Duncan Chapel Elementary Figurative Language Kitty Tripp Duncan Chapel Elementary March 28, 2003

Figurative Language is: Speech or written language Creates images in a listener’s mind Describes something Uses unusual comparisons or Make things clearer Results  the creation of interesting images.

Types of Figurative Language Similes Metaphors Hyperboles Idioms

Figurative Language in Everyday Use: Letters Poetry Advertisement

Helen Keller Letter to Alexander Graham Bell Poem, “Autumn”

Helen Keller states in her letter: “I had a contest with a pirate, most redoubtable bronchitis. The attack was not severe and I soon got the upper hand.” --a hyperbole

Helen Keller states in her poem, “Autumn”: “The little birds southward going Linger, like traveler at an inn.” --a simile

President Abraham Lincoln His poem, “My Childhood Home I See Again”

As President Lincoln remembers his past, he says in his poem: “Oh memory! Thou mid-way world Twixt Earth and Paradise Where things decayed, and loved ones lost In dreamy shadows rise…” --a metaphor

Advertisement for Lexington Motor Company, Connersville, Indiana

“The motor car is the magic carpet of modern times.” --a metaphor

All these examples bring to life images that communicate the author’s thoughts and feelings.

Examples of Idioms Don’t you be a couch potato Stop dragging your feet Jump into action EAGER BEAVERS, and let’s learn some more about figurative language!

Credits All pictures used with permission from: Library of Congress Duke University Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library-- Advertising Ephemera Collection - Database #A0160 Emergence of Advertising On-Line Project John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History http://scriptorium.lib.duke.edu/eaa/