Figurative Language

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Figurative Language

• Top 20 Techniques

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1. Simile

• An indirect relationship where one thing or idea
  is described as being similar to another. Similes
  usually contain the words like or as, but not
  always.

The moon appeared crimson, like a drop of blood
hanging in the sky.
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2. Metaphor

• A direct relationship where one thing or idea
  substitutes for another.

The poor rat didnt have a chance. Our old cat,
a bolt of lightning, caught his prey.
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3. Personification

• Where inanimate objects or abstract concepts are
  given human qualities.

The wind stood up and gave a shout. He whistled
on his fingers andKicked the withered leaves
about And thumped the branches with his handAnd
said he'd kill and kill and kill, And so he will
and so he will. James Stephens, The Wind
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4. Alliteration

• The repetition of consonant sounds within close
  proximity, usually in consecutive words within
  the same sentence or line.

While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there
came a tapping as if someone gently rapping,
rapping at my chamber door. Edgar Allan Poe,
The Raven
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5. Assonance

• Identity or similarity in sound between internal
  vowels in neighboring words.

And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon's
that is dreaming. Edgar Allan Poe, The Raven
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6. Onomatopoeia

• When words describing sounds actually sound like
  the sounds they describe.

"Plop, plop, fizz, fizz, oh what a relief it
is." Slogan of Alka Seltzer
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7. Hyperbole

• A description that exaggerates, usually employing
  extremes and/or superlatives to convey a positive
  or negative attribute hype.

Ive told you a million times to clean up your
room. A direct quote from every mother in
America
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8. Idiom

• An expression that doesnt make literal sense but
  has come into use through cultural influences,
  i.e. colloquial phrases.

Kids today are so spoiled. They expect to have
their cake and eat it, too. A direct quote from
every grandparent in America
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9. Cliché

• A saying, expression, or idea that has been
  overused to the point of losing its intended
  force.

Totally awesome. Thats hot. Direct quotes
from every teenager in America
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10. Irony

• Use of words to convey the opposite of their
  literal meaning. A statement or situation where
  the meaning is directly contradicted by the
  appearance or presentation of the idea. (Three
  types Verbal, Situational, Dramatic)

In The Most Dangerous Game, a professional
hunter finds himself being hunted.
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11. Symbol

• The use of specific objects or images to
  represent abstract ideas. A symbol must be
  something tangible or visible, while the idea it
  symbolizes must be something abstract or
  universal.

Its a shell! I seen one like that before. On
someones back wall. A conch he called it. He
used it to blow and then his mum would come. Its
ever so valuable --. William Golding, Lord of
the Flies
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12. Paradox

• Where a situation is created which cannot
  possibly exist, because different elements of it
  cancel each other out.

It was the best of times, it was the worse of
times. Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities
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13. Oxymoron

• A contradiction in terms.

O brawling love! O brawling hate!...heavy
lightness...feather of lead, bright smoke, cold
fire, sick health!" William Shakespeare, Romeo
and Juliet
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14. Imagery

• Language that describes something in detail,
  using words to substitute for and create sensory
  stimulation, including visual imagery and sound
  imagery.

The plane rolled to the right and blew through
the trees, out over the water and down, down to
slam into the lake, skip once on water as hard as
concrete, water that tore the windshield out and
shattered the side windows, water that drove him
back into the seat. Somebody was screaming,
screaming as the plane drove down into the
water. Gary Paulsen, Hatchet
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15. Repetition

• Where a specific word, phrase, or structure is
  repeated several times, usually in close
  proximity, to emphasize a particular idea.

But in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate, we
cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground.
The brave men, living and dead who struggled here
have consecrated it far above our poor power to
add or detract. Abraham Lincoln, The Gettysburg
Address
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16. Anecdote

• A short tale narrating an interesting or amusing
  biographical incident.

In my younger and more vulnerable years my
father gave me some advice that Ive been turning
over in my mind ever since. Whenever you feel
like criticizing anyone, he told me, just
remember that all the people in this world
havent had the advantages that youve had. F.
Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby
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17. Metonymy

• Describing something indirectly by referring to
  things around it, such as describing someone's
  clothing to characterize the individual.

Her voice is full of money. F. Scott
Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby
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18. Parallelism

• Use of similar or identical language, structures,
  events or ideas in different parts of a text.

"When you are right you cannot be too radical
when you are wrong, you cannot be too
conservative." Martin Luther King, Jr.
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19. Allusion

• A brief, usually indirect reference to a person,
  place, or event--real or fictional. Allusions are
  commonly made to the Bible, nursery rhymes,
  myths, famous fictional or historical characters
  or events, and Shakespeare.

