Figurative LanguageIt’s like this . . .

What is the literal meaning of these phrases? What do they really mean?

the scales of justice

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stretching a dollar

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What Is Figurative Language?

Figurative language, or figures of speech, describe one thing in terms of another and are not meant to be understood on a literal level.

•Figurative language involves an imaginative comparison between seemingly unlike things.

Kinds of Figurative Language

Figurative language includes

• similes

• metaphors

• personification

• symbolism

Similes

A simile makes a comparison between two seemingly unlike things by using a connective word such as like, as, than, or resembles.

•What two things does the author of the passage below compare? What point do you think the author makes with this comparison?

I think that I shall never seeA poem as lovely as a tree.

from “Trees” by Joyce Kilmer

Metaphors

Metaphors make a comparison between two unlike things without using connective words such as like, as, than, or resembles. Metaphors may be direct or indirect.

•Direct metaphors directly state the comparison between two things, using a verb such as is.

•Jay’s cell phone was a lifeline linking him to his friends.

•Indirect metaphors imply rather than directly state the comparison.

•Jay’s cell phone anchored him to his friends.

Other Types of Metaphors

•An extended metaphor is developed over several lines or throughout an entire poem or other work. A writer may use both direct and implied metaphors to develop an extended metaphor.

•Beware of mixed metaphors. A mixed metaphor is the inconsistent combination of two or more metaphors.

•He clammed up and refused to utter a peep.

Personification

Personification is a type of metaphor in which a nonhuman thing or quality is talked about as if it were human.

•Animals, objects, and ideas may be personified.

•The army of ants marched across the sidewalk.

•The open doors welcomed us to the auditorium.

•Love is blind.

Symbolism

A symbol in literature is something that is identified with something else that is very different from it but that shares some quality.

•A symbol in literature stands for something else—a character, a universal truth, or an important human quality or condition.

•An author usually emphasizes the main symbol in a work. Symbols may appear frequently and at important points in the story or in the story’s title.

•A symbol usually points toward the theme of a work.

Identify the figure of speech used in each item below.

1. As Marcie dried her tears, a vibrant rainbow appeared through the clouds.

2. The crowd’s applause washed over Ed and carried his nervousness away.

3. Spot’s tail wagged as rhythmically as a metronome.

4. The tree stretched its arms toward the sun.

5. Her new driver’s license was Jordan’s passport to freedom.

What Have You Learned?

Simile Metaphor Personification Symbolism

Symbolism

Personification

Simile

Metaphor

Metaphor

The End