This study guide teaches about figurative language techniques such as similes, metaphors, and personification. It provides examples from literature, news articles, and autobiographies to illustrate these techniques. The guide explains how figurative language works through connotations and encourages understanding through quizzes and extension activities analyzing examples.

2. How to use this study guide
• This guide will help you understand what figurative language is and how writers use it to create
imagery
• You’re in control – work through the guide at your own pace, wherever and whenever you want
• Click the mouse or use the keyboard arrow keys to move between the slides
• You can also pause, rewind and mute the videos by using the playback controls
• You can pause the audio on the slides by using the controls in the bottom left of the screen
• Take the quiz at the end and complete the extension tasks to further develop your understanding
of figurative language

3. What is figurative language?
• Literally means using the real or original meaning of a word or phrase
• Figurative language is when we say or write anything that is not meant literally
• Figurative language techniques, such as similes, metaphors, personification and
symbols, are often referred to as imagery techniques
• This is because we use them to create more vivid and interesting descriptions of things
• Watch the video on the next slide to find out more

4. BBC Teach video: literal and figurative language

5. Video recap

6. Video recap

7. What is figurative language?
• When we say literally, we often use it incorrectly and actually mean ‘figuratively’ because we’re
using language such as similes, metaphors, personification and symbols
• For example, you might describe yourself as literally dying from hunger when, in reality, you might
be very hungry but you’re not actually close to death
• And figurative language features such as similes, metaphors, personification and symbols are all
around us – in fact, you probably use them every day without thinking

8. What is figurative language?
The cells in our bodies react biologically in complex
ways to infection: we can understand the process
more easily through a metaphor of war, thinking of
it in terms of fighting and invasion.
So, a writer might describe how: ‘Scientists believe
stress affects the development of T-cells, the white
blood cells which help to fight off invading micro-
organisms.’

9. What is figurative language?
We also use a similar metaphor to describe a
computer being attacked by a virus or some
software not working because of a bug.
Your computer hasn’t literally caught the flu and the
software doesn’t really have a small insect crawling
about inside, but the metaphors help us understand
the complex digital processes that are going on.

10. How does figurative language work?
Figurative language works because:
• Words can reveal a theme, such as ‘black’, ‘darkness’
and ‘night’ are linked to death, or ‘red’, ‘heart’ and ‘light’
are linked to love
• Specific words can create a particular mood, such as
tension, or convey action, drama or make the reader
feel a certain way
• Language can do this because words have two sets of
meanings: denotations and connotations
• Denotation: the dictionary
definition of a word (the actual
meaning of a word)
• Connotation: the ideas words
and images link to (the
meanings we associate with a
word or image)

11. How does figurative language work?
Here are some examples of denotations and connotations:
• The word 'desk' literally denotes a table – a piece of furniture with legs and a flat top that provides
a level surface – but it has connotations of work and study. They’ve become associated with each
other because we often sit at a desk to work and study.
• The word ‘sky’ literally denotes the sky – the area above the earth, in which clouds, the
sun, moon, stars etc. can be seen – but it has connotations of heaven and freedom. They’ve
become associated with each other because the sky is seen as endless and without restrictions
and it’s the place we look up to when seeking heaven.

12. How does figurative language work?
• Using a word pyramid like the one
here allows you to break down the
meanings of individual words and
images
• It will help you identify the
connotations being conveyed and
understand the ideas you or a
writer is trying to express

13. Knowledge test

14. Knowledge test

15. Knowledge test

16. Knowledge test

17. Understanding figurative language
•A good way of understanding figurative language is to look at songs
•This is because songwriters – like all writers – use figurative language in
their work
•Take a look at the video on the next slide to see some examples

18. Video: figurative language in popular music

19. Video recap
• Taylor Swift: uses similes to describe words as being as hurtful as weapons and how the
person’s voice makes her flinch and cringe.
• One Direction: kryptonite is the only thing that weakens Superman. Here, the boys are using
a metaphor to say that the girl they’re singing about is kryptonite and therefore has the same
effect on them as kryptonite does on Superman.
• The all-singing, all-dancing plates: here, personification is used to give life to crockery,
making these inanimate objects sing and dance so we see them in a different way to how we
see them normally.

20. Understanding figurative language
•Big Shaq
•We all know this man’s not hot
and he’s good at quick maths, but
did you know he’s also pretty good
at a quick metaphor or two?
Man’s not hot

21. Man’s not hot
• For example, in ‘Man’s Not Hot’, he says ‘I’m gonna
spin his jaw’
• Of course, he’s not literally going to make this poor
person’s jaw spin around – that would be impossible
• No, he uses ‘spin’ as a metaphor to create a violent
image that suggests the man will be punched
extremely hard

22. Man’s still not hot
• He also says that ‘If she ain’t on it, I ghost’
• Big Shaq isn’t literally going to leave this world and
become a ghost and float through walls and spook
people out
• No, ‘ghost’ is used here as a metaphor to suggest
that he’s likely to end the relationship by suddenly
and without explanation stopping all communication

23. Quick recap

24. Quick recap

25. Why do I need to know all this stuff about figurative language?
Aside from being able to understand how the world around you is represented by people
using figurative language, you also need to know this stuff for your GCSE English exams:
• Paper 1 Questions 2 and 4: you have to identify imagery techniques and explain their
effects
• Paper 2 Questions 3 and 4: you have to identify imagery techniques and explain their
effects
• You also need to be able to use figurative language in your creative writing (Question 5
on both exams)

26. Understanding figurative language
• So, now it’s time to take a look at some examples of imagery techniques used in
literature and non-fiction texts
• On the next few slides, you’ll find examples of figurative language taken from a range of
texts
• These include a fictional novel, a non-fiction article and autobiography – the sort of texts
you’re likely to see in the exams

27. Poetry: ‘Dulce Et Decorum Est’
Example Technique Connotations
Bent double, like old beggars under
sacks,
Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we
cursed through sludge…
Similes These similes are used to compare
the experience of soldiers in World
War 1 with that of old beggars and
haggard women.
The soldiers are sick, exhausted, dirty
and desperate – things we’d normally
associate with vulnerable people living
on the streets.

