1. Figurative Language

2. Literal vs. Figurative Literal language means exactly what it says.
Figurative language uses similes, metaphors, hyperbole, and personification to describe something often through comparison with something different.

3. Simile
Definition: a comparison between two things using “like” or “as” to make the comparison
Examples:
He ran as fast as a cheetah.
My hair looks like flowing ocean waves at midnight.
My hands are as rough as the skin of a crocodile.
Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna get.

4. IMPORTANT! Using “like” or “as” doesn’t make a simile.
Not a similes: I like pizza.
Simile: The moon is like a pizza.
A comparison must be made!

5. Willow and Ginkgo By: Eve Merriam
The willow is like an etching, Fine-lined against the sky. The ginkgo is like a crude sketch, Hardly worthy to be signed. The willow’s music is like a soprano, Delicate and thin. The ginkgo’s tune is like a chorus With everyone joining in.

6. Metaphor
Definition: a comparison between two things without using “like” or “as”. A direct comparison.
A is B.
Examples:
The lake was a huge mirror in the moonlight.
The playground became a lake after the thunderous rain.
Men are dogs.
My heart’s a stereo.

7. Dreams by Langston Hughes
Hold fast to dreams For if dreams die Life is a broken winged bird That cannot fly. For when dreams go Life is a barren field Frozen with snow.

8. Personification
Definition: a figure of speech in which a thing, an idea or an animal is given human attributes. The non-human objects are portrayed in such a way that we feel they have the ability to act like human beings.
Examples:
Lightning danced across the sky.
The wind howled in the night.
The car complained as the key was turned.
Rita heard the last piece of pie calling her name.
My alarm clock yells at me every morning.

9. Hey Diddle, Diddle by Mother Goose
Hey, diddle, diddle, The cat and the fiddle, The cow jumped over the moon; The little dog laughed To see such sport, And the dish ran away with the spoon.

10. Hyperbole
Definition: exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally
Examples:
It was so cold I saw polar bears wearing jackets.
I am so hungry I could eat a horse.
I had a ton of chores to do.
If I can't get a Smartphone, I will die.
She is as thin as a toothpick.

11. “As I Walked One Evening” by W. H. Auden
I’ll love you, dear, I’ll love you Till China and Africa meet, And the river jumps over the mountain And the salmon sing in the street, I’ll love you till the ocean Is folded and hung up to dry

12. Onomatopoeia Definition: a word whose sound suggests it’s meaning.
It's sort of whack, whir, wheeze, whine
Sputter, splat, squirt, scrape
Clink, clank, clunk, clatter
Crash, bang, beep, buzz
Ring, rip, roar, retch
Twang, toot, tinkle, thud
Pop, plop, plunk, POW
Snort, snuck, sniff, smack
Screech, splash, squish, squeak
Jingle, rattle, squeal, boing
Honk, hoot, hack, belch."
(Todd Rundgren, "Onomatopoeia")