A Tutorial By Sara Hodge

1. A Tutorial By Sara Hodge

2. Welcome! In this tutorial, you will learn about “The Figures of Speech” Concept. To master this complex skill, you will be exposed to 5 different figures of speech. This is not an all inclusive list, but will get you started. A figure of speech is a word or phrase that has a meaning something different than its literal meaning. It can be a metaphor or simile that is designed to further explain a concept. Click on the following buttons to navigate the major slides of the powerpoint. Click on the home button to be taken back to this page at any point of the tutorial. Simile Metaphor Personification Hyperbole Onomatopoeia HOME

3. Introduction to Figures of Speech A figure of speech is a word or phrase that has a meaning something different than its literal meaning. It can be a metaphor or simile that is designed to further explain a concept. In today’s tutorial you will learn about 5 different figures of speech: simile, metaphor, personification, hyperbole, and onomatopoeia. This is not an all inclusive list, but will get you started. After you learn each figure of speech, you will be asked to practice by completing a basic exercise. At the end of the tutorial, you will be asked to click on a link to take you to your final assessment. This will ensure your understanding and the difference of each literary device. Good luck and enjoy! HOME

4. What is a Simile? There are many different types of figures of speech. Two that are closely related are similes and metaphors. A simile is a comparison between two objects using the words 'like,' 'as,' 'seems' or 'appears.' Look at the following example: 'My dog is like a tornado; she dashes through the house, destroying everything she touches.’ We can find simile examples in our daily speech. We often hear comments like “John is as slow as a snail.” Snails are notorious for their slow pace and here the slowness of John is compared to that of a snail. The use of “as” in the example helps to draw the resemblance. Some more examples of common similes are given below: Our soldiers are as brave as lions; Her cheeks are red like a rose; He is as funny as a monkey; The water well was as dry as a bone; He is as cunning as a fox. From the above discussion, we can infer the function of similes both in our everyday life as well as in literature. Using similes attracts the attention and appeals directly to the senses of listeners or readers encouraging their imagination to comprehend what is being communicated. In addition, it inspires life-like quality in our daily talks and in the characters of fiction or poetry. Simile allows readers to relate the feelings of a writer or a poet to their personal experiences. Therefore, the use of similes makes it easier for the readers to understand the subject matter of a literary text, which may have been otherwise too demanding to be comprehended. Similes also offer variety in our ways of thinking and offers new perspectives of viewing the world. See the next slide for literary examples of similes. HOME

5. Similes Found in Literature 
Example #1: ”I would have given anything for the power to soothe her frail soul, tormenting itself in its invincible ignorance like a small bird beating about the cruel wires of a cage.” Written by Joseph Conrad, the lines have been taken from Lord Jim. The helplessness of the soul is being compared with a bird in a cage beating itself against the merciless wires of the cage, to be free. Example #2: In her novel To the Lighthouse, Virginia Woolf compares the velocity of her thoughts about the two men with that of spoken words. “Impressions poured in upon her of those two men, and to follow her thought was like following a voice which speaks too quickly to be taken down by one’s pencil.” She says both a re difficult to follow and cannot be copied in words by a pencil. Example #3: Taken from a short story Lolita written by Vladimir Nabokov, “Elderly American ladies leaning on their canes listed toward me like towers of Pisa.” The simile produces a humorous effect by comparing old women leaning on walking sticks with the ancient leaning tower of Pisa. Example #4: Taken from the poem the Daffodils, “I wandered lonely as a cloud/that floats on high o’er vales and hills.” The poet envisions himself as a free lone cloud that floats in the blue sky above valleys and mountains. By choosing this simile, Wordsworth describes his loneliness. HOME Simile

6. What is a 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. In simple English, when you portray a person, place, thing, or an action as being something else, even though it is not actually that “something else,” you are speaking metaphorically. “He is the black sheep of the family” is a metaphor because he is not a sheep and is not even black. However, we can use this comparison to describe an association of a black sheep with that person. A black sheep is an unusual animal and typically stays away from the herd, and the person you are describing shares similar characteristics. Furthermore, a metaphor develops a comparison which is different from a simile. We do not use “like” or “as” to develop a comparison in a metaphor. It actually makes an implicit or hidden comparison and not an explicit one. Most of us think of a metaphor as a device used in songs or poems only, and that it has nothing to do with our everyday life. In fact, all of us in our routine life speak, write and think in metaphors. We cannot avoid them. Metaphors are sometimes constructed through our common language. They are called conventional metaphors. Calling a person a “night owl” or an “early bird” or saying “life is a journey” are common conventional metaphor examples commonly heard and understood by most of us. Below are some more conventional metaphors we often hear in our daily life: My brother was boiling mad. (This implies he was too angry.) The assignment was a breeze. (This implies that the assignment was not difficult.) It is going to be clear skies from now on. (This implies that clear skies are not a threat and life is going to be without hardships) HOME