Christy didn't like to spend money. She was no
Scrooge, but she seldom purchased anything except
the bare necessities.
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20. Motif

• A recurring important idea or image. A detail
  (like a color) that repeats itself throughout the
  work.

Out damned spot! Out, I say! Heres the smell
of blood still. All the perfumes of Arabia will
not sweeten this little hand. William
Shakespeare, The Tragedy of Macbeth
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Test Your Knowledge

• Choose the technique used in the following
  examples.

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1.

• The waitress served me a platter of gigantic
  shrimp.
• A. Repetition
• B. Imagery
• C. Metaphor
• D. Oxymoron

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1. D - Oxymoron

• The waitress served me a platter of gigantic
  shrimp.
• A. Repetition
• B. Imagery
• C. Metaphor
• D. Oxymoron

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2.

• He stretched out his arms toward the dark water
  in a curious way . . . Involuntarily I glanced
  seaward and distinguished nothing except a
  single green light. (The Great Gatsby)
• A. Symbol
• B. Simile
• C. Imagery
• D. Assonance

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2. AC Symbol and Imagery

• He stretched out his arms toward the dark water
  in a curious way . . . Involuntarily I glanced
  seaward and distinguished nothing except a
  single green light. (The Great Gatsby)
• A. Symbol
• B. Simile
• C. Imagery
• D. Assonance

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3.

• Language is a road map of a culture. It tells you
  where its people come from and where they are
  going. (Rita May Brown)
• A. Personification
• B. Metaphor
• C. Paradox
• D. Metonymy

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3. B Metaphor

• Language is a road map of a culture. It tells you
  where its people come from and where they are
  going. (Rita May Brown)
• A. Personification
• B. Metaphor
• C. Paradox
• D. Metonymy

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4.

• The suits on Wall Street are eager to see if the
  market will improve during 2009.
• A. Personification
• B. Metaphor
• C. Paradox
• D. Metonymy

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4. D Metonymy

• The suits on Wall Street are eager to see if the
  market will improve during 2009.
• A. Personification
• B. Metaphor
• C. Paradox
• D. Metonymy

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5.

• Even King Solomon would find my parents
  disagreements hard to resolve.
• A. Anecdote
• B. Assonance
• C. Allusion
• D. Alliteration

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5. C Allusion

• Even King Solomon would find my parents
  disagreements hard to resolve.
• A. Anecdote
• B. Assonance
• C. Allusion
• D. Alliteration

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6.

• Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day.
  Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a
  lifetime.
• A. Assonance
• B. Parallelism
• C. Hyperbole
• D. Cliché

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6. B Parallelism

• Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day.
  Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a
  lifetime.
• A. Assonance
• B. Parallelism
• C. Hyperbole
• D. Cliché

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7.

• War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is
  strength. (George Orwell, 1984)
• A. Irony
• B. Metaphor
• C. Personification
• D. Paradox

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7. D Paradox

• War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is
  strength. (George Orwell, 1984)
• A. Irony
• B. Metaphor
• C. Personification
• D. Paradox

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8.

• All right, lets huddle up. I expect you to give
  one hundred and one percent. Lets own the paint.
  Theres no I in team.
• A. Imagery
• B. Cliché
• C. Motif
• D. Hyperbole

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8. B D Cliché and Hyperbole

• All right, lets huddle up. I expect you to give
  one hundred and one percent. Lets own the paint.
  Theres no I in team.
• A. Imagery
• B. Cliché
• C. Motif
• D. Hyperbole

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9.

• Under her small black-freckled hand her cane,
  limber as a buggy whip, would switch at the brush
  as if to rouse up any hiding things. (A Worn
  Path)
• A. Personification
• B. Simile
• C. Imagery
• D. Motif

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9. B and C Simile and Imagery

• Under her small black-freckled hand her cane,
  limber as a buggy whip, would switch at the brush
  as if to rouse up any hiding things. (A Worn
  Path)
• A. Personification
• B. Simile
• C. Imagery
• D. Motif

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10.

• Bang! Went the pistol.Crash! Went the window.
  Ouch! Went the son of a gun.
• A. Onomatopoeia
• B. Hyperbole
• C. Repetition
• D. Personification

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10. A Onomatopoeia

• Bang! Went the pistol. Crash! Went the window.
  Ouch! Went the son of a gun.
• A. Onomatopoeia
• B. Hyperbole
• C. Repetition
• D. Personification

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11.

