 Figurative language is not intended to be interpreted in a literal sense. Appealing to the imagination, figurative language provides new ways of looking at the world. It always makes use of a comparison between different things. Figurative language compares two things that are different in enough ways so that their similarities, when pointed out, are interesting, unique and/or surprising.

Simile, Metaphor, Alliteration, Personification, Hyperbole, Idioms, Onomatopoeia, Imagery, Irony, Rhyme

EAMPLE WHAT IS BEING COMPARED  The girl ran as fast as lighting.  The tropical sun was hot like an oven.  The girl and lighting  Lighting is very fast.  You can make a picture in your mind of how fast she is running.  The tropical sun to an oven. An oven is really hot. You can see in your mind how hot the sun really is!

 The girl slept on the soft blanket. It was red. Her room was very hot. She rolled onto something sharp.  Look for words that you can compare things to.  The girl slept on the soft blanket. It was red. Her room was very hot. She rolled onto something sharp.

SoftRedHotSharp Cotton Feather Cloud Rose Fire Engine Apple Fire Oven Sun Pencil Needle Knife

 The blanket was as soft as cotton.  The blanket was red like an apple.  The room was as hot as an oven.  The object was sharp like a needle.

The girl slept on a blanket that was as soft as cotton. It was red like an apple. Her room was as hot as an oven. She rolled onto something sharp like a needle.

 1. The bed was as hard as a _________.  2. Papa ran like___________.  3. The puppy was as soft as____________.  4. An alligator swam toward us like a_______.  5. The table was as sharp as___________.

 The bed was as hard as nails. Answer: Very Hard  Jessica swam like a fish.  Answer: ___________  The mud was like glue.  Answer: ____________  The house was as black as the night.  Answer: ___________

Makes a comparison between two unlike things By Suggesting that one thing is something else.

 What two things are being compared? AND  It could mean that the feeling of love is beautiful like a rose, or that the person is like a rose in some way. What do you think?

It could mean that the feeling of love is beautiful like a rose, or that the person is like a rose in some way. What do you think? AND

 Repetition of the first consonant sound at the beginning of words Example Peter Piper picked a pickled pepper. We lurk late. We shoot straight.

S tan the s trong s urfer s aved s everal s wimmers on S aturday. T iny T ommy T homson t akes t oy t rucks t o T immy’s on T uesday.

Assonance: The repetition of internal vowel sounds. Doesn't have to rhyme!! Princess Kitty will kiss Timmy T. Tippers’s lips.

 Gives human characteristics to something that is not human  The flowers danced in the wind.  The friendly gates welcomed us.  The hurricane’s winds are yelling while blowing outside my window.

Onomatopoeia: When a word’s pronunciation imitates its sound. Examples BuzzFizz Woof HissClink Boom BeepVroom Zip

The firecracker made a loud ka- boom ! The ball went swish as it hit the net. I knew the car was going to break down because it went chug chug chug …

What is hyperbole? Hyperbole is an extreme exaggeration used to produce an effect. Hyperbole is an exaggeration that is so dramatic that no one would believe the statement is true. Tall tales are hyperboles.

I am so hungry I could eat a horse. I could sleep for a thousand years. That box weighs a ton.

Language that appeals to the senses. Descriptions of people or objects stated in terms of our senses. Sight Hearing Touch Taste Smell

A set expression of two or more words that means something other than the literal meaning of the words. In other words An idiom is an expression that means something different from what the words actually mean.

Bundle of Nerves Helping Hands Horse of a Different Color Barking Up the Wrong Tree

It’s raining cat’s and dog’s. Tickled Pink Red Handed In the Red Heart of Gold Golden Rule Pot of Gold Butterflies in My Stomach The Grass is Greener on the Other Side of the Fence Where Your Heart on Your Sleeve The Cats Out of the Bag Blood is Thicker Than Water

When a speaker intends something entirely different than what is said  Say it one way, but “secretly” mean it the opposite way Example Someone accomplishes something hard or is very successful and you say, “You’ve certainly made a mess of things.” “It smells really good in here!” when referring to something that smells terrible.

When words are arranged in such a way that they make a pattern or beat. Example: There once was a man from Peru, Who dreamed of eating his shoe, He awoke with a fright, In the middle of the night, And found that his dream had come true! Hint: hum the words instead of saying them.

I’ll put some lines of poetry on the board. Write down which techniques are used: Alliteration, consonance, rhythm, rhyme, and onomatopoeia.

The cuckoo in our cuckoo clock was wedded to an octopus. She laid a single wooden egg and hatched a cuckoocloctopus.

They are building a house half a block down and I sit up here with the shades down listening to the sounds, the hammers pounding in nails, thack thack thack thack, and then I hear birds, and thack thack thack,

very little love is not so bad or very little life what counts is waiting on walls I was born for this I was born to hustle roses down the avenues of the dead.

 The whiskey on your breath Could make a small boy dizzy; But I hung on like death: Such waltzing was not easy.

Homework! Oh, homework! I hate you! You stink! I wish I could wash you away in the sink.

1. Repetition, rhythm, rhyme, consonance 2. Onomatopoeia, assonance, repetition 3. Alliteration, repetition 4. Rhythm, rhyme 5. Repetition, rhyme, rhythm

Remember - Good writer's use figurative language to help readers get a mental picture of what they are describing.