Figurative and Literal LanguageLiteral: words function exactly as defined

The boy’s room was messy.

The left fielder dropped the baseball.

Figurative: You have to figure it out

The boy’s room was a pigsty.

The left fielder has butterfingers.

^These are figures of speech.

Simile

A comparison of two different things using the word “like” or “as.”

ExamplesTelephone wires hung like a musical score

○ Compares telephone wires to a musical score

Those faces, sour as vinegar;○ Compares facial expressions to the taste of vinegar

Warning! “Like” and “as” don’t always make similes.

A comparison must be made.

Not Simile: I washed the dishes as she dried them.

Simile: The dishes were as clean as the inside of a full bottle of soap.

In the first example, no comparison is made. In the second, the cleanliness of the dishes

is compared to the inside of a soap bottle.

Metaphor A comparison of two different things

without using the word “like” or “as.”

Examples Flowers of thought blossom while reading

○ Compares thinking to blossoming flowers

Personification Giving human traits to objects or ideas.

Examples The stars are hiding now

○ Gives stars the ability to hide.

Or trees that whisper in some far, small town○ Gives trees the ability to whisper.

A tree may wear a nest of robins in her hair○ Gives the tree hair and the ability to wear things.

Hyperbole

Exaggerating to express a strong feeling

ExamplesI will love you until the end of time.

○ It is unlikely that the speaker will live that long.

My dad would kill me if he knew about this.○ Dad probably wouldn’t actually kill his own child.

My book bag weighs a million pounds.○ The bag isn’t even close to a million pounds.

Understatement

Expression with less strength than expected.The opposite of hyperbole.

ExamplesThe guillotine will give you a bad hair day.

○ The results will be much worse than bad hair.

Kidnapping your host is considered rude.○ This is a serious crime much worse than rudeness.

Oxymoron

A phrase or term that consists of words that appear to contradict one another.

ExamplesJumbo shrimpOrganized chaos

Onomatopoeia

The formation of a word by imitation of a sound made by or associated with it.

ExamplesMeowBeepClickBang

Alliteration

The repetition of the first consonant sounds in several words.

ExamplesWide-eyed and wondering while we wait for

others to waken.

Your Turn With a partner, find 3 examples of figurative

language in the novel. Write your answers on a sheet of notebook paper.

Make sure to include:The quote (cited correctly)

○ “quote” (author’s last name #)Highlight the figurative language in the quoteThe type of figurative language it is

Choose one of your examples to present to the class.