English II

Language that uses words or expressions with a meaning that is different from the literal interpretation

Describing something by comparing it to something else

Simile Metaphor Symbolism Personification Imagery Allusions Hyperbole

Tone Mood Irony Idiom Pun Alliteration Onomatopoeia

Simile - comparison of two things using “like” or “as”

One of the easiest pieces of figurative language to use in writing

Examples…

Kool Moe Dee: “I Go to Work”“I go to work like a boxer / Train the brain and aim to out fox ya / Like a punch my rhyme rocks ya / Some times it knocks ya / So hard it stops ya / Dead in your tracks / So power packed / Before you can react / You're flat on your back”

This simile conveys how __________.

Joel Plaskett: “Precious, Precious, Precious”“You’re like a fragile Ming Dynasty vase / You’re a rare 45 that you’re scared to play / You’re a hundred dollar bill in a penny arcade”

What is the simile being used to convey?

Metaphor - comparison of two different things without using “like” or “as”

Shows that you are in better control of language if you use metaphors rather than similes

Examples…

Simon and Garfunkel: “I Am a Rock”“I am a rock, I am an island / I've built walls, a

fortress deep and mighty.” What do you know about the singer from

this metaphor?

The Coasters: “Poison Ivy”“She's pretty as a daisy, but look out man, she's crazy / She'll really do you in, if you let her get under your skin.”

What did you learn about the girl from these metaphors?

What does the title lead you to believe?

Symbolism - a noun that has meaning in itself is used to represent something entirely different

Incredibly important in literature, movies, etc.

Examples…

Bruce Springsteen (but covered by Dion & The Belmonts): “If I Should Fall Behind”1. “Now there's a beautiful river in

the valley ahead / There 'neath the oak's bough soon we will wed / Should we lose each other in the shadow of the evening trees / I'll wait for you, and if I should fall behind wait for me.”

What do the symbols (the beautiful river and valley; the shadow) represent?

Personification - human characteristics associated with non-human things

Anthropomorphic (animals having human qualities) literature and film are extremely common: Animal Farm, Finding Nemo, animals in Disney films, etc.

Examples…

Weakerthans: “Left & Leaving”“My city is still breathing but barely it's true / through buildings gone missing like teeth / The sidewalks are watching me think about you / sparkled with broken glass.”

What emphasis does the song give when the city is watching the speaker?

Imagery - use of an object that is not there to create a comparison between a different object

Helps create a more meaningful experience Using the five senses Examples…

The Shangri-Las: “Give Him a Great Big Kiss”

“When I say I’m in love, you best believe I’m in love, L-U-V / Here comes my guy, walking down the street / Look how he walks with a dancing beat / Thick wavy hair, a little too long / All day long he’s singing his song”

This example of imagery helps you see exactly what the girl sees.

Murder by Death: “Spring Break 1899”“The sun is comin’ up over the hill / Or maybe it’s not, I can’t even tell / But there’s a warmth on my face that isn’t the blood / and my tears are turnin’ the snow into mud / And I can’t feel my left leg but I think it’s still there / Did I kill anybody / Hell, I never fight fair / What state am I in / Am I still on the run…”

How does this imagery set the scene for the song? What do we learn about the speaker?

Allusion - references to other literary works or historical figures

Not “illusion” - that’s a ghost or a spirit, and that’s totally different

It’s up to the reader to decide why someone or something has been referenced in a book

Examples…

Lady Gaga: “Bloody Mary”“Love is just a history that they may prove / And when you’re gone, I’ll tell them my religion’s you / When Punk-tius comes to kill the king upon his throne / I’m ready for their stones / I’ll dance (dance dance) with my hands (hands hands) / above my head (head head) like Jesus said”

Who are the figures she is referencing (three total)?

Why does she change the name of one of them?

Reeve Oliver: “I Want Burns”◦ “Heaven sent and so complete / I wonder if she

misses me / When I am not around / I’m trying to be quiet / but I wanna start a riot in the street / So she’d come down / She doth teach the torches to burn bright”

“She doth teach the torches to burn bright” is from Romeo and Juliet. What does it mean?

Hyperbole - an over-the-top exaggeration Remember, it’s an exaggeration to prove a

point, not just a lie for no reason◦ I’m so hungry, I could eat a horse.◦ What does it mean?

Examples…

The Proclaimers: “500 Miles”“I would walk 500 miles, and I would walk 500 more / to be the man who walked a 1000 miles to fall down at your door”

What is the singer saying by using this hyperbole?

Mr. T Experience (covered by Emocapella): “Even Hitler Had a Girlfriend”

“And even Hitler had a girlfriend that he could always call / Who'd always be there for him despite of all his faults / He was the worst guy ever, vile and despised / Even Hitler had a girlfriend so why can't I? Why can't I?”

What is the singer trying to convey? How does hyperbole help? How does it go

overboard?

