FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE How to identify the use of . . . in a text (poem, prose, etc.).

FIGURATIVE LANGUAGEHow to identify the use of . . . in a text (poem, prose, etc.). • simile • metaphor • personification • hyperbole

SIMILE compares* two unlike things using the words like, as, or than ex. My locker smells like a stinky shoe. ex. My aunt is as big as a barn. ex. That boy is taller than a tree. * compare means to show how two things are alike

SIMILE My locker smells like a stinky shoe. We know it is a simile because we are comparing two things (locker and stinky shoe) We are using the word like

SIMILE My aunt is as big as a barn. We know it is a simile because we are comparing two things (aunt and barn) We are using the word as

SIMILE That boy is taller than a tree. We know it is a simile because we are comparing two things (boy and tree) We are using the word than

NOW YOU TRY IT.1.What two things are being compared? 2. What is the simile signal word? The snow is like a blanket covering the earth. He is as blind as a bat. The old man is tougher than nails.

METAPHOR • compares* two nouns and DOES NOT use the words like, as, or than ex. The boy’s stomach was a bottomless pit. ex. Her mind is a sponge that soaks up knowledge. ex. The homework was a breeze.

METAPHOR The boy’s stomach was a bottomless pit. We know it is a metaphor because we are comparing two things (locker and stinky shoe) We are NOT using the word like,as, or than.

METAPHOR Her mind is a sponge that soaks up knowledge. We know it is a metaphor because we are comparing two things (locker and stinky shoe) We are NOT using the word like,as, or than.

METAPHOR The homework was a breeze. We know it is a metaphor because we are comparing two things (locker and stinky shoe) We are NOT using the word like,as, or than.

PERSONIFICATION Gives human-like characteristics to non human things. ex. My computer hates me. ex. The camera loves her. ex. The wind howled outside my window. ex. The tree danced in the breeze.

PERSONIFICATION ex. My computer hates me. Note: computers don’t have feelings - people do. person-like

PERSONIFICATION ex. The camera loves her. Note: cameras don’t have feelings - people do. person-like

PERSONIFICATION Ex. The wind howled outside my window. Note: the wind doesn’t have a voice - people do. person-like

PERSONIFICATION ex. The tree danced in the breeze. Note: the tree cannot dance - people dance. person-like

HYPERBOLE If I told you once, I’ve told you a million times . . . I’m so hungry, I could eat a horse! If I can’t get that new game on Friday, I think I will die!

HYPERBOLE If I told you once, I’ve told you a million times . . . She probably told you many, many times, but not a million times. That is an exaggeration.

HYPERBOLE I’m so hungry, I could eat a horse! You are probably really hungry and can eat a lot, but you can’t eat an entire horse. That is an exaggeration.

HYPERBOLE If I can’t get that new game on Friday, I think I will die! You probably will be really disappointed if you don’t get the game, but you will not drop dead. That is an exaggeration.

FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE How to identify the use of . . . in a text (poem, prose, etc.).