Figurative Language

Figurative Language Top 20 Techniques

1. Simile An indirect relationship where one thing or idea is described as being similar to another. Similes usually contain the words “like” or “as,” but not always. “The moon appeared crimson, like a drop of blood hanging in the sky.”

2. Metaphor • A direct relationship where one thing or idea substitutes for another. “The poor rat didn’t have a chance. Our old cat, a bolt of lightning, caught his prey.”

3. Personification • Where inanimate objects or abstract concepts are given human qualities. The wind stood up and gave a shout. He whistled on his fingers andKicked the withered leaves about And thumped the branches with his handAnd said he'd kill and kill and kill, And so he will and so he will. James Stephens, The Wind

4. Alliteration • The repetition of consonant sounds within close proximity, usually in consecutive words within the same sentence or line. “While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping as if someone gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.” Edgar Allan Poe, The Raven

5. Assonance • Identity or similarity in sound between internal vowels in neighboring words. “And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon's that is dreaming.” Edgar Allan Poe, The Raven

6. Onomatopoeia • When words describing sounds actually sound like the sounds they describe. "Plop, plop, fizz, fizz, oh what a relief it is." Slogan of Alka Seltzer

7. Hyperbole • A description that exaggerates, usually employing extremes and/or superlatives to convey a positive or negative attribute; “hype.” “I’ve told you a million times to clean up your room.” A direct quote from every mother in America

8. Idiom • An expression that doesn’t make literal sense but has come into use through cultural influences, i.e. colloquial phrases. “Kids today are so spoiled. They expect to have their cake and eat it, too.” A direct quote from every grandparent in America

9. Cliché • A saying, expression, or idea that has been overused to the point of losing its intended force. “Totally awesome.” “That’s hot.” Direct quotes from every teenager in America

10. Irony • Use of words to convey the opposite of their literal meaning. A statement or situation where the meaning is directly contradicted by the appearance or presentation of the idea. (Three types: Verbal, Situational, Dramatic) In “The Most Dangerous Game,” a professional hunter finds himself being hunted.

11. Symbol • The use of specific objects or images to represent abstract ideas. A symbol must be something tangible or visible, while the idea it symbolizes must be something abstract or universal. “It’s a shell! I seen one like that before. On someone’s back wall. A conch he called it. He used it to blow and then his mum would come. It’s ever so valuable --.” William Golding, Lord of the Flies

12. Paradox • Where a situation is created which cannot possibly exist, because different elements of it cancel each other out. “It was the best of times, it was the worse of times.” Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities

13. Oxymoron • A contradiction in terms. “O brawling love! O brawling hate!...heavy lightness...feather of lead, bright smoke, cold fire, sick health!" William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet

14. Imagery • Language that describes something in detail, using words to substitute for and create sensory stimulation, including visual imagery and sound imagery. “The plane rolled to the right and blew through the trees, out over the water and down, down to slam into the lake, skip once on water as hard as concrete, water that tore the windshield out and shattered the side windows, water that drove him back into the seat. Somebody was screaming, screaming as the plane drove down into the water.” Gary Paulsen, Hatchet

15. Repetition • Where a specific word, phrase, or structure is repeated several times, usually in close proximity, to emphasize a particular idea. “But in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead who struggled here have consecrated it far above our poor power to add or detract.” Abraham Lincoln, The Gettysburg Address

16. Anecdote • A short tale narrating an interesting or amusing biographical incident. “In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I’ve been turning over in my mind ever since. “Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone,” he told me, “just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had.” F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

17. Metonymy • Describing something indirectly by referring to things around it, such as describing someone's clothing to characterize the individual. “Her voice is full of money.” F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

18. Parallelism • Use of similar or identical language, structures, events or ideas in different parts of a text. "When you are right you cannot be too radical; when you are wrong, you cannot be too conservative." Martin Luther King, Jr.

19. Allusion • A brief, usually indirect reference to a person, place, or event--real or fictional. Allusions are commonly made to the Bible, nursery rhymes, myths, famous fictional or historical characters or events, and Shakespeare. “Christy didn't like to spend money. She was no Scrooge, but she seldom purchased anything except the bare necessities.”

20. Motif • A recurring important idea or image. A detail (like a color) that repeats itself throughout the work. “Out damned spot! Out, I say! Here’s the smell of blood still. All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand.” William Shakespeare, The Tragedy of Macbeth

Test Your Knowledge Choose the technique used in the following examples.

