Figurative Language

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Figurative Language

• Top 20 Techniques

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1. Simile

• An indirect relationship where one thing or idea
  is described as being similar to another. Similes
  usually contain the words like or as, but not
  always.

The moon appeared crimson, like a drop of blood
hanging in the sky.
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2. Metaphor

• A direct relationship where one thing or idea
  substitutes for another.

The poor rat didnt have a chance. Our old cat,
a bolt of lightning, caught his prey.
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3. Personification

• Where inanimate objects or abstract concepts are
  given human qualities.

The wind stood up and gave a shout. He whistled
on his fingers andKicked the withered leaves
about And thumped the branches with his handAnd
said he'd kill and kill and kill, And so he will
and so he will. James Stephens, The Wind
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4. Alliteration

• The repetition of consonant usually in
  consecutive words within the same sentence or
  line.

While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there
came a tapping as if someone gently rapping,
rapping at my chamber door. Edgar Allan Poe,
The Raven
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5. Assonance

• Identity or similarity in sound between internal
  vowels in neighboring words.

And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon's
that is dreaming. Edgar Allan Poe, The Raven
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6. Hyperbole

• A description that exaggerates, usually employing
  extremes and/or superlatives to convey a positive
  or negative attribute.

Ive told you a million times to clean up your
room. A direct quote from every mother in
America
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7. Onomatopoeia

• When words describing sounds actually sound like
  the sounds they describe.

"Plop, plop, fizz, fizz, oh what a relief it
is." Slogan of Alka Seltzer
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8. Irony

• Use of words to convey the opposite of their
  literal meaning. A statement or situation where
  the meaning is directly contradicted by the
  appearance or presentation of the idea. (Three
  types Verbal, Situational, Dramatic)

In The Most Dangerous Game, a professional
hunter finds himself being hunted.
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9. Symbol

• The use of specific objects or images to
  represent abstract ideas. A symbol must be
  something you can see or touch, while the idea it
  symbolizes must be not seen or universal.

Its a shell! I seen one like that before. On
someones back wall. A conch he called it. He
used it to blow and then his mum would come. Its
ever so valuable --. William Golding, Lord of
the Flies
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10. Imagery

• Language that describes something in detail,
  using words to substitute for and create sensory
  stimulation, including visual imagery and sound
  imagery.

The plane rolled to the right and blew through
the trees, out over the water and down, down to
slam into the lake, skip once on water as hard as
concrete, water that tore the windshield out and
shattered the side windows, water that drove him
back into the seat. Somebody was screaming,
screaming as the plane drove down into the
water. Gary Paulsen, Hatchet
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11. Allusion

• A brief, usually indirect reference to a person,
  place, or event--real or fictional. Allusions are
  commonly made to the Bible, nursery rhymes,
  myths, famous fictional or historical characters
  or events, and Shakespeare.

Christy didn't like to spend money. She was no
Scrooge, but she seldom purchased anything except
the bare necessities.
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12. Slant Rhyme

• The rhymed words share either the same vowel or
  consonant sound but not both.
• Hope is the thing with feathers That perches in
  the soul, And sings the tune without the words,
  And never stops at all.
• Emily Dickinson

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13. Consonance

• Like alliteration, it is the repetition of
  consonant sounds but in the middle or at the end
  of words.
• Whose woods these are I think I know. His house
  is in the village though He will not see me
  stopping here To watch his woods fill up with
  snow.
• Robert Frost

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Test Your Knowledge

• Choose the technique used in the following
  examples.

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1.

• He stretched out his arms toward the dark water
  in a curious way . . . Involuntarily I glanced
  seaward and distinguished nothing except a
  single green light. (The Great Gatsby)
• A. Symbol
• B. Simile
• C. Imagery
• D. Assonance

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1. AC Symbol and Imagery

• He stretched out his arms toward the dark water
  in a curious way . . . Involuntarily I glanced
  seaward and distinguished nothing except a
  single green light. (The Great Gatsby)
• A. Symbol
• B. Simile
• C. Imagery
• D. Assonance

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2.

• Language is a road map of a culture. It tells you
  where its people come from and where they are
  going. (Rita May Brown)
• A. Personification
• B. Metaphor
• C. Paradox
• D. Metonymy

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2. B Metaphor

• Language is a road map of a culture. (Rita May
  Brown)
• A. Personification
• B. Metaphor
• C. Paradox
• D. Metonymy

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3.

• Even King Solomon would find my parents
  disagreements hard to resolve.
• A. Anecdote
• B. Assonance
• C. Allusion
• D. Alliteration

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3. C Allusion

• Even King Solomon would find my parents
  disagreements hard to resolve.
• A. Anecdote
• B. Assonance
• C. Allusion
• D. Alliteration

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4.

