Figurative language

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Figurative language

• is a tool that an author uses to help the reader
  visualize (or see) what is happening in a story
  or poem.
• Some common types of figurative language are
  simile, metaphor, alliteration, onomatopoeia,
  idiom, personification, and sensory language.

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Similes Made Simple

• WHAT IS A SIMILE?
• WHAT IS THE USE OF A SIMILE?
• CAN YOU IDENTIFY THE SIMILES?

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THE SIMILE 

• A simile is a comparison using like or as. It
  usually compares two dissimilar objects. For
  example
• His feet were as big as boats. We are comparing
  the size of feet to boats.

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Effects of the Simile
The babys cry was like an electric drill.
How could the poet be feeling? What is the author
trying to say?
I think that the author was feeling unhappy and
frustrated because the babys cry was so loud.
The poet is trying to emphasise how annoying and
monotonous the babys cry islike the electric
drill.
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Similes Identified
Can you identify the similes in the following
poem extracts?
The Circus
A Hot Day at the School
Of brown lively children roam about. Goats and
barking dogs wander to and fro. Women in gold and
blue and scarlet And green prepare the meal.
Their hair Like shining water sways and
swirls. The patient donkeys wander , trying To
find some weeds to graze upon. Extract from
Albert Rowe
All day long the sun glared as fiercely as a
cross Head teacher. Out on the brown, parched
field we trained hard for next weeks Sports
Day. Extract from Wes Magee
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Did you notice the key words that help you to
identify a simile?
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Like
As
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Have a look at our simile poem
FEAR
Fear is black like stormy clouds. It tastes like
cold rice pudding. It smells musty and damp It
looks like a dark lonely street. It sounds like
echoing footsteps, It feels like being alone.
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What is a Metaphor?
Example Her hair is silk. The sentence is
comparing (or stating) that hair is silk. .

• A metaphor states that one thing is something
  else.
• It is a comparison, but it does NOT use like or
  as to make the comparison.

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Metaphor clues

• Metaphors often use different forms of the verb
  to be. Look for words like is, are, was, were,
  am, have been, etc.
• She is a monster! Compared to the simile She is
  like a monster.
• Paul and John were snakes!
• I am a cheetah the way I move swiftly down the
  field.

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More MetaphorsCan you guess the two up here?

• A heart of stone
• He has the heart of a lion

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ANSWERS

• A heart of stone
• He has the heart of a lion

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Personification

• Giving human characteristics to something not
  human.
• EX The flowers danced in the wind.
• EX The sun battled us as we hiked.
• EX The ocean waves stretched unto the shore.
• Can you think of any examples? Remember
  dancing, battling (fighting), and stretching are
  things only people donot objects.