Figurative language is writing or speech that is not meant to be taken literally. simile metaphor onomatopoeia alliteration personification Imagery idiom hyperbole

Simile – a phrase comparing two unlike things using like, as, or than and showing similarity between the two. The clouds looked like little sheep frolicking in the sky. I was as hungry as a bear that had been hibernating all winter.

Metaphor – a phrase comparing two unlike items stating one is the other. My baby sister is an angel when she is asleep, but a little devil when she is awake. The old oak tree was an umbrella shading the house.

Personification – a type of writing in which a nonhuman subject is given human characteristics. Sponge Bob lives under the sea in a pineapple house. The angry tornado destroyed every house in its path. My hair does not like that kind of hair product. The brook sang merrily as it meandered through the meadow.

Alliteration – the repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words *************************************** In his never-ending quest of tasty rats, the snake slithered silently through the sewer. One mysterious, lonely light lit the night’s black sky.

Hyperbole – an exaggeration or overstatement used for effect ************************ I’m so bored; the teacher has been talking forever! I have about a million reasons that I don’t like snakes. When I heard the punch line of the joke, I almost laughed myself to death.

Imagery – words or phrases that appeal to one or more of the five senses to help the reader understand the work more fully. The smell of tomatoes and garlic filled the kitchen as the timer beeped its message announcing that the pizza was done. I opened the oven to a delightful scene of bubbling melted cheeses covered with spicy red pepperoni circles and little caps of mushrooms. My mouth began to water in anticipation.

OXYMORON – a set of words in which one seems to contradict the other I was just sitting around doing nothing, lost in my daydream. I was terribly pleased to hear your good news. Not telling the truth has led to a fine mess.

Idiom - a phrase where the words together have a meaning that is different from the dictionary definitions of the individual words and are understood by speakers of the language. (There are over 25,000 idioms in the English language.) Hit the sack Driving me up the wall Broken heart The cat’s got your tongue. Hit the sack My brother is driving me up the wall. He broke her heart. The cat’s got your tongue.

Onomatopoeia – the use of words that imitate sounds like pop, moo, click… The little bird chirped and flew away. Bang, crash, splash! The vase of flowers fell from the table and the water flooded the floor.

Apostrophe - Speaking to an absent person, place, or thing as if it were present –Ex: O, summer! Why did you pass so quickly?

Bathos - An abrupt change from the grand, eloquent, and majestic to the ordinary or trivial –Ex: He was filled with love, devotion, and a hunger for a hamburger.