• The lightning lashed out with anger.
• A. Onomatopoeia
• B. Hyperbole
• C. Alliteration
• D. Personification

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11. CD Personification and Alliteration

• The lightning lashed out with anger.
• A. Onomatopoeia
• B. Hyperbole
• C. Alliteration
• D. Personification

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12.

• She sells sea shells down by the sea shore.
• A. Assonance
• B. Alliteration
• C. Allusion
• D. Anecdote

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12. B Alliteration

• She sells sea shells down by the sea shore.
• A. Assonance
• B. Alliteration
• C. Allusion
• D. Anecdote

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13.

• Well be there in a New York minute.
• A. Hyperbole
• B. Idiom
• C. Metaphor
• D. Repetition

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13. B Idiom

• Well be there in a New York minute.
• A. Hyperbole
• B. Idiom
• C. Metaphor
• D. Repetition

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14.

• My backpack weighs a ton.
• A. Hyperbole
• B. Idiom
• C. Imagery
• D. Metaphor

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14. A Hyperbole

• My backpack weighs a ton.
• A. Hyperbole
• B. Idiom
• C. Imagery
• D. Metaphor

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15.

• For every sound that floats From the rust within
  their throats Is a groan. ( Edgar Allan Poe, The
  Bells)
• A. Imagery
• B. Symbol
• C. Assonance
• D. Alliteration

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15. C Assonance

• For every sound that floats From the rust within
  their throats Is a groan. ( Edgar Allan Poe, The
  Bells)
• A. Imagery
• B. Symbol
• C. Assonance
• D. Alliteration

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16.

• Water, water, every where,And all the boards did
  shrink Water, water, every where, Nor any drop
  to drink.
• (Coleridge, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner)
• A. Paradox
• B. Parallelism
• C. Imagery
• D. Irony

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16. AC Irony and Imagery

• Water, water, every where,And all the boards did
  shrink Water, water, every where, Nor any drop
  to drink.
• (Coleridge, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner)
• A. Paradox
• B. Parallelism
• C. Imagery
• D. Irony

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17.

• When I see birches bend to left and rightAcross
  the lines of straighter darker trees,I like to
  think some boy's been swinging them.But
  swinging doesn't bend them down to
  stay.Ice-storms do that. Often you must have
  seen themLoaded with ice a sunny winter
  morningAfter a rain. They click upon
  themselvesAs the breeze rises, and turn
  many-coloredAs the stir cracks and crazes their
  enamel.

1. Metaphor
2. Repetition
3. Imagery
4. Hyperbole

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17. C Imagery

• When I see birches bend to left and rightAcross
  the lines of straighter darker trees,I like to
  think some boy's been swinging them.But
  swinging doesn't bend them down to
  stay.Ice-storms do that. Often you must have
  seen themLoaded with ice a sunny winter
  morningAfter a rain. They click upon
  themselvesAs the breeze rises, and turn
  many-coloredAs the stir cracks and crazes their
  enamel.

1. Metaphor
2. Repetition
3. Imagery
4. Hyperbole

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18.

• I know where I will wear this dagger then . . .
  Then walk we forth even to the market place
  waving our red weapons over our heads . . . O
  pardon me thou bleeding piece of earth that I am
  meek and gentle with these butchers . . . That
  was the most unkindly cut of all . . .
• A. Symbol
• B. Imagery
• C. Motif
• D. Personification

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18. CD Motif Personification

• I know where I will wear this dagger then . . .
  Then walk we forth even to the market place
  waving our red weapons over our heads . . . O
  pardon me thou bleeding piece of earth that I am
  meek and gentle with these butchers . . . That
  was the most unkindly cut of all . . .
• A. Symbol
• B. Imagery
• C. Motif
• D. Personification

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19.

• But I have promises to keepAnd miles to go
  before I sleep.And miles to go before I
  sleep (Robert Frost)
• A. Personification
• B. Metaphor
• C. Repetition
• D. Parallelism

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19. C Repetition

• But I have promises to keepAnd miles to go
  before I sleep.And miles to go before I
  sleep (Robert Frost)
• A. Personification
• B. Metaphor
• C. Repetition
• D. Parallelism

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20.

• My mother used to embarrass me by telling a story
  that emphasized my independence. She would say
  that my first complete sentence was, I can do
  this job all by myself.
• A. Allusion
• B. Paradox
• C. Oxymoron
• D. Anecdote

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20. D Anecdote

• My mother used to embarrass me by telling a story
  that emphasized my independence. She would say
  that my first complete sentence was, I can do
  this job all by myself.
• A. Allusion
• B. Paradox
• C. Oxymoron
• D. Anecdote

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Congratulations!