7. Metaphors found in Literature Example #1: “She is all the states, and all princes, I.” --John Donne, a metaphysical poet, was well-known for his abundant use of metaphors throughout his poetical works. In his well-known work “The Sun Rising,” the speaker scolds the sun for waking him and his beloved. Among the most evocative metaphors in literature, he explains “she is all states, and all princes, I.” This line demonstrates the speaker’s belief that he and his beloved are richer than all states, kingdoms, and rulers in the entire world because of the love that they share. Example #2: “Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day?” -- Shakespeare was the best exponent of the use of metaphors. His poetical works and dramas all make wide-ranging use of metaphors. This poem is an extended metaphor between the love of the speaker and the fairness of the summer season. He writes that “thy eternal summer,” here taken to mean the love of the subject, “shall not fade.” Example #3: “Before high-pil’d books, in charactry/Hold like rich garners in the full ripened grain” – The romantic poet, John Keats, suffered great losses in his life – the death of his father in an accident, and of his mother and brother through tuberculosis. When he began displaying signs of tuberculosis himself at the age of 22, he wrote “When I Have Fears,” a poem rich with metaphors concerning life and death. In the line “before high-pil’d books, in charact’ry / Hold like rich garners the full-ripened grain”, he employs a double-metaphor. Writing poetry is implicitly compared with reaping and sowing, and both these acts represent the emptiness of a life unfulfilled creatively. Example #4: From the above arguments, explanations and examples, we can easily infer the function of metaphors; both in our daily lives and in a piece of literature. Using appropriate metaphors appeals directly to the senses of listeners or readers, sharpening their imaginations to comprehend what is being communicated to them. Moreover, it gives a life-like quality to our conversations and to the characters of the fiction or poetry. Metaphors are also ways of thinking, offering the listeners and the readers fresh ways of examining ideas and viewing the world. Metaphor HOME

8. Simile or Metaphor? Decide whether each sentence contains a simile or a metaphor. Write the word SIMILE if the sentence contains a simile. Write the word METAPHOR if the sentence contains a metaphor. 1. The baby was like an octopus, grabbing at all the cans on the grocery store shelves. 2. As the teacher entered the room she muttered under her breath, "This class is like a three-ring circus!" 3. The giant’s steps were thunder as he ran toward Jack. 4. The pillow was a cloud when I put my head upon it after a long day. 5. I feel like a limp dishrag. 6. Those girls are like two peas in a pod. 7. The fluorescent light was the sun during our test. 8. No one invites Harold to parties because he’s a wet blanket. 9. The bar of soap was a slippery eel during the dog’s bath. 10. Ted was as nervous as a cat. HOME Metaphor Simile

9. Answers • Simile • Simile • Metaphor • Metaphor • Simile • Simile • Metaphor • Metaphor • Metaphor • Simile HOME Metaphor Simile

10. What is Personification? Personification is a figure of speech in which a thing, an idea or an animal is given human attributes. The non-human objects are portrayed in such a way that we feel they have the ability to act like human beings. For example, when we say, “The sky weeps” we are giving the sky the ability to cry, which is a human quality. Thus, we can say that the sky has been personified in the given sentence. Here are some common examples of personification: The wind whispered through dry grass. The flowers danced in the gentle breeze. Time and tide waits for none. The fire swallowed the entire forest. We see from the above examples of personification that this literary device helps us relate actions of inanimate objects to our own emotions. HOME

11. Personification in Literature Examples #1: Taken from L. M. Montgomery’s “The Green Gables Letters” “I hied me away to the woods—away back into the sun-washed alleys carpeted with fallen gold and glades where the moss is green and vivid yet. The woods are getting ready to sleep—they are not yet asleep but they are disrobing and are having all sorts of little bed-time conferences and whisperings and good-nights.” The lack of activity in the forest has been beautifully personified as the forest getting ready to sleep, busy in bed-time chatting and wishing good-nights, all of which are human customs. Example #2: Taken from Act I, Scene II of Romeo and Julie, “When well-appareled April on the heel Of limping winter treads.” There are two personification examples here. April cannot put on a dress, and winter does not limp and it does not have a heel on which a month can walk. Shakespeare personifies the month of April and the winter season by giving them two distinct human qualities. Example #3: A.H. Houseman in his poem “Loveliest of Trees the Cherry Now” personifies the cherry tree, “Loveliest of trees, the cherry now/Is hung with bloom along the bough/And stands about the woodland ride/Wearing white for Eastertide.” He sees a cherry tree covered with beautiful white flowers in the forest and says that the cherry tree wears white clothes to celebrate Easter. He gives human attributes to a tree in order to describe it in human terms. Example #4: Emily Elizabeth Dickinson employs personification in her poem “Have You Got A Brook In Your Little Heart”. “Have you got a brook in your little heart,/ Where bashful flowers blow,/And blushing birds go down to drink,/And shadows tremble so?” The bashful flowers, blushing birds and trembling shadows are examples of personification. Personification HOME Peronification

