Figurative Language

Figurative Language

Language that does not literally (really) mean what it says.

Requires the reader to use their imagination to figure out what the author really means.

It helps the reader VISUALIZE what the author is talking about.

Simile

Comparing two unlike things using the words “like” or “as.”

Saying one thing is LIKE another.

She swims like a fish.

Peter laughs like a hyena.

Mr. John is as wise as an owl.

Because I was embarrassed, my face

was as red as a ripe tomato.

The world is like a stage.

That girl has hair like gold.

What happens to a dream deferred?

does it dry up

like a raisin in the sun

(Langston Hughes)

My love is like a red, red rose,

That’s newly sprung in June.

My love is like a melody,

That’s sweetly played in tune.

(Robert Burns)

I wandered lonely as a cloud

That floats high over the hills.

(William Wordsworth)

Metaphor

Comparing two unlike things NOT using “like” or “as.”

Saying one thing IS another.

He was a tornado, blasting his way through the opposing team.

He was a lion in the fight.

The moon is a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas.

Education is your passport to satisfying employment.

My grandfather is my guiding star who gives me direction.

When he left his small town and moved to the city,

Mark was a fish out of water.

During June, the classroom was an oven, and the students baked inside it.

The conductor on the train called out to the passengers. His voice was a bass drum echoing throughout the car.

What would you put in the blank space to

complete this metaphor?

The __________ is a red-eyed The __________ is a red-eyed monster, immobile and monster, immobile and metallic, refereeing the traffic metallic, refereeing the traffic while remaining undisturbed. while remaining undisturbed.

Simile or Metaphor?

1. My life is an open book.

2. His eyes were saucers when he saw the pile of gifts.

3. My steak was awful. It was as tough as nails.

4. Tom is a parrot that repeats everything you say.

5. I am as gentle as a kitten.

6. Time is a thief that steals away years.

When making a simile or metaphor

about something, ask yourself:

What does it look like?

What does it look like?

What does it sound like?

What does it look like?

What does it do?