State Building
“I have a dream that one day even the state of
Mississippi, a desert state sweltering with the
heat of injustice and oppression, will be
transformed into an oasis of freedom and
justice.”
-MLK Jr., “I Have a Dream”
1. Name 2 examples of figurative language.
Metaphor or simile? How do you know?
“I have a dream that one day even the state of
Mississippi, a desert state sweltering with the
heat of injustice and oppression, will be
transformed into an oasis of freedom and
justice.”
-MLK Jr., “I Have a Dream”
1. Name 2 examples of figurative language.
Metaphor or simile? How do you know?
Metaphor
“I have a dream that one day even the state of
Mississippi, a desert state sweltering with the
heat of injustice and oppression, will be
transformed into an oasis of freedom and
justice.”
-MLK Jr., “I Have a Dream”
1. Name 2 examples of figurative language.
Metaphor or simile? How do you know?
Metaphor
“I have a dream that one day even the state of
Mississippi, a desert state sweltering with the
heat of injustice and oppression, will be
transformed into an oasis of freedom and
justice.”
-MLK Jr., “I Have a Dream”
1. Name 2 examples of figurative language.
Metaphor or simile? How do you know?
Metaphor
Metaphor
“I have a dream that one day even the state of
Mississippi, a desert state sweltering with the
heat of injustice and oppression, will be
transformed into an oasis of freedom and
justice.”
-MLK Jr., “I Have a Dream”
2. What does figurative language add to the
passage? Think about the two highlighted
words.
“I have a dream that one day even the state of
Mississippi, a desert state sweltering with the
heat of injustice and oppression, will be
transformed into an oasis of freedom and
justice.”
-MLK Jr., “I Have a Dream”
One day Mississippi, a state where some
people experience injustice and oppression,
will become a place where all people can have
freedom and justice.
Verse
“I have a dream that one day even the state of
Mississippi, a desert state sweltering with the
heat of injustice and oppression, will be
transformed into an oasis of freedom and
justice.”