Transcript Figurative Language

Figurative
Language
At Dusk
LITERAL
LANGUAGE
When a writer uses words
according to their dictionary
definition, he or she is using
literal language.
LITERAL
LANGUAGE
The clouds were
white against
the blue sky.
This sentence
says exactly
what it means.
FIGURATIVE
LANGUAGE
When a writer uses words
in an imaginative way to
express meanings beyond
the literal meanings, he or
she is using figurative
language.
FIGURATIVE
LANGUAGE
 Jenna’s fingers leapt
across the piano like
tiny dancers.
 Jenna’s fingers aren't
dancers, but the
description helps you
picture her playing
the piano.
FIGURATIVE
LANGUAGE
Figurative language often
compares an object or person
with something else.
When reading figurative
language, use your
imagination to understand
what the comparison means.
FIGURATIVE
OR LITERAL?
Decide whether each sentence is
using figurative language or
literal language.
1. The stars were diamonds in
the night sky.
FIGURATIVE
OR LITERAL?
1. The stars were diamonds in
the night sky.
FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE
The stars are not really
diamonds, but they do shine just
like diamonds.
FIGURATIVE
OR LITERAL?
Decide whether each sentence is
using figurative language or
literal language.
2. The cat’s coat was soft to the
touch.
FIGURATIVE
OR LITERAL?
2. The cat’s coat was soft to the
touch.
LITERAL LANGUAGE
The cat’s coat is really soft. It is
not being compared to anything.
FIGURATIVE
OR LITERAL?
Decide whether each sentence is
using figurative language or
literal language.
3. The water in the pool was
like ice against Jose’s skin.
FIGURATIVE
OR LITERAL?
3. The water in the pool was
like ice against Jose’s skin.
FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE
The water is compared to ice
because both are cold. It is not
actually ice.
IMAGERY
Language that appeals to the senses.
Most images are visual—that is, they
create pictures in the reader’s mind by
appealing to the sense of sight.
Images can also appeal to the senses
of hearing, touch, taste, and smell, or
even to several senses at once.
IMAGERY
It was dark and dim in the
forest.
The words “dark” and “dim”
are visual images.
IMAGERY
The children were screaming
and shouting in the fields.
 “Screaming” and “shouting”
appeal to our sense of hearing
or auditory sense.
IMAGERY
He whiffed the aroma of
brewed coffee.
“whiff” and “aroma” evoke
our sense of smell or olfactory
sense
IMAGERY
Imagery of light and darkness is
repeated many times in
Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet”.
Consider an example from Act I,
Scene V:
IMAGERY
“O, she doth teach the torches to burn
bright!
It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night
Like a rich jewel in an Ethiope’s ear;”
Romeo praises Juliet by saying that she
appears more radiant than the brightly lit
torches in the hall. He says that at night
her face glows like a bright jewel shining
against the dark skin of an African. Through
the contrasting images of light and dark,
Romeo portrays Juliet’s beauty.
TONE
The attitude a writer takes toward his
or her subject, characters, and
audience.
For example, a writer’s tone might be
humorous or passionate and sincere.
When people speak, their tone of voice
gives added meaning to what they
say. Writers use written language to
create effects similar to those that
people create with their voices.
TONE
Holden Caulfield in J.D
Salinger’s “Catching the Rye”
unfolds his personality through
the tone he adopts throughout
the novel:
TONE
• “All morons hate it when you call them a
moron.”
• “If a girl looks swell when she meets you, who
gives a damn if she’s late? Nobody.”
• “Goddamn money. It always ends up making
you blue as hell.”
• “Catholics are always trying to find out if you’re
Catholic.”
Holden’s tone is bitterly sarcastic as he
criticizes the nature of things in real life. His
character may reveal the attitude of the
writer towards life.
MOOD
In literature, mood is a literary element
that evokes certain feelings or vibes in
readers through words and descriptions.
Usually, mood is referred to as the
atmosphere of a literary piece, as it
creates an emotional situation that
surrounds the readers.
Mood is developed in a literary piece
through various methods. It can be
developed through setting, theme, tone
and diction.
MOOD
Charles Dickens creates a calm and
peaceful mood in his novel “Pickwick
Papers”:
“The river, reflecting the clear blue of
the sky, glistened and sparkled as it
flowed noiselessly on.”
The depiction of idyllic scenery imparts a
serene and non-violent mood to the
readers.