12. Personification Practice! 1. The wind whispered through the dark and gloomy forest. What is being personified? _______________________________________________________________ Which human trait or quality is given? ______________________________________________________ 2. The gardener lovingly added the manure to his crops believing he was making happy flowers. What is being personified? _______________________________________________________________ Which human trait or quality is given? ______________________________________________________ 3. As we walked through the scorching desert, the sun beat down on us. What is being personified? _______________________________________________________________ Which human trait or quality is given? ______________________________________________________ Personification HOME

13. Personification Answers 1. The wind whispered through the dark and gloomy forest. What is being personified? Wind Which human trait or quality is given? Ability to whisper 2. The gardener lovingly added the manure to his crops believing he was making happy flowers. What is being personified? flowers Which human trait or quality is given? Ability to be happy 3. As we walked through the scorching desert, the sun beat down on us. What is being personified? The sun Which human trait or quality is given? Ability to beat down Personification HOME

14. What is a Hyperbole? Hyperbole, derived from a Greek word meaning “over-casting” is a figure of speech, which involves an exaggeration of ideas for the sake of emphasis. It is a device that we employ in our day-to-day speech. For instance, when you meet a friend after a long time, you say, “Ages have passed since I last saw you”. You may not have met him for three or four hours or a day, but the use of the word “ages” exaggerates this statement to add emphasis to your wait.  Therefore, a hyperbole is an unreal exaggeration to emphasize the real situation. Some other common Hyperbole examples are given below. My grandmother is as old as the hills. Your suitcase weighs a ton! She is as heavy as an elephant! I am dying of shame. I am trying to solve a million issues these days. It is important not to confuse a hyperbole with a simile or metaphor. Though it makes a comparison, it does have a humorous effect made by an overstatement. HOME

15. Hyperbole in Literature Example #1: In American folk lore, Paul Bunyan’s stories are full of hyperboles. In one instance, he exaggerates winter by saying: “Well now, one winter it was so cold that all the geese flew backward and all the fish moved south and even the snow turned blue. Late at night, it got so frigid that all spoken words froze solid afore they could be heard. People had to wait until sunup to find out what folks were talking about the night before.” Freezing of the spoken words at night in winter and then warming up of the words in the warmth of the sun during the day are examples of hyperbole that have been effectively used by Paul Bunyan in this short excerpt. Example #2: From William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Act II, Scene II: “Neptune’s ocean wash this blood./Clean from my hand? No. This my hand will rather/The multitudinous seas incarnadine,/Making the green one red.” Macbeth, the tragic hero, feels the unbearable prick of his conscience after killing the king. He regrets his sin and believes that even the oceans of the greatest magnitude cannot wash the blood of the king off his hands. We can notice the effective use of hyperboles in the given lines Example #3: From W.H Auden’s poem “As I Walked One Evening”,. dear, I’ll love you dear/Till China and Africa meet,/And the river jumps over the mountain/And the salmon sing in the street,/I’ll love you till the oceans folded and hung up to dry. The use of hyperbole can be noticed in the above lines. The meeting of China and Africa, the jumping of the river over the mountain, singing of salmon in the street, and the ocean being folded and hung up to be dried are exaggerations not possible in real life. Example #4: From “The Adventures of Pinocchio” written by C. Colloid, “He cried all night, and dawn found him still there, though his tears had dried and only hard, dry sobs shook his wooden frame. But these were so loud that they could be heard by the faraway hills…” The crying of Pinocchio all night until his tears became dry is an example of Hyperbole. Hyperbole HOME

16. Read the pair of sentences and determine the one that uses hyperbole. I am very hungry, and I cannot wait for lunch. I am so hungry I could eat a horse! My teacher gave us a thousand math problems to do tonight. We have a lot of homework in math tonight. It is so cold in this room that icicles are hanging off of my nose.It was cold enough in the classroom that we had to wear our jackets. My mom is going to kill me for ripping a hole in my jeans. My mom is going to be angry at me for tearing my clothes. My dad’s new car cost him a ton of money! My dad’s new car was very expensive! Kevin is the fastest boy in our class. Kevin is as fast as lightning. Hyperbole HOME

