Figurative Language

F i g u r a t i v e l a n g u a g e is a tool that an author uses, to help the

reader visualize, or see, what is happening in a story or poem.

Types of Figurative Language

Simile is a comparison using like or as. It usually compares two unlike objects.
Example: His feet are as big as boats. Feet and boats are being compared.

M et aphor states that one thing is something else. It is a comparison, but does NOT use
like or as to make the comparison.
Example: Her hair is silk. Hair and silk are being compared.

Personification is giving human qualities, feelings, actions,

or characteristics to inanimate (not living) objects.
Example: The house stared at me with looming eyes. The verb, stared, is a human action. A house is a non-
living object. Therefore, we have a good example of personification.

Example: The ancient car groaned into first gear. The verb, , is a human action. A
is a non-living thing.

Alliteration is the repetition of the initial consonant. There should be at least

two repetitions in a row.
Example: Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. The first letter, p, is a consonant. Its sound is
repeated many times.

Onomatopoeia is the imitation of natural sounds in word form. These words

help us form mental pictures, or visualize, things, people, or places that are described.
Sometimes a word names a thing or action by copying the sound.
Example: Bong! Hiss Buzz!

Symbolism occurs when one thing stands for or represents something else.
Example: The dove symbolizes peace.
HYPERBOLE IS INTENTIONALLY EXAGGERATED FIGURES OF SPEECH.
Example: It was raining cats and dogs.

Imagery involves one or more of your five senses – the abilities to hear, taste, touch,
smell, and see. An author uses a word or phrase to stimulate your memory of those
senses and to help create mental pictures.
Idioms An expression that means something other than the literal meanings of its individual
words. They are overused expressions.
Poetry Worksheet #1

Decide whether each sentence contains a simile or a metaphor. If it is a simile,

underline the simile in one color and write “simile” after it. If it is a metaphor,
underline the metaphor in another color, and write “metaphor” after it. Finally, under
each sentence, write what the simile or metaphor means.

1. The giant’s steps were thunder as he ran toward Jack.

Simile. It means the giant’s steps are powerful.
2. The pillow was a cloud when I put my head upon it.
Metaphor. It means the pillow is soft.
3. The bar of soap was a slippery eel during the dog’s bath.
Metaphor. It means the bar soap was slip by a human.
4. I felt like a cheetah when I ran the race.
Simile. It means I ran so fast.
5. Those boys are like two peas in a pod.
Simile. It means these boys are friendly.
Write your own simile.

She is looking like flower.

Write your own metaphor.

The flower is a moon when I see it.
 Personification
The delicious smell of cookies pulled me into the
kitchen.
"Follow Me"

For each sentence, circle the object being personified and write the meaning under it.

1. The wind sang her mournful song through the falling leaves.
The author explains the sadness moment.
2. The microwave timer told me it was time to eat my TV dinner.
It explains to eat my TV dinner.
3. The china danced on the shelves during the earthquake.
It explains that we take it it moves.

4. The rain kissed my cheeks as it fell.

The rain dropped softly on my cheeks.
5. The daffodils nodded their yellow heads at the walkers.
They are moving along when we pass.
6. The snow whispered as it fell to the ground during the early morning hours.
The snow quietly drizzled.
Personify the following sentences. Change the words in parentheses to words that would
describe a human’s actions.

1. The puppy (barked) when I left for school. Called

2. The leaf (fell) from the tree. Takes off
3. The CD player (made a noise). Shouted
4. The arrow (moves) across the screen. Goes
5. The net (moves) when the basketball goes through. Dances

Write 3 of your own sentences that demonstrate personification.

 The leaves on the tree are dancing in the wind.

 The moon looks at the earth.

 The birds sang a sweet melody in their nest.

Personification Activity

Use the lists below to write a poem about nature. Choose a word from List A (or a
different word that names something in nature.)

Next, choose a word from List B (or another word that names a human action). Write it next
to column A.

List A List B 1. Example: flower

listens Sun dances
Moon cries
Stars sings 2. Then expand it into a sentence. You
Sky teaches can write it as a statement (a) or as if you
Sea listens were speaking to the object in nature (b).
Stone leaps (a) The flower listens to the wind blow.
Night remembers (b) Sun, listen to the messages of
the Mountain whispers clouds.
Dawn dreams
Morning takes
Flower runs

Write on ONE subject, or describe other objects in nature. Select favorite lines to put
together. You may use other forms of the verbs, i.e. run, ran, runs, running. You must
have 5 lines.