What are these lyrics an example of?Shania Twain: “That Don’t Impress Me Much”

“Okay, so you’re Brad Pitt? / That don’t impress me much / So you’ve got the looks but have you got the touch?”a) Hyperboleb) Allusionc) Personificationd) Imagery

What are these lyrics an example of? Joanna Newsom: “Monkey and Bear”

“Did you hear that, Bear?” said Monkey / “We’ll get out of here, fair and square / They’ve left the gate open wide… / … Will you keep your fancy clothes on, for me? / Can you bear a little longer to wear that leash?”a) Simileb) Ironyc) Personificationd) Hyperbole

What are these lyrics an example of? The Gaslight Anthem: “We Came to

Dance”“And if they end it all by the end of tonight / If the big bomb drops down over this quiet Edison sky”

a) Metaphorb) Similec) Personificationd) Hyperbole

Mood and/or Tone - the feeling or atmosphere of the piece

They are different, but can generally be used to describe the same things

Examples…

Aaliyah: “Are You That Somebody?”“Boy, I been watching you like a hawk in the sky up high / like you are my prey / Boy, I promise if we keep grippin’ hands / I know what one of these days / We goin’ hook it up, probably talk on the phone / But see, I don’t know if that’s good / I been holding back this secret from you / I probably shouldn’t tell it…”

What’s the message in the lyrics? What’s the tone?

The Smiths: “There Is A Light That Never Goes Out”

“Take me out tonight / Take me anywhere, I don’t care / I don’t care, I don’t care / And in the darkened underpass / I thought Oh God, my chance has come at last / But then a strange fear gripped me / and I just couldn’t ask”

What’s the message in the lyrics? What’s the tone?

Good, Bad, and the Queen: “’80s Life”“Call it living in this country / Calling it missing dawn patrol / It’s ‘80s life / And it’s all gone right on you”

After hearing the music, what is the mood the band is trying to convey?

Irony - the use of words to convey a meaning that is the opposite of its literal meaning

People sometimes say things are ironic when, in reality, they’re just unfortunate (Alanis Morrisette’s entire song “Ironic”)

Good examples◦ From the movie Dr. Strangelove: “Gentlemen,

you can’t fight in here. This is the war room.”◦ Act natural.

Examples…

The Descendents: “Suburban Home”“ I don't want no hippie pad / I want a house just / Like mom and dad / I want to be stereotyped / I want to be classified / I want to be a statistic / I want to be masochistic / I want to be a clone / I want a suburban home”

What is the irony in this song?

Idiom - a phrase that has figurative meaning and is understood as an expression but has no literal meaning

These are really hard to understand when learning a new language.

Examples…

Martika: “Cross My Heart”“Cross my heart, hope to die / May lightning strike me if I’m telling a lie / Cross my heart, I swear it’s true / I’ve never loved anyone more than I’m loving you / Cross my heart, it’s true”

What are the idioms in this song? If she was being completely literal, what

could she say instead?

Detroit Cobras: “Out of This World”“You really got something that’s out of this world / Gonna leave my heart on the floor now / Hey, help me baby”

What are the idioms in this song? If she was being completely literal, what

could she say instead?

Pun - a word that has several meanings, and all (or many) of them apply

Fun fact: Ms. Nazzaro hates puns! Examples…

Britney Spears: “Hold It Against Me”“If I said my heart was beating loud / If we could escape the crowd somehow / If I said I want your body now / Would you hold it against me?”

Even Britney understands that several meanings are better than one when it comes to pop music.

Alliteration - repetition of a particular sound in the first syllables of a series of words and/or phrases

Helps create a rhythm when reading Examples…

Jackson Five: “Rockin’ Robin”◦ “Pretty little raven at the bird-band stand / Told

them how to do the bop and it was grand / They started going steady and bless my soul / He out-bopped the buzzard and the oriole”

What does the alliteration do in the song?

D.O.C.: “Whirlwind Pyramid”“Amplified by a microphone, my point it known / So yo, leave the pad at home”

It’s not just a rhyme scheme in this sense, it’s to further the mood and tone of the song

Onomatopoeia - use of a word which sounds like it means

Used a lot in juvenile fiction, not so much in adult/general literature

Examples…

Free Energy: “Bang Pop”◦ “Bang pop pop / When does this searchin’ stop?

/ Bang bang pop pop / When the mind goes / Bang bang pop pop / Where does the moment stop? / Bang pop pop, oh waaay oh”

In music, maybe onomatopoeia doesn’t do much besides provide a fun chorus.

But in literature, it helps create mood and provide some more sensory detail.

What are these lyrics an example of?Joanna Newsom: “Peach, Plum, Pear”

“We speak in the store / I’m a sensitive bore / You seem markedly more / And I’m oozing surprise”a)Punb)Onomatopoeiac)Alliterationd)Mood

What are these lyrics an example of?The Pipettes: “Pull Shapes”

“Pull shapes! / I like to disco / I like to rock ‘n’ roll / Well, I like to hip hop / We can do it all / Just don’t let the music stop”a)Punb)Idiomc)Alliterationd)Irony

What are these lyrics an example of?Nicki Minaj: “Moment 4 Life”

“This very moment I slay Goliath with a sling / This very moment I bring / Put it on everything that I will retire with the ring / And I will retire with the crown”a)Simileb)Idiomc)Allusiond)Irony

What are these lyrics an example of?The Fixx: “One Thing Leads to Another”

“You see dimensions in two / State your case with black or white / But when one little cross leads to shots / Grit your teeth / You run for cover, so discreet”a)Simileb)Idiomc)Allusiond)Symbolism

For homework (or, if you have your iPod, classwork), you will find three songs that each use one different kind of figurative language.

On a piece of paper, write…1. each song title (in quotation marks, like “Spring

Break 1899”)2. the artist3. the type of figurative language4. the lyric(s) that contain the figurative language5. what it means!