• War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is
  strength. (George Orwell, 1984)
• A. Irony
• B. Metaphor
• C. Personification
• D. Paradox

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4. B- Metaphor

• War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is
  strength. (George Orwell, 1984)
• A. Irony
• B. Metaphor
• C. Personification
• D. Paradox

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5.

• All right, lets huddle up. I expect you to give
  one hundred and one percent. Lets own the paint.
  Theres no I in team.
• A. Imagery
• B. Cliché
• C. Motif
• D. Hyperbole

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5. D Hyperbole

• All right, lets huddle up. I expect you to give
  one hundred and one percent. Lets own the paint.
  Theres no I in team.
• A. Imagery
• B. Cliché
• C. Motif
• D. Hyperbole

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6.

• Under her small black-freckled hand her cane,
  limber as a buggy whip, would switch at the brush
  as if to rouse up any hiding things. (A Worn
  Path)
• A. Personification
• B. Simile
• C. Imagery
• D. Motif

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6. B and C Simile and Imagery

• Under her small black-freckled hand her cane,
  limber as a buggy whip, would switch at the brush
  as if to rouse up any hiding things. (A Worn
  Path)
• A. Personification
• B. Simile
• C. Imagery
• D. Motif

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7.

• Bang! Went the pistol.Crash! Went the window.
  Ouch! Went the son of a gun.
• A. Onomatopoeia
• B. Hyperbole
• C. Repetition
• D. Personification

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7. A Onomatopoeia

• Bang! Went the pistol. Crash! Went the window.
  Ouch! Went the son of a gun.
• A. Onomatopoeia
• B. Hyperbole
• C. Repetition
• D. Personification

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8.

• The lightning lashed out with anger.
• A. Onomatopoeia
• B. Hyperbole
• C. Alliteration
• D. Personification

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8. CD Personification and Alliteration

• The lightning lashed out with anger.
• A. Onomatopoeia
• B. Hyperbole
• C. Alliteration
• D. Personification

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9.

• She sells sea shells down by the sea shore.
• A. Assonance
• B. Alliteration
• C. Allusion
• D. Anecdote

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9. B Alliteration

• She sells sea shells down by the sea shore.
• A. Assonance
• B. Alliteration
• C. Allusion
• D. Anecdote

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10.

• My backpack weighs a ton.
• A. Hyperbole
• B. Idiom
• C. Imagery
• D. Metaphor

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10. A Hyperbole

• My backpack weighs a ton.
• A. Hyperbole
• B. Idiom
• C. Imagery
• D. Metaphor

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11.

• For every sound that floats From the rust within
  their throats Is a groan. ( Edgar Allan Poe, The
  Bells)
• A. Imagery
• B. Symbol
• C. Assonance
• D. Alliteration

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11. C Assonance

• For every sound that floats From the rust within
  their throats Is a groan. ( Edgar Allan Poe, The
  Bells)
• A. Imagery
• B. Symbol
• C. Assonance
• D. Alliteration

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12.

• Water, water, every where,And all the boards did
  shrink Water, water, every where, Nor any drop
  to drink.
• (Coleridge, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner)
• A. Paradox
• B. Parallelism
• C. Imagery
• D. Irony

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12. CD Irony and Imagery

• Water, water, every where,And all the boards did
  shrink Water, water, every where, Nor any drop
  to drink.
• (Coleridge, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner)
• A. Paradox
• B. Parallelism
• C. Imagery
• D. Irony

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13.

• When I see birches bend to left and rightAcross
  the lines of straighter darker trees,I like to
  think some boy's been swinging them.But
  swinging doesn't bend them down to
  stay.Ice-storms do that. Often you must have
  seen themLoaded with ice a sunny winter
  morningAfter a rain. They click upon
  themselvesAs the breeze rises, and turn
  many-coloredAs the stir cracks and crazes their
  enamel.

1. Metaphor
2. Repetition
3. Imagery
4. Hyperbole

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13. C Imagery

• When I see birches bend to left and rightAcross
  the lines of straighter darker trees,I like to
  think some boy's been swinging them.But
  swinging doesn't bend them down to
  stay.Ice-storms do that. Often you must have
  seen themLoaded with ice a sunny winter
  morningAfter a rain. They click upon
  themselvesAs the breeze rises, and turn
  many-coloredAs the stir cracks and crazes their
  enamel.

1. Metaphor
2. Repetition
3. Imagery
4. Hyperbole

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14.

• O pardon me thou bleeding piece of earth that I
  am meek and gentle with these butchers . . . That
  was the most unkindly cut of all . . .
• A. Symbol
• B. Imagery
• C. Motif
• D. Personification

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14. D Personification

• O pardon me thou bleeding piece of earth that I
  am meek and gentle with these butchers . . . That
  was the most unkindly cut of all . . .
• A. Symbol
• B. Imagery
• C. Motif
• D. Personification

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Congratulations!