Figurative Language

What is the difference between speaking literally and figuratively? Do Now: What is the difference between speaking literally and figuratively?

Figurative vs. Literal When we speak literally, we are saying EXACTLY what we mean. When we speak figuratively, the understanding is meant to be IMAGINATIVE instead of exact.

Types of Figurative Language Simile- a form of figurative language that makes a comparison between two things using the words ‘like’ or ‘as’.

Examples: After playing in the snow for over an hour, when the girl came in, her cheeks were as red as a tomato.

My hand raced like lightening as I rushed to get my homework done on time.

My mother exploded like a volcano when she found out that I failed math for the semester.

The students ran to the cafeteria like a pack of hungry wolves awaiting their meal.

The blistering summer heat made it feel as if I were standing next to the sun.

While cutting up the onion, my eyes leaked like a faucet.

Her eyes twinkled like stars in the night’s sky.

The woman felt as big as a house after eating the entire tray of cookies.

The time dragged endlessly in class as if I were waiting for the outer planets to orbit the sun.

Her smile bloomed like a lotus flower sitting atop a still pond.

The moon shone like a glowing diamond on the calm lake.

Metaphor- another way of showing comparisons; however, it is a DIRECT comparison. Metaphors DO NOT use the words ‘like’ or ‘as’.

Examples: The baby is an angel sent straight from heaven.

School is a prison keeping us trapped from enjoying this beautiful spring day.

Her hair is a long, cascading waterfall flowing down her back.

That restaurant’s food is garbage, and I will never be eating there again!

The teacher is a monster for giving us a report to write over our Christmas break.

His heart is a black hole where love doesn’t exist.

People today are slaves to technology.

This house is an icebox.

The teenage boy’s stomach is a bottomless pit.

My mother is the sun in my sky.

Love is a delicate flower opening to the warmth of spring.

Personification- A form of figurative language where nonliving things are given the qualities and characteristics of living things.

Examples: The Christmas lights performed on Christmas Eve.

The garbage disposal chewed the waste down the chute.

Jazz music punched out of the saxophone.

The factory coughed out puffs of smoke.

The leaves skipped across the Autumn ground.

The sun bowed to the Earth as the moon entered the evening sky.

The hungry waves grabbed our sandcastle and pulled it into the foamy sea.

My feet cheered after I finally sat down.

The darkness tapped on my shoulder while I slept.

My homework ate up the lead of my pencil.

Joy and happiness ran out the door when I got in trouble.

The blackboard spat out math problems.

Hyperbole- An EXAGGERATED statement used as a figure of speech to make a strong effect. Using vivid verbs often helps to create hyperbole.

We have been waiting in line for an eternity to get in to see the show.

I tried to spit but it turned into an ice cube before it hit the ground.

My hand raced across the page with such speed that it began leaving a trail of smoke.

My sister plunged into the water with such force, it created a tidal wave.

The teacher roared at the class with such anger it shattered my eardrums.

After hearing the news, my jaw dropped to the floor.

It rained last night and now I have a lake in my backyard.

The student’s speech took almost a year to complete.

My stomach growled so loudly as I awaited lunch, I knew that I could eat out the entire cafeteria.

He hit the baseball with such power, the cover flew off the ball.

Now it’s your turn. I want you to create your own examples of each: Simile Metaphor Personification Hyperbole