Figurative Language & Literary Devices

Figurative Language
Literary Devices
LEARNING COMPETENCIES:
• Analyze the information contained in the material viewed,

• Analyze literature as a means of connecting to the world.
Literal Language
• You say exactly what you mean. You make no

comparison, and you do not exaggerate or
understate the situation.
Figurative Language
• You DON’T say exactly what you mean. You DO

compare, exaggerate, and understate the situation.
You use similes, metaphors, hyperboles, and other
figures of speech to make your writing more
exciting.
Literal or Figurative?
1. Grant always turns in his homework.

2. The water was rising in the river because of the rain.
3. Her teeth are like stars because they come out at
night.
4. When she sings her voice is like velvet.
5. Half of the class did not complete the assignment.
6. I’m so hungry I could eat a horse.

7. Mike was so angry that steam was coming out of his
ears.
8. The zebras cried when the wise old elephant died.
9. I’ve told you a million times to clean up your
room.
10. The snow was coming down by the
bucket-fulls.
11. Mary is always dressed neatly.
12. Native Americans believed that the sun was a god.
13. These bags are so heavy my arms are falling off.
14. Mrs. Brown sometimes gives us too much
homework.
What are literary devices or also called figures of
speech?
• A literary device is a technique that a writer uses to

produce a special effect in their writing.
• The English language encompasses a host of figurative

language or literary devices that make it so rich and
expressive.
speech?
• The importance of literature in the portrayal of human

emotions is best understood by the applications of
these devices.
• Literary devices are common structures used in

writing.
speech?
• Figurative language presents ordinary things in fresh

ways, communicating ideas that go beyond words’
ordinary meanings.
SIMILE
• referring to the practice of drawing parallels or

comparisons between two unrelated and dissimilar
things, people, beings, places and concepts.
• Similes are marked by the use of the words ‘as’ or
‘such as’ or ‘like’
SIMILE
• You were as brave as a lion.

• They fought like cats and dogs.
• He is as funny as a barrel of monkeys.
• This house is as clean as a whistle.
• Your explanation is as clear as mud.
SIMILE
• “Life is like a box of chocolates.”

• “The girl is as beautiful as a rose.”
• “The willow is like an etching…”
• He is like a mouse in front of the teacher.
METAPHOR
• refers to a meaning or identity ascribed to one subject

by way of another.
• one subject is implied to be another so as to draw a
comparison between their similarities and shared traits.
METAPHOR
• Henry was a lion on the battlefield.

• The camel is the ship of the desert.
• Life is a dream.
• Laughter is the best medicine.
• Words are daggers when spoken in anger.
• War is the mother of all battles
• His words are pearls of wisdom
HYPERBOLE
• exaggeration to emphasize the real situation.

• derived from a Greek word meaning “over-casting,”
and is a figure of speech that
• overstatement
HYPERBOLE
• Our history professor is so old that he has lived

through everything we've learned about ancient
India.
• It was so cold, even the polar bears were wearing
jackets.
• Our library is so old, its book pages are numbered with
roman numerals ... written by the Romans.
HYPERBOLE
• Your suitcase weighs a ton!

• I am dying of shame.
• I am trying to solve a million issues these days.
• An apple a day keeps the doctor away.
• I could sleep for a year.
PERSONIFICATION
• 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.
PERSONIFICATION
• Look at my car. She is a beauty, isn’t she?
• The wind whispered through dry grass.
• The flowers danced in the gentle breeze.
• Time and tide wait for none.
• The fire swallowed the entire forest.
• Hunger sat shivering on the road.
RHYME
• repetition of similar sounding words, occurring at the

end of lines in poems or songs.
• a tool utilizing repeating patterns that bring
rhythm or musicality to poems. This differentiates them
from prose, which is
• plain. A rhyme is employed for the specific purpose of
rendering a pleasing effect
• to a poem, which makes its recital an enjoyable
RHYME
• repetition of similar sounding words, occurring at the end of

lines in poems or songs.
• a tool utilizing repeating patterns that bring
rhythm or musicality to poems.
• employed for the specific purpose of rendering a pleasing
effect to a poem,
• Offers itself as a mnemonic device, smoothing the progress
of memorization.
RHYME
• Rhyme scheme refers to the order in which particular

words rhyme. If the alternate words rhyme, it is an “a-b-a-
b” rhyme scheme, which means “a” is the rhyme for the
lines 1 and 3 and “b” is the rhyme affected in the lines 2 and
4.
RHYME
• Roses are red (a)

