F gurativeLangua

ge

Literal vs. Figurative

LiteralThe words mean exactly what they say.

Figurative

The words have a different meaning than what they say.

Figurative languageI have to

figure out the meaning of these

words!

Writers use figurative language to:o create vivid images

in the mind of the reader

o make their writing more colorful and interesting

o help readers picture and understand characters, ideas, and events

- Metaphor - Simile - Personification - Hyperbole - Idiom

Types of Figurative Language

Metaphor

A comparison between two unrelated things

without using the words “like” or “as”

Examples of Metaphor

• The airport was a zoo.

•Her heart was a stone.

•America is a melting pot.

•My friend is a gem.

comparing

Can you figure out the meaning of these sentences?

Simile

A comparison between two unrelated items

using the word “like” or “as”

• The children were as quiet as mice.

• He ran as fast as lightning.

• The baby’s eyes are like stars shining in the night.

• Her feet were like blocks of ice.

Examples of Simile

Personification

A comparison in which something

that is not human is described

with human qualities.

• Sun smiles

• Clouds cry

• Willows weep

• Flowers dance

Examples of Personification

Hyperbole

An exaggerated statement used

for special effect or emphasis

She waited an eternity.

This book weighs a ton.

I could have slept for a year.

Her smile was a mile wide.

We went over the plan a million times.

Examples of Hyperbole

Can What do these mean?

Idiom

A group of words with a special

meaning

Examples of Idioms She was on cloud nine!

He’s just pulling your leg.

It’s raining cats and dogs.

That was a piece of cake.

Boy, are we in a pickle!

It’s time you turned over a new leaf.

Figurative Language in Poetry

Read the following poems. Then, turn and talk to your reading partner to answer these questions.

Can you identify the type of figurative language?

What comparisons are made?

Can you figure out the meaning?

Dreamsby Langston

HughesHold fast to dreamsFor if dreams dieLife is a broken-winged

birdThat cannot fly.Hold fast to dreamsFor when dreams goLife is a barren fieldFrozen with snow.

Moonlight

Like a white catMoonlight peers through windows,Listening, watching.Like a white cat it moves Across the thresholdAnd stretches itself on the floorIt sits on a chairAnd puts white paws on the tableMoonlight crouches among shadows,Watching, waiting

The slow passing of night.-

-Maud E. Uschold

FogThe fog comes

on little cat feet. 

It sits lookingover harbor and cityon silent haunches

and then, moves on.-Carl Sandburg

  

Concord Hymnby Ralph Waldo Emerson

By the rude bridge that arched the flood, Their flag to April’s breeze unfurled,

Here once the embattled farmers stood And fired the shot heard round the world.

Dandelion by Hilda Conkling

Oh little soldier with the golden helmet, What are you guarding on my lawn? You with your green gun And your yellow beard, Why do you stand so stiff?        There is only the grass to fight!

Brooms by Dorothy Aldis

On stormy days When the wind is high

Tall trees are broomsSweeping the sky

They swish their branchesIn buckets of rain,And swash and sweep itBlue again.