The sun runs in the evening

The cloud cries in the morning,

The flower dances in the wind

In the morning, the stars are blind.

 Figurative Language

Identify the following sentences as similes, metaphors, or personifications

1. He is like a monster when he plays sports. Simile

2. He is a monster when he plays sports. Metaphors

3. Paying bills is like having your teeth pulled. Simile

4. The moon was a silver ship sailing through the sea. Metaphor

5. She swims like a fish. Simile

6. The water opened its arms and invited them in. Personification

7. My brother is a clown. Metaphor

8. The rain kissed my face as it fell. Metaphor

9. The strawberries were yelling, “Eat me first!” Personification

10. He is a rabbit lost in the woods. Metaphor

11. Her glasses look like small bottle caps. Simile

12. His eyes are shining stars in

the middle of the night. Personification

13. The
car engine coughed and cried when it started during the cold winter morning.
Personification
 Alliteration Examples

Bertha Bartholomew bites big bubbles.

Clever Clifford clumsily closed the closet
clasps. Drew Driscol drew a drawing of
dreaded Dracula. Floyd Flingle flipped flat
flapjacks.
Greta Gruber grabbed a group of green
grapes.
Hattie Henderson hated happy healthy
hippos.
Julie Jackson juggled the juicy, jiggly jello.
Karl Kessler Kept the ketchup in the kitchen.
Lila Ledbetter lugged a lot of little lemons
lazily.
Milton Mallard mailed a mangled mango to
Montana.
Norris Newton never needed new noodles.
Patsy planted and plucked plain, plump plums.
Randy Rathmore wrapped a rather rare red
rabbit. Shelley Sherman shivered in a sheer,
short shirt. Tina Talbot talked to two, tall,
talented tenors.
Walter Whipply warily warned the weary warrior.
Yolanda Yvonne Yarger yodeled up yonder
yesterday.
Zigmund Zane zig-zagged through the zany zoo to find zebras.

Your task:
Make 3 twisters of your own.

1. Peter picked up the paper in the Poland.

2. I bought a big buttermilk bottle and a blue bumblebee.
3. Sam sings song softly so someone started to sing together.
4.
 Onomatopoeia

Onomatopoeia is the formation or use of words, such as buzz, that

imitate the sounds associated with the objects of action to which they
refer.

Activity one:
In groups, brainstorm for approximately 3 minutes. List all of the
onomatopoeia words that you can. Don’t share lists with others! Do this
quietly! Then, let’s see how many words your group has that the other does
not.

Activity two:
Write 3 descriptive sentences that contain at least one example of
onomatopoeia in each.

1.The lion roared.

2.The phone rings.
3.The bee buzz.
 Symbolism
Symbolism is using one thing (a symbol) to stand for or represent something else.

A symbol can be anything that stands for something else. Symbols are
everywhere!!! Symbols can represent feelings, math, countries, religions,
people, sports, or words. Authors use symbols to represent ideas in their
writing.

Some Common Symbols:

x
Draw 5 symbols including what the symbols represent.

Symbols in writing…

She never spoke as she slid across the room. Her eyes narrowed as she
stepped pass the dinner table. No one dared to look her in the eyes now.
The crowded room parted to allow the woman in red to pass by. The whole
room grew quiet. The only sound was her red dress swishing as a warning to
those in her path.

What might the color red symbolize in this example:

The air grew cold as the black night set in. The young man began to panic.
He must stay warm some how. As he looked through the snow covered hills
he began to understand… there was no escape. As this thought became
clear the shadow of night surrounded him into a deep sleep.

What might the “shadow of night” mean?

 Hyperbole
(hi per bowl eee)

Hyperbole is intentionally exaggerated figures of speech. They are used to

emphasize a point or add excitement or humor. Examples of hyperbole can
occur in similes and metaphors.

Examples:
1. He was so tired that he could have slept for a month.
2. The water was a million feet deep.
3. I’m so hungry I could eat a horse.
4. She was as slow as a sloth on a hot day.

Write 1 hyperbole sentences of your own for each item

listed.

(sun) The sun is so angry today that it can kill us.

(school) The school is so large that I will never be able to exist.

(car)

I told

you a

million

times to

ride in
 my car.

(cheetah

) He is a

cheetah

when he

runs.

(Make one of your own)

If they don’t give my gift I will start to stay in the moon.

 Imagery

Imagery is writing that appeals to the 5 senses (sight, touch, taste, smell,
sound) to help create mental pictures.