28. Poetry: ‘Dulce Et Decorum Est’
As you can see from the pictures, it’s a pretty fair comparison. The poet, Wilfred Owen, did this
because he was determined to show people back home – by using imagery they could understand
such as beggars – that war was not a glorious experience:

29. Play: ‘Romeo and Juliet’
Example Technique Connotations
It is the east, and Juliet is the sun.
Rise up, beautiful sun, and kill the
jealous moon,
The moon is already sick and pale
with grief…
Metaphor
and
personification
Here, Shakespeare uses metaphor
and personification to describe how
Romeo compares Juliet to the sun
(metaphor), creating the image that
she is so incredibly beautiful she
brings light and life to the world.
This is emphasised by the image of
the moon becoming jealous and sick
of her beauty (personification).

30. Play: ‘Romeo and Juliet’
Juliet’s beauty – bringing light to Romeo’s heart and the darkness of night,
just like the rising sun brings light to the world:

31. Novel: ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’
Example Technique Connotations
In a fog, Jem and I watched our father
take the gun and walk out into the
middle of the street. He walked
quickly, but I thought he moved like
an underwater swimmer: time had
slowed to a nauseating crawl.
Simile
and
personification
The writer, Harper Lee, uses a simile
and personification to create the
image of the narrator’s senses
becoming overwhelmed.
The narrator feels like time is slowing
down and the people moving about
appear to be moving in slow motion as
something dramatic is happening in
the story.

32. Play: ‘Romeo and Juliet’
Watching a dramatic life or death situation happening right in front of you
can overwhelm your senses:
• Everything slows down underwater and
looks and sounds strange and blurry –
and this is how the narrator in ‘To Kill a
Mockingbird’ feels as she watches her
father try and save their town from great
danger

33. Non-fiction: Newspaper article
Example Technique Connotations
Need fire extinguishers to tick the
safety box? Hire them in for the day.
The lift is a death trap? Stick a sign
on it to say it is out of use and the
inspector will pass it by. The dark arts
thrive in the inspection business.
Metaphor Here, the writer is using a metaphor to
compare illegal and immoral business
practices to the ‘dark arts’ of evil,
corrupt wizards and sorcerers who
seek to use magic to cause harm and
even death.
And it’s pretty obvious that cutting
corners when it comes to health and
safety just to save money is likely to
cause serious harm or even death.

34. Non-fiction: Newspaper article
Making people work in dangerous conditions like this to make more money
is no different to being an evil, corrupt sorcerer:

35. Non-fiction: Autobiography
Example Technique Connotations
I had fourth-degree frostbite, the
worst form. My fingers were covered
in deathly black blisters, my hands
freezing to the bone. The pain when it
thaws is colossal, at the top of the
human tolerance scale, like a huge
invisible parasite with a million fangs.
Simile The writer describes how they suffered
from frostbite during an Arctic
expedition. To convey how extreme
the pain was, he uses a simile to
compare it to being constantly bitten
by an invisible monster that’s got a
million fangs in its mouth.
The reader imagines how painful that
would be and is then able to get an
idea of how much agony the writer
was in and how serious his situation
was.

36. Non-fiction: Autobiography
Frostbite – even more painful than being eaten by something like this:

37. Summary
• Figurative language is when we say or write anything that is not meant literally
• Figurative language techniques, such as similes, metaphors, personification and
symbols, are often referred to as imagery techniques
• Figurative language is used in everyday speech and in written texts to help us
understand the world around us and to create vivid and interesting descriptions
• We can understand figurative language because we understand the connotations – the
ideas and images we associate with words

38. Quick quiz

39. Quick quiz

40. Quick quiz

41. Extension Activity 1
For the examples below, identify the imagery technique and explain the connotations linked to the language used.
The first one has been done for you.
• Tip: use the word pyramid from earlier in this study guide to help break down each example
Example Technique Connotations
‘He was fast as lightning.’ Simile Lightning travels extremely fast, so
the man is presented as quicker
than any living thing, creating an
image of somebody superhuman.
‘His home was his castle’
‘She had a smile like the sunrise.’
‘The wind screamed through the
trees.’

42. Extension Activity 2
Develop your own similes, metaphors or personification to create vivid images
for the following sentences:
1. The water crashed onto the beach.
2. We heard the tune of an ice-cream van.
3. There was a long queue.
4. We were holding giant ice creams.

43. Extension Activity 3
Write a vivid description of a trip you’ve been on. It could be to town, to a park, to
a football match or something else. Aim to use at least one example of:
• A metaphor
• A simile
• Personification

44. Extension Activity 4
Write the first paragraph of a horror story. Someone is trapped in a dark room and
scared about what will happen next. Aim to use at least one example of:
• A metaphor
• A simile
• Personification