Go Figure!

Figurative Language, Poetry terms &

Rhetorical Devices

Recognizing Figurative Language

The opposite of literal language is figurative language. Figurative language is language that means more than what it says on the surface.

• It usually gives us a feeling about its subject. • Poets use figurative language almost as

frequently as literal language. When you read poetry, you must be conscious of the difference. Otherwise, a poem may make no sense at all.

Recognizing Literal Language “I’ve eaten so much I feel as if I could literally

burst!”• In this case, the person is not using the word literally in its

true meaning. Literal means "exact" or "not exaggerated." By pretending that the statement is not exaggerated, the person stresses how much he has eaten.

Literal language is language that means exactly what is said.

Most of the time, we use

literal language.

What is figurative language?

• Whenever you describe something by comparing it with something else, you are using figurative language.

• Figurative Language is the use of descriptive words and phrases that bring your reader into your writing.

Types of Figurative Language Include…

• Simile• Metaphor• Personification• Hyperbole• Alliteration• Onomatopoeia• Idioms• Repetition• Imagery

SimilesSimilesA simile is a comparison between two unlike

things, using like or as.Examples: • Her smile was so wide it looked like a piano

keyboard. (comparing: smile & piano keyboard)• A heart as cold as snow. (comparing: heart &

cold snow)Create your own simile using like or as about a

topic of your choosing.

METAPHORA metaphor directly compares two unlike things without using like or as. A metaphor states that one thing “is” another. Often uses a form of the “be” verb. (am, is, was, are)

Examples: • The boy was a golden knight, protecting his little sister

from the fire-breathing dragon that lives in the sandbox.• You are an ant, while I’m the lion.

Create your own metaphor stating one thing “is” another about a topic of your choosing.

PERSONIFICATIONPersonification assigns human characteristics and

traits to non-human objects.Examples: • The pencil fought furiously with the eraser,

battling over question number three.• The sun winked at me through the clouds.

Create your own sentence using personification about a topic of your choosing.

HYPERBOLEHyperbole is the use of overstatement to describesomething that could never happen in real life.An exaggerated statement used to heighten effect.

It is not used to mislead the reader, but to emphasize a point.

Examples: • She has said so on several million occasions.• The teacher’s voice was so loud the astronauts

orbiting Earth could hear her lecture.Create two exaggerations (hyperboles) about any

topic of your choosing.

ALLITERATIONAlliteration is the repetition of two or more sounds.

Repeated consonant sounds occurring at the beginning of words or within words. Example: – She was wide-eyed and wondering while she waited for

Walter to waken.– Tommy turtle terrified Theresa terribly. – The witch’s washed-out, withered lips whispered, “Watch

what awaits you at the bewitching hour!”

Create an alliteration using your first or last name.Must be at least 6 – 8 words long.

ONOMATOPOEIAOnomatopoeia is a word that imitates a sound or mimics the

sound.Example: • The cow moos in the pasture. (Moo is the onomatopoeia.)• You must click the button on the right to take the picture. (Click is the

onomatopoeia.)• The firecracker made a loud ka-boom!

Use onomatopoeia in a sentence that you create!

Be creative, think attention grabber or lead for a newspaper story.

An idiom is a commonly used expression that means something different from what it appears to mean. An idiom or idiomatic expression refers to a construction or expression in one language that cannot be matched or directly translated word-for-word in another language. EXAMPLES: Riding on the rollercoaster “Deathrace” was a piece of cake. (Piece of cake is the idiom. Really meaning that it wasn’t so hard, or it was easy.) "She has a bee in her bonnet." (Meaning "she is obsessed," cannot be literally translated into another language word for word.)Viola was on the ball today!(Meaning “she was the center of all the action” at the game.)

IDIOM

REPETITIONRepetition is a general term for repeating a single word or variants of the same word. Repetition is a form of emphasis in which attention is gained. We are very good at pattern-matching and it does not take long to spot the repeated word pattern and then start to wonder what it means.Example: •It's a mad, mad, mad world.•Vanity of vanities: you are vain, he is vain, all is vanity.

Imagery • Language that appeals to the senses.

Descriptions of people or objects stated in terms of our senses.

• Sight: bright, sunny day• Hearing: piercing screams shattering the night • Touch: rough crumbs scratched the insides of my

jaws• Taste: The sweet vanilla flavor was still on my tongue.

• Smell: the rotten stench of death

Poetic Devices: Rhyme Schemerhyme scheme

a repeated pattern of rhymed words at the end of the line

lusty eyes (A)passionate cries (A)rich blood, (B)bitter sweat (C)she/he loves (D)and dies (A)

internal rhyme

rhyming that occurs within the line(rather than at the end)

piece of me emerges

Rhetoric• Rhetoric is the art of using words well when

speaking or writing.– An example of rhetoric is when a politician can

describe a problem and make it sound like it is not a problem.

– An example of rhetoric is a insincere offer by someone to do something.

– Rhetorical devices are often used in public speaking or speeches.

Rhetorical Devices

• Allusion - a reference to an event, literary work or person – EXAMPLE: I can’t do that because I am not Superman.

• Analogy - compares two different things that have some similar characteristics – EXAMPLE: He is flaky as a snowstorm.

• Anaphora - repeats a word or phrase in successive phrases . Usually it is found at the beginning of the phrase.

EXAMPLE: "If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh?” (Merchant of Venice, Shakespeare)