FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE

WHAT IS IT? Tools that a writer uses to create a special effect or feeling

ALLITERATION The repetition of the same consonant sound Ex: There will come soft rains and the smell of the ground, And swallows calling with their shimmering sound

IDIOM A common phrase made up of words that cannot be understood by their ordinary meanings Ex: Raining cats and dogs Teach an old dog new tricks

METAPHOR A direct comparison between 2 unlike things. It does not use the words “like” or “as” Ex: The frog comes on little cat feet It sits looking over harbor and city on silent haunches and then moves on

ONOMATOPOEIA The use of words that sound like the noises they describe Ex: Zing Pow Whack Clank

PERSONIFICATION Giving an animal or object human-like qualities Ex: Summer grass aches and whispers The rain hears; the rain answers

HYPERBOLE An exaggerated description or statement Ex: I can smell pizza from a mile away. These shoes are killing me

SIMILE Comparison between two unlike things using the words “like” or “as” Ex: The Willow’s music is like a soprano