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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.