1. Figurative Language

2. Figurative Language (aka Figure of Speech) A figure of speech is an expression in which the words are used in a non-literal sense to create a mental picture. A figure of speech is an expression in which the words are used in a non-literal sense to create a mental picture.

3. The Basic Figures of Speech Are:  SimileOnomatopoeia  MetaphorAlliteration  PersonificationSynecdoche  HyperboleAllusion  Litotes  Apostrophe  Symbol

4. Simile A direct comparison between two unlike things having using “like” or “as.” The two things being compared have one thing in common.

5. Example My cousin swims like a fish This steak tastes like burnt rubber. You are as dumb as a box of rocks.

6. Metaphor A comparison of two unlike things that does not use “like” or “as.”

7. Example All the world’s a stage. Jim is a pig at the table. The material was feathery soft. What are the comparisons between?

8. Personification The giving of human characteristics to non- human things.

9. Example The wind whistled. Her heart cried in agony. The waves attacked the shore.

10. Hyperbole An exaggeration for the purpose of emphasis. These are not intended to deceive.

11. Examples When my mom finds out, she’ll go nuts. I told you 10,000 times already!!! I’m so hungry I could eat a horse! My feet are killing me.

12. Litotes Understatements The exact opposite of hyperbole

13. Examples To a fat boy: “Yo, Slim!” Getting into Harvard: “No big deal, it’s just a little school.” “I just caught a little bug”-said by someone with pneumonia

14. Apostrophe Addressing someone or something that’s not currently there as if it is.

15. Examples Hello darkness, my old friend. Death, be not proud. Oh spite, do not make me do such things.

16. Alliteration  The repetition of similar consonant sounds

17. Example Picky kids pick Peter Pan peanut butter. “And the silken, sad, uncertain rustling…” Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers

18. Onomatopoeia The use of words that sound like the noises things make.

19. Examples BuzzMeow HissPlop WoofBam Splat Crunch Kerplat Wham BoomZoom Phew

20. Synecdoche A part of something is used to represent the whole thing.

21. Examples Look! The schnoz has entered the building! The sail came over the horizon. A pair of eyes stared at me.

22. Symbol A word or image that stands for something else.

23. Examples The donkey is a symbol of the democratic party Black is used to symbolize death Uncle Sam is a symbol of the US

24. Allusion A reference to the past, usually used to make a comparison. A reference to the past, usually used to make a comparison.

25. Examples He was the Picaso of the senior class. Yo, Einstien, give me some answers. She’s Hitler in a skirt.

26. What Are They? Like a moth to the flame Here comes Lips He’s so bad, the little devil. Black=Death Rubber Baby Buggy Bumpers Go away, sadness. The trees bowed. I could spit nails.