1. • The waitress served me a platter of gigantic shrimp. • A. Repetition • B. Imagery • C. Metaphor • D. Oxymoron

1. D - Oxymoron • The waitress served me a platter of gigantic shrimp. • A. Repetition • B. Imagery • C. Metaphor • D. Oxymoron

2. • He stretched out his arms toward the dark water in a curious way . . . Involuntarily I glanced seaward – and distinguished nothing except a single green light. (The Great Gatsby) • A. Symbol • B. Simile • C. Imagery • D. Assonance

2. A&C – Symbol and Imagery • He stretched out his arms toward the dark water in a curious way . . . Involuntarily I glanced seaward – and distinguished nothing except a single green light. (The Great Gatsby) • A. Symbol • B. Simile • C. Imagery • D. Assonance

3. • Language is a road map of a culture. It tells you where its people come from and where they are going. (Rita May Brown) • A. Personification • B. Metaphor • C. Paradox • D. Metonymy

3. B – Metaphor • Language is a road map of a culture. It tells you where its people come from and where they are going. (Rita May Brown) • A. Personification • B. Metaphor • C. Paradox • D. Metonymy

4. • The suits on Wall Street are eager to see if the market will improve during 2009. • A. Personification • B. Metaphor • C. Paradox • D. Metonymy

4. D – Metonymy • The suits on Wall Street are eager to see if the market will improve during 2009. • A. Personification • B. Metaphor • C. Paradox • D. Metonymy

5. • Even King Solomon would find my parent’s disagreements hard to resolve. • A. Anecdote • B. Assonance • C. Allusion • D. Alliteration

5. C – Allusion • Even King Solomon would find my parent’s disagreements hard to resolve. • A. Anecdote • B. Assonance • C. Allusion • D. Alliteration

6. • Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime. • A. Assonance • B. Parallelism • C. Hyperbole • D. Cliché

6. B – Parallelism • Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime. • A. Assonance • B. Parallelism • C. Hyperbole • D. Cliché

7. • War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength. (George Orwell, 1984) • A. Irony • B. Metaphor • C. Personification • D. Paradox

7. D – Paradox • War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength. (George Orwell, 1984) • A. Irony • B. Metaphor • C. Personification • D. Paradox

8. • All right, let’s huddle up. I expect you to give one hundred and one percent. Let’s own the paint. There’s no I in team. • A. Imagery • B. Cliché • C. Motif • D. Hyperbole

8. B & D – Cliché and Hyperbole • All right, let’s huddle up. I expect you to give one hundred and one percent. Let’s own the paint. There’s no I in team. • A. Imagery • B. Cliché • C. Motif • D. Hyperbole

9. • Under her small black-freckled hand her cane, limber as a buggy whip, would switch at the brush as if to rouse up any hiding things. (A Worn Path) • A. Personification • B. Simile • C. Imagery • D. Motif

9. B and C – Simile and Imagery • Under her small black-freckled hand her cane, limber as a buggy whip, would switch at the brush as if to rouse up any hiding things. (A Worn Path) • A. Personification • B. Simile • C. Imagery • D. Motif

10. • Bang! Went the pistol.Crash! Went the window. Ouch! Went the son of a gun. • A. Onomatopoeia • B. Hyperbole • C. Repetition • D. Personification

10. A – Onomatopoeia • Bang! Went the pistol. Crash! Went the window. Ouch! Went the son of a gun. • A. Onomatopoeia • B. Hyperbole • C. Repetition • D. Personification

11. • The lightning lashed out with anger. • A. Onomatopoeia • B. Hyperbole • C. Alliteration • D. Personification

11. C&D – Personification and Alliteration • The lightning lashed out with anger. • A. Onomatopoeia • B. Hyperbole • C. Alliteration • D. Personification

12. • She sells sea shells down by the sea shore. • A. Assonance • B. Alliteration • C. Allusion • D. Anecdote

12. B – Alliteration • She sells sea shells down by the sea shore. • A. Assonance • B. Alliteration • C. Allusion • D. Anecdote

13. • We’ll be there in a New York minute. • A. Hyperbole • B. Idiom • C. Metaphor • D. Repetition

13. B – Idiom • We’ll be there in a New York minute. • A. Hyperbole • B. Idiom • C. Metaphor • D. Repetition

14. • My backpack weighs a ton. • A. Hyperbole • B. Idiom • C. Imagery • D. Metaphor

14. A – Hyperbole • My backpack weighs a ton. • A. Hyperbole • B. Idiom • C. Imagery • D. Metaphor

Figurative Language