Violets are blue (b)
Beautiful they all may be (c)
But I love you (b)
RHYME
• “Mary had a little lamb its fleece was white as snow;

And everywhere that Mary went, the lamb was sure to go.
It followed her to school one day, which was against the
rule;
It made the children laugh and play, to see a lamb at school.
Oxymoron
• use contradictory, contrasting concepts placed together in a

manner that actually ends up making sense in a strange, and
slightly complex manner.
• helps to perceive a deeper level of truth and exploredifferent
layers of semantics while writing
Oxymoron
• Sometimes we cherish things of little value.

• He possessed a cold fire in his eyes.
• So innocent arch, so cunningly simple.
• She accepted it as the kind of cruelty of the surgeon’s knife.
Apostrophe
• direct address to the dead, to the absent, or to a

personified object or idea.
• a special form of personification.
Apostrophe
• Oh ancestors, what would you say about this matter?

Antony addresses Caesar's corpse immediately following the
assassination in Shakespeare’s
• Julius Caesar: O, pardon me, thou bleeding piece of earth,
That I am meek and gentle with these butchers! Thou art
the ruins of the noblest man That ever lived in the tide of
times. - Shakespeare, Julius Caesar
Alliteration
• the occurrence of same sound at the beginning of adjacent

or closely connected words.
• With many a curve my banks I fret By many a field and

fallow, And many a fairy foreland set With willow-weed and
mallow. - Alfred Lord Tennyson
Onomatopoeia
• a word or a grouping of words that imitates the sound it is

describing, suggesting its source object, such as "click,"
"bunk", "clang," "buzz," "bang," or animal noises such as
"oink", "slurp", or "meow".and mallow. - Alfred Lord
Tennyson
Figurative Language Quiz
1. The hockey player lost his control when the puck ran
2. across the ice.
3. The snow on the ski hill was powdered sugar.
4. The coach was as upset as a lion when his team lost the
game.
5. Freddy French fired five fabulous free throws.
11. After the marathon, the runner was thirsty enough to drink
the ocean.
12. The golf ball walked gently into the ninth hole.
13. The team members remained as cool as cucumbers after
the game.
6. The snowmobile was a rocket in the newly fallen snow.

7. The running shoes danced as the runner neared the finish
line.
8.“Bang!” went the gun as the race started.
9.Steven boxes in the light-heavyweight division.
10.Spotlighting several special sports shows seems
significant for TV.
1. After the marathon, the runner was thirsty enough to
drink the ocean.
REFERENCES

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Figurative Language

• Analyze the information contained in the material viewed,

• You say exactly what you mean. You make no

• You DON’T say exactly what you mean. You DO

1. Grant always turns in his homework.

6. I’m so hungry I could eat a horse.

• A literary device is a technique that a writer uses to

• The English language encompasses a host of figurative

• The importance of literature in the portrayal of human

• Literary devices are common structures used in

• Figurative language presents ordinary things in fresh

• referring to the practice of drawing parallels or

• You were as brave as a lion.

• “Life is like a box of chocolates.”

• refers to a meaning or identity ascribed to one subject

• Henry was a lion on the battlefield.

• exaggeration to emphasize the real situation.

• Our history professor is so old that he has lived

• Your suitcase weighs a ton!

• repetition of similar sounding words, occurring at the

• repetition of similar sounding words, occurring at the end of

• Rhyme scheme refers to the order in which particular

• Roses are red (a)

• “Mary had a little lamb its fleece was white as snow;

• use contradictory, contrasting concepts placed together in a

• Sometimes we cherish things of little value.

• direct address to the dead, to the absent, or to a

• Oh ancestors, what would you say about this matter?

• the occurrence of same sound at the beginning of adjacent

• With many a curve my banks I fret By many a field and

• a word or a grouping of words that imitates the sound it is

6. The snowmobile was a rocket in the newly fallen snow.

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