Figurative language

1. FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE &
LITERARY DEVICES

2. WHAT IS FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE?
•Figurative language presents ordinary
things in fresh ways, communicating ideas
that go beyond words’ ordinary
meanings.
• HERE ARE SOME EXAMPLES…

3. FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE:
IT´S LIKE A SIMILE
– a comparison of two unlike things using the words like or as.
Examples of simile:
• “Life is like a box of chocolates.”
• “The girl is as beautiful as a rose.”
• “The willow is like an etching…”

4. FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE:
IT IS A METAPHOR
– a comparison of two unlike things without using the words like or as.
Examples of metaphor:
• “My father is a tall, sturdy oak.”
• “The hotel is a diamond in the sky.”
• “who know’s if the moon’s a balloon…”

5. FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE:
PERSONIFICATION
– the giving of human qualities to an animal, object, or idea.
Examples of personification:
• “Hunger sat shivering on the road.”
• “The flowers danced on the lawn.”
• “SpongeBob SquarePants” and “Smokey the Bear” are personified
characters.

6. FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE:
HYPERBOLE
- an exaggerated statement used to make a point.
Examples of hyperbole:
• “An apple a day keeps the doctor away.”
• “I could sleep for a year.”
• “This book weighs a ton.”

7. FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE:
IMAGINE THE IMAGERY
-figures of speech or vivid descriptions used to produce
mental images (appeal to the five senses).
Examples of imagery:
• “Her clammy back felt like bark of the tree after a
summer’s rain.”
• “…the small pond behind my house was lapping at it’s
banks…”
• “The willow’s music is like a soprano…”

8. WHAT IS A SOUND DEVICE?
•The effect of a poem can depend on the
sound of its words.
•HERE ARE SOME EXAMPLES…

9. SOUND DEVICE:
SOUNDS LIKE ONOMATOPOEIA
- the use of words whose sounds suggest their meanings.
Examples of onomatopoeia:
• “The bang of a gun.”
• “The hiss of a snake.”
• “The buzz of a bee.”
• “The pop of a firecracker.”

10. SOUND DEVICE: REPETITION
- the repeating of sound, words, phrases or lines in a poem used
to emphasize an idea or convey a certain feeling.
Examples of repetition:
• “Sing a song full of faith that the dark past has taught us,
Sing a song of the hope that the present has brought us…”
• “I think I can, I think I can, I think I can, I think I
can…”
• “The isolation during my vacation created a situation of
relaxation.”

11. SOUND DEVICE:
I RHYME ALL THE TIME AND I GUESS IT
SOUNDS FINE…
- repetition of sound at the ends of words. (Rhyme occurring
within a line is called internal rhyme. Rhyme occurring at the
end of a line is called end rhyme)
Rhyme Scheme – the pattern of end rhyme in a poem. Lines that
rhyme are given the same letter.
Example of internal rhyme, end rhyme, and rhyme scheme:
• I looked at the shell in the ocean a
• I looked at the bell in the sea, b
• I noticed the smell and the motion a
• Were very peculiar to me.” b

12. SOUND DEVICE:
DO YOU HAVE RHYTHM? LET’S CLAP!
– the pattern of sound created by stressed (more emphasis, `)
and unstressed (less emphasis, υ) syllables. Many poems are
given diacritical markings (` and υ) depending on the
rhythm.
Example of rhythm:
“I looked at the shell in the ocean
I looked at the bell in the sea,
I noticed the smell and the motion
Were very peculiar to me.”

13. SOUND DEVICE: ASSONANCE
- repetition of VOWEL SOUNDS at the BEGINNING, MIDDLE or END
of at least two words in a line of poetry.
Examples of Assonance
• Repeating the “eh” sound in the words: “crescent,” “flesh,”
“extending,” “medicine” and “death”

14. SOUND DEVICE: CONSONANCE
- repetition of CONSONANT SOUNDS at the BEGINNING, MIDDLE
or END of at least two words in a line of poetry.
Examples of Consonance
Repeating the “sh” sound in the words: “shush,” “wish,”
“sharp,” “cushion” and “quash”

15. SOUND DEVICE: ALLITERATION
- repetition of CONSONANT SOUNDS at the
BEGINNING of at least two words in a line of poetry.
Example of alliteration:
Examples of Alliteration
• “the frog frolicked frivolously on the forest floor.”
• “…Little skinny shoulder blades Sticking through your
clothes…”
• “…struck out by a steed flying fearless and fleet…”