Examples:

(From “The Night before Christmas”)

The children were nestled, all snug in their
beds, while visions of sugar-plums danced in
their heads.

The reader can feel the warmth and taste and see the candy.

In the next example, look for sounds and smells.

The salty, thick air was filled with sinister, rumbling clouds as the
storm approached.

Write 3-5 sentences that use the 5 senses to create a mental picture. Write
the sense above the words you use.

Think about the story and feel the natural scenery.

In this chapter, looks for sound.
The story touched my heart.
Idioms

To stick your neck out is to say or do something that is bold and a bit
dangerous. A similar idiom that is used for slightly more dangerous
situations is to "go out on a limb." In both idioms, the idea is that you put
yourself in a vulnerable position.

To break the ice is to be the first one to say or do something, with the
expectation that others will then follow. Another idiom that means
something similar is "get the ball rolling."

To get long in the tooth means to get old. The expression was originally
used when referring to horses since gums recede with age. So the longer the
teeth a horse has, the older it is said to be.

To have a chip on one's shoulder is usually an expression to describe a

person who acts, as you say, rudely or aggressively, but also in a manner
that could be described as "aggressively defensive." The person seems
always ready for a fight.

Directions: Write the meanings of these frequently used idioms:

1.going bananas to become crazy

2. see eye to eye to agree

3. under the weather to feel sick

4. stuffed to the gills very full from eating so much

5. just what the doctor ordered exactly what wanted or needed

6. born yesterday not easily tricked

7. cat has your tongue can’t talk

8. sells like hotcakes high-demand

9. back to the wall the difficult situation

10.breathtaking view impressive

 Fishing for Figurative
Language
Directions:
As you read highlight the examples of figurative language
simile = Purple in the following
metaphor = colors hyperbole =
personification = Green Red alliteration =
Pink As the sun peaked over onomatopoeia
the horizon,= Andy AllenYellow
and Amy
Orange
Atwater were already headed for the lake. Today was the
Lucky Lure fishing tournament, and they wanted to be at
their favorite spot early. As their truck rounded the last bend
in the road, they spotted the lake. The aqua-blue water was a
shiny mirror. What a perfect day for fishing!
As quick as a wink,Andy launched the boat in the
water while Amy sorted the rods and reels. Andy gunned the
engine and the boat shot off like a rocket. But as they came
around the corner,
Andy and Amy spied another boat at their favorite fishing spot! Their
hearts dropped like rocks, and they knew they were in a pickle.
“Where will we fish?” Andy asked Amy.
“Sit tight,” Amy replied. “I think I may have another trick up my
sleeve.” Amy directed Andy to a small cove on the other side of the lake.
Lily pads floated like saucers on the water and birds chirped cheerfully all
around them. Andy picked up his rod and cast it toward the moss-covered
bank. Kerplunk!
The lure splashed into the water. Before Andy had time to blink, his line
began to zing. He had a fish!
“Amy!” hollered Andy excitedly. “Lend me a hand and grab the net!”
Andy reeled and reeled but the fish fought him tooth and nail. Andy began
sweating bullets. He knew the tournament victory would depend on this
catch.
“Andy, you lucky dog,” exclaimed Amy. “You caught a whale of a fish!
You’re sure to win the tournament now.”
“But you helped me catch him,” replied Andy. “We’ll share the
prize.” Amy and Andy zoomed back to the dock to weigh their fish and
claim the prize: a Lucky Lure fishing hat and a T-shirt.
“Wow! What a wonderful day,” said Andy as they drove home. “But
I’m exhausted!”
“Me too,” Amy said with a yawn. “But let’s come back tomorrow and
see if there are any more whales in that cove!”
 Figurative Language Terms and Definitions

Alliteration – the repetition of initial consonant sounds. It is the basis for

tongue twisters.

Figurative Language – writing or speech that is used to create a vivid

picture by setting up comparisons between two things that are not alike –
metaphors, similes, personification

Hyperbole – intentionally exaggerated figures of speech.

Imagery is writing that appeals to the 5 senses (sight, touch, taste,

smell, sound) to help create mental pictures.

Metaphor – a figure of speech that directly compares 2 unlike things

Onomatopoeia – a word formed from the imitation of natural sounds

Personification – a type of figurative language in which a non-human

subject is given human characteristics

Simile – A figure of speech using the words like or as to compare 2 unlike things

Symbolism – using one thing (a symbol) to stand for or represent

something else.

Idioms- An expression that means something other than the literal

meanings of its individual words.