Figurative Language

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Figurative Language

• Similes, Metaphors,
• Personification Hyperbole
• By Mr. Gonzalez
• Language Arts Reading Teacher

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Figurative Language

• is the use of words or phrases to express
  something different than their usual meanings.
  Writers use figurative language to say things in
  vivid and imaginative ways, but what they say is
  not really true. Similes and metaphors are
  examples of figurative language.

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Figurative Language

• A writers tool
• It helps the reader to visualize (see) what the
  writer is thinking
• It puts a picture in the readers mind

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Simile

• A simile is used to compare two things.
• It uses the words like or as to make
  comparisons.

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Simile

• Krissy is as pretty as a picture.
• Her hair shines like the sun.
• Her eyes sparkle like the stars in the sky.

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Simile

• When my brother returned from the trip, he slept
  like a log.
• The man was hired because he is as strong as a
  bull.
• Marys feet smell like rotten fish.

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Other Examples of Similes

• When the food was served, people went
• to the tables like a swarm of butterflies.
• That classroom is like a zoo today.
• His face is as ugly as an old running shoe.
• His feet move slowly at first, while his tap
  shoes make soft, slippery sounds like rain on a
  tin roof...(He) does a new step that sounds like
  a woodpecker tapping on a tree.
• I felt like I was trapped in one of my own
  terrifying
• nightmares.

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More Similes

• "Be careful using that can opener.
•       It's as temperamental as a chain saw."
• Barb frowned and said, I believe that taking
  drugs is like flushing your brain down the
  toilet."
• "Sheila really hurt me. Her comments were like a
  clamp tightening on my heart."
• "Monica and Peter sure are close. She has a grip
  on him like a monkey wrench!"

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More Similes

• I thought a baby would be heavy to carry, but my
  little cousin felt as light as a paper doll.
• Blasted by the summer sun, the black pavement in
  our driveway was as hot as a race car engine.
• This relationship is killing me. I feel like a
  bird in a cage.

• It was the middle of winter, and all the
  classroom windows were open. I sat at my desk,
  trembling like a frightened animal.

• You should see my uncle carrying wooden beams and
  bags of cement. He is as strong as a bulldozer.

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Metaphor

• A metaphor is used to compare two things based on
  resemblance and similarity.
• Instead of saying something is like or as ---
  a metaphor states that it just IS.

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Metaphor

• Ginger is an angel.

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Metaphors

• Johns mind is a computer.
• My mom is a workhorse.
• Bob is a snake in the grass.
• My dorm is a prison.
• Cindy was such a mule. We couldnt get her to
  change her mind.

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Other examples of Metaphors

• He showered her with gifts.
• The event was clouded over by protests
• You are the sunshine of my life.
• This homework is a breeze.
• His face was weathered by a long, troubled life.
• She knew she was fried when the teacher handed
  back her paper
• The lawyer grilled the witness on the stand.

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More Metaphors

• Some afternoons I cant visit with my friends
  because I am caught in a flood of paperwork.
• Ana felt scorched by his angry words.
• Discarded plastic is a rising tide that
  threatens to drown the landscape.
• That puppy was the sun coming into my world.
• Your voice is music to my heart.
• The warm evening breeze reached out its tender
  hand and closed my eyes.

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Why do we use Similes and Metaphors?

• They enliven ordinary language.
• They encourage interpretation.
• They are more efficient and economical than
  ordinary language.
• They create new meanings they allow you to write
  about feelings, thoughts, things, experiences,
  etc. for which there are no easy words they are
  necessary.

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Similes and Metaphors in your Essays.

• Writers use similes and metaphors
• to bring life and richness to what they have to
  say.
• Writers use similes to explain things, to express
  emotion, to elaborate (show) their ideas and to
  make their writing more vivid and entertaining.

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Personification

• Personification is a figure of speech in which
  nonhuman things are given human qualities.
• ? The night wind sang me a soothing lullaby.
• ? The silent phone stared at me, mocking my
  loneliness.
• ? A gentle breeze whispered secrets in my ear.
• ? A golden moon smiled down at the romantic
  couple.
• ? The stars danced playfully in the moonlit sky.
• ? The storm attacked the town with great rage.
• ? The river swallowed the earth as the water
  continued to rise higher and higher.
• ? She did not realize that opportunity was
  knocking at her door.
• ? The leaves danced in the summer breeze.

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Hyperbole

• A Hyperbole is nothing but an exaggeration of any
  statement. The statement is made only for a
  dramatic effect, however, it does increase the
  beauty of speech.
• Examples
• His brain is the size of a pea.
• My backpack weighs a ton!
• I will die if she asks me to sing in front of
  everyone.
• I am so hungry I could eat a horse.
• You snore louder than a freight train.
• It was so cold, I saw polar bears wearing
  jackets.
• This car goes faster than the speed of light.