Figurative Language

Parts of Speech make up our language.

Figures of Speech bring it to life!

Simile a comparison of two unlike things using as, like, or than

• The stars twinkled like fireflies in the night.• Her heart is as big as Texas.

“A Book” by Emily Dickinson

“There is no frigate like a bookTo take us lands away,Nor any coursers like a pageOf prancing poetry…”

“Me” by Walter de la Mare

“As long as I liveI shall always beMyself--and no other,Just me.Like a tree.Like a willow or elder,An aspen, a thorn,Or a cypress forlorn…”

Metaphor a comparison of two unlike things without using as, like, or than

• My mother is a bear in the mornings.• Her snow white hair was covered with a

hat.• My mind is in left field today.

“Fireflies” by Carolyn Hall

“Little lamps of the dusk,You fly low and gold.When the summer eveningStarts to unfold…”

“..But when the night has flowered..”

Personificationgiving human qualities to non-humans

• The moon was winking through the clouds.• The leaves danced in the breeze.

“Autumn” by Emily Dickinson

“The maple wears a brighter scarf,The field a scarlet gown.Lest I should be old-fashioned,I’ll put a trinket on.”

Alliterationrepetition of the same initial consonant sound in two or more words of a sentence

• The tiny tot teethed on the toy.• The big bad bully belched.• The frog jumped free from the frazzled net.

“This is My Rock” by David McCord

“This is my rockAnd here I runTo steal the secret of the sun…”

Apostrophespeaking to an absent or inanimate object

• Bell, don’t ring now!• Come on, car. Don’t run out of gas!

“Little Lamb” by William Blake

“Little lamb, who made thee?Dost thou know who made thee?Gave thee life, and bade thee feedBy the stream and o’er the mead…”

Onomatopoeiawords that imitate a sound

• The buzzing clock woke me.• Her swooshing skirt was annoying.

“The Bells” by Edgar Allan Poe

“Hear the sledges with the bells--Silver bells!

…From the jingling and the tinkling of the bells.”

Hyperboleobvious and deliberate exaggeration

•I am so hungry that I could die.

•I told you a million times to head your paper.

PUNa play on the multiple meanings of words or on two words that sound alike but have different meanings.

•An elevator makes ghosts happy because it lifts the spirits.

•To write with a broken pencil is pointless.

•Seven days without laughter makes one weak.

AnachronismSomething misplaced in time

• Abe Lincoln was watching a movie the night he was shot.

• Ben Franklin came home and realized his microwave was blinking.

AnthropomorphismGiving a god human characteristics

“He’s got the whole world in His hands.”

And God said, “Let there be light.”