17. Answers I am so hungry I could eat a horse! My teacher gave us a thousand math problems to do tonight. It is so cold in this room that icicles are hanging off of my nose. My mom is going to kill me for ripping a hole in my jeans. My dad’s new car cost him a ton of money! Kevin is as fast as lightning. Hyperbole HOME

18. What is an Onomatopoeia? Onomatopoeia is defined as a word, which imitates the natural sounds of a thing. It creates a sound effect that mimics the thing described, making the description more expressive and interesting. For instance, saying, “The gushing stream flows in the forest” is a more meaningful description than just saying, “The stream flows in the forest.” The reader is drawn to hear the sound of a “gushing stream” which makes the expression more effective. In addition to the sound they represent, many onomatopoeic words have developed meanings of their own. For example, “whisper” not only represents the sound of people talking quietly, but also describes the action of people talking quietly. Common Examples: The buzzing bee flew away. The sack fell into the river with a splash. The books fell on the table with a loud thump. He looked at the roaring sky. The rustling leaves kept me awake. Onomatopoeic words come in combinations as they reflect different sounds of a single object. For example, a group of words reflecting different sounds of water are; plop, splash, gush, sprinkle, drizzle, drip etc. Similarly, words like growl, giggle, grunt, murmur, blurt, chatter etc. denote different kinds of human voice sounds. Moreover, we can identify a group of words related to different sounds of wind, such as; swish, swoosh, whiff, whoosh, whizz, whisper etc. Onomatopoeia HOME

19. Onomatopoeia in Literature Onomatopoeia is frequently employed in literature. Below, a few Onomatopoeia examples are highlighted in bold letters: Example #1: “The moan of doves in immemorial elms,/And murmuring of innumerable bees…” (From “Come Down O Maid” by Alfred Lord Tennyson) Example #2: “Hark, hark! Bow-wow./The watch-dogs bark!/Bow-wow./Hark, hark! I hear/The strain of strutting chanticleer/Cry, ‘cock-a-diddle-dow!'” (From Shakespeare’s The Tempest, Act I, Scene II) He saw nothing and heard nothing but he could feel his heart pounding and then he heard the clack on stone and the leaping, dropping clicks of a small rock falling.” (From Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway) Example #4: “It went zip when it moved and bop when it stopped,/And whirr when it stood still./I never knew just what it was and I guess I never will.”/(“The Marvelous Toy” by Tom Paxton) We notice, in the above examples, the use of onomatopoeia gives rhythm to the texts. In addition, it makes the description livelier and interesting, appealing directly to the senses of the reader. Generally, words are used to tell what is happening. Onomatopoeia, on the other hand, helps the readers to hear the sounds the words they reflect. Hence, the reader cannot help but enter the world created by the poet with the aid of these words. The beauty of of onomatopoeic words lies in the fact that they are bound to have an effect on the readers’ senses whether they are understood or not. Moreover, a simple plain expression does not have the same emphatic effect that conveys an idea powerfully to the readers. The use of onomatopoeic words helps create emphasis. Onomatopoeia HOME

20. Can You Find the Onomatopoeia? Alone in the house, Sara became alarmed when she heard a thumping noise overhead, and the thud of someone coming down the stairs. The dead leaves on the ground rustled in the cool, crisp fall wind. The ring of my alarm clock does not wake me up, but my mother’s screeching that breakfast is ready does the trick. The smell of the bacon wafted to me, and I could hear the sizzling of the grease as it fried. Marie just giggled at my joke, but Mark snorted milk through his nose. Alyssa muttered under her breath and snapped her notebook shut to hide the bad grade on the test. I felt like the entire cafeteria stopped and looked at me when my lunch tray clattered to the floor. The snake slithered across the grass and did not make a splash when it slid into the water. Onomatopoeia HOME

21. Answers Alone in the house, Sara became alarmed when she heard a thumping noise overhead, and the thud of someone coming down the stairs. The dead leaves on the ground rustled in the cool, crisp fall wind. The ring of my alarm clock does not wake me up, but my mother’s screeching that breakfast is ready does the trick. The smell of the bacon wafted to me, and I could hear the sizzling of the grease as it fried. Marie just giggled at my joke, but Mark snorted milk through his nose. Alyssa muttered under her breath and snapped her notebook shut to hide the bad grade on the test. I felt like the entire cafeteria stopped and looked at me when my lunch tray clattered to the floor. The snake slithered across the grass and did not make a splash when it slid into the water. Onomatopoeia HOME

22. Now You are Ready for the Test! Copy and paste the following link into your URL to take the Figures of Speech Assessment. Remember what you have learned from this tutorial! Good luck! testmoz.com/657731 After you take the test and submit your answers….You are done! Congratulations! HOME