1. Literary Analysis Concepts
Symbolism, figurative language, literal language, simile, metaphor, extended metaphor, & personification
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2. Figurative Language LITERAL LANGUAGE FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE
Literal language is meaning exactly what you say; e.g. Go jump in the lake.
FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE
Figurative language is saying one thing and meaning another; e.g. ‘Go jump in a lake!’
What would the meaning of these sentences be if you took them literally:
The test was a real killer!
Are you chilling?
Please give me a break!
That boy is two-faced!
My friend drives me up the wall!
Read the sentences and decide if they should be taken literally (L) or figuratively (F):
He was the apple of my eye.
He was very nice.
She had a mouth like a speedboat.
He had a crush on her.
She was a very good student.
He had a bleeding heart for animals. 2

3. Symbolism
Definition: A person, place, or object that represents something beyond itself.
Examples:
The flag – represents America/USA
A heart -- represents the feeling of love
Glasses – smart, intellectual, studiousness

4. Metaphors She is very fast. She is a speedboat.
A metaphor compares two unlike things using the words ‘is or was’; e.g. ‘He is a computer’.
Read each sentence and write a metaphor for each. For example:
She is very fast. She is a speedboat.
He is very angry.
She is a warm person.
He is very mean.
She is very pretty.
He is very gentle.
She is very slow. 4

5. Similes
A simile compares two unlike things using the words ‘like’ or ‘as’; e.g. ‘My friend is like a diamond’.
Read each sentence and write a simile for each. For example:
She shines like …….. the sun.
He laughs like a ………..
He waddled like a ……..
The crowd poured into Jade Stadium like ……… into a paddock.
As big as a ………
The players lumbered like …….. through mud to get to the try line.
He clung like a ……. to his surfboard. 5

6. Extended Metaphors
A metaphor that is used throughout a piece of literature.
(it continues beyond more than just one or two sentences or lines of a poem.)
Example: In Mother to Son by Langston Hughes the metaphor of “life is a staircase” is extended for the entire poem.

7. Personification
Definition: Giving human characteristics, or qualities, to an inanimate object (something that is not human)
Examples:
- The sun smiled on us today.
- I frantically cleaned my room as my cell phone yelled on.