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Figurative Language. “Figuring it Out”. Figurative and Literal Language. Literally : The words function exactly as defined, so the reader knows what is meant. “ The car is blue.” “He caught the football .”
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Figurative Language “Figuring it Out”
Figurative and Literal Language Literally:The words function exactly as defined, so the reader knows what is meant. “The car is blue.” “He caught the football.” Figuratively: the reader/listener must figure out what it means – Figures of Speech. It involves word play and devices that make literature more interesting/varied. “I’ve got your back.” “You’re a doll.”
Simile Comparison of two things using “like” or “as. “The metal twisted like a ribbon.” “She is as sweet as candy.” “The moon is like a pizza.” (Note: “I like pizza” shows no comparison, so is not a simile.)
Metaphor Metaphor is a figure of speech which makes an implicit, implied or hidden comparison between two things that are unrelated but share some common characteristics. In other words, a resemblance of two contradictory or different objects is made based on a single or some common characteristics. Two things are compared withoutusing “like” or “as.” Examples “All the world is a stage.” “Men are dogs.” “Her heart is stone.”
Personification Giving human traits to objects or ideas. Examples “The sunlight danced.” “Water on the lake shivers.” “The streets are calling me.”
Idiom • A saying that is not meant to be taken literally. The words don’t mean what they seem to say. • Don’t be a “stick in the mud”. • You’re the “apple of my eye”. • I have “an ace up my sleeve.”
Hyperbole Exaggerating to show strong feeling or effect. Examples “I will love you forever, if you share your candy.” “My house is a million miles away.” “My parents will kill me if I come home late.”
Allusion An indirect reference to something else that is not actually mentioned. The writer expects the reader to have the knowledge to understand the allusion and its meaning. • “She was another Helen.” (Alludes to the proverbial beauty of Helen of Troy.) • “Don’t act like a Romeo in front of her.” (Alludes to Shakespeare’s play, Romeo and Juliet, as does “A rose by any other name…” )
Juxtaposition A literary technique in which two or more ideas, places or characters and actions are placed side-by-side to highlight contrasts. “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness…” - Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities
Alliteration The occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or connected words. “Peter Piper picked a peck* of pickled peppers…” “The ghouls and ghost greeted the gangly goblins.” * A peck is a dry unit of measure equal to about 8 quarts.
Assonance This is a literary device found in prose and poetry in which the repetition of vowel sounds in nearby words is used to set the mood or reinforce the meaning. (Consonance is the repetition of the final consonant sounds or syllables.) “And the silken sad uncertain rustling of each purple curtain, Thrilled me - filled me with fantastic terrors never felt before; So the now, to still the beating of my heart, I stood repeating “Tis some visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door – Some late visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door – This it is and nothing more.” - Edgar Allan Poe, The Raven Red = alliteration, Blue = assonance, Green = rhyme
Onomatopoeia A word that is formed to “make” the sound of what it is describing, as in the buzzing bee. • SPLAT • PING • SLAM • POP • POW • HISS
Pun A form of “word play” in which words have a double meaning, usually humorous – or the use of similar sounding words with different meanings. • “I wondered why the baseball was getting bigger and then it hit me.” • “I’m reading a book about anti-gravity. It’s impossible to put it down.” • “I was going to look for my missing watch, but I didn’t have the time.” • “Don’t dawdle, or you will eat up your entire lunch break.”
Oxymoron • When two words are put together that contradict each other. “Opposites” • Jumbo Shrimp • Pretty Ugly • Freezer Burn
Important! Using “like” or “as” doesn’t make a simile. A comparison must be made. Not a Simile:I like pizza. Simile:The moon is like a pizza.
Quiz On a separate sheet of paper… • I will put an example of figurative language on the board. • You will write the type of figurative language use in each example. • You can use your notes.
1 He drew a line as straight as an arrow.
2 Knowledge is a kingdom and all who learn are kings and queens.
3 Can I see you for a second?
4 The sun was beating down on me.
5 A flag wags like a fishhook there in the sky.
6 Ravenous and savagefrom its longpolar journey,the North Windis searchingfor food—
7 Dinner is on the house.
8 Don’t bit the hand that feeds you.
9. • The clouds smiled down at me.
10. • SPLAT!
11. • She is as sweet as candy
14. • I could sleep forever!
15. • He drove his expensive car into a tree and found out how the Mercedes bends
12. • I used to have a fear of hurdles, but I got over it.
13. • The wheat field was a sea of gold.
14. • The streets called to him.
15. • POP!
16. • She was dressed to the nines.
17. • The early bird catches the worm.
18. • Old news
19. • Your face is killing me!
20. • She was as white as a ghost.