1. Figuring Out Figurative Language

2. Figurative language is the use of words that go beyond their ordinary meanings.  Figurative language requires you to use your imagination to figure out the author's meaning. 
The opposite of literal language, in which words match their definition

3. Figurative and Literal Language
Literally: words function exactly as defined
The car is blue.
He caught the football.
Figuratively: figure out what it means
You’re a doll.
I was like a fish out of water.
^Figures of Speech

4. literal vs. figurative language
The kitten had white fur and blue eyes.
The kitten had fur like snow and eyes like the sky.

5. Types of Figurative Language
ALLITERATION
ONOMATOPOEIA
METAPHOR
SIMILE
There are many different types of figurative languages, but we’re going to look at 10 of them.
PUN
IDIOM
PERSONIFICATION
HYPERBOLE
OXYMORON
ALLUSION

6. Comparison of two unlike things using the words “like” or “as.”
Simile
Comparison of two unlike things using the words “like” or “as.”
Examples
The metal twisted like a ribbon.
You were as brave as a lion.
He is as cold as ice.
They fought like cats and dogs.
She is as sweet as candy.

7. Metaphor Two things are compared without using “like” or “as.”
The comparison is made by stating that one thing is something else.
Examples
He is a beast.
The clouds are balls of cotton.
The classroom was a refrigerator.
Her heart is stone.

8. A word that “makes” a sound
Onomatopoeia
Words whose sound imitates that which it names.
A word that “makes” a sound
EXAMPLES
BUZZ
SNAP
BOOM
POP
CRASH

9. Idiom A common saying that isn’t meant to be taken literally.
Doesn’t “mean” what it says
EXAMPLES
Eyes in the back of your head
Costs an arm and a leg.
I’ve got your back.

10. PERSONIFICATION: giving human characteristics to things that are not human
Examples
The sunlight danced.
Water on the lake shivers.
The streets are calling me.
The moonlight walked across the water.
The wind whistled as it blew past the trees.

11. Hyperbole
An exaggeration or overstatement that is not meant to be taken literally. The statement is used for emphasis or to show strong feeling.
Examples
He snores louder than a freight train.
I am so hungry I could eat a whole cow.
My house is a million miles away.
If I fail this test, my mom will kill me.
He’s so tired that he could sleep for a month.

12. Alliteration
figurative language using the repetition of a consonant sound at the beginning of two or more neighboring words
Examples:
Sandy sells seashells by the seashore
Tiny Tommy Tucker took toy trucks to Timmy’s on Tuesday.
Officer Olivia only wrote Wanda the Witch a speeding ticket because she was flying and flipping over the fifty-five mile an hour limit.

13. Allusion
An allusion is a reference to a real or fictitious person, event, place, work of art, or another work of literature within writing.
In order for an allusion to be effective, the reader must be familiar with the original work. In the example below, the reader must be familiar with the fairy tale Cinderella.
Example:
People hardly recognized Kayla when she arrived to the prom in a limo and wore her mother's beautiful gown. Kayla was the Cinderella of the senior class.
Readers who know that Cinderella is a character who was given a magical evening know what the author means by this statement.

14. You can commonly find allusions to well-known works:
•Roman/Greek mythology
•The Bible
•Shakespearean plays
•Fairy tales
Examples:
•I can tell by your silly smile that you've been struck by Cupid's arrow.
•That old woman is fighting a David and Goliath court battle with the huge corporation.

15. Oxymoron
When two words are put together that contradict each other. “Opposites”
Jumbo Shrimp
Freezer Burn
Clearly confused
Act naturally
Living dead
Alone together
Random order
Original copy
Awfully good
Small crowd

16. Oxymoron Example: “Pretty ugly”
Written in context: Even though everyone thought the black duckling was pretty ugly, he turned out to be a beautiful swan.
Explanation: An oxymoron is a contradiction in a sentence. The contradiction in this sentence is pretty and ugly. They mean the complete opposite and therefore it is an oxymoron. Usually, something is either pretty or ugly, but not both.

17. Pun I wondered why the baseball was getting bigger and then it hit me.
A form of “word play” in which words have a double meaning.
(Using words that have more than one meaning for a humorous effect)
I wondered why the baseball was getting bigger and then it hit me.
I’m reading a book about anti-gravity. It’s impossible to put it down.
I was going to look for my missing watch, but I didn’t have the time.

18. Pun Example: “Wooden Shoe”
Written in context: I would like to go to Holland someday. Wooden shoe?
Explanation: A pun is a play on words. In the example above “Wooden Shoe” is replacing the words “wouldn’t you”. Since wooden shoes are an important icon from Holland it adds humor and ties the whole statement together.

19. I was scared when I heard the tiger’s frightening roar.
Onomatopoeia

20. I was surprised his nose was not growing like Pinocchio’s.
Allusion

21. The lady is a songbird.
Metaphor

22. The trees danced back and forth in the wind.
Personification

23. Graduating from high school will be a bittersweet experience.
Oxymoron

24. The old man was moving like a snail.
Simile

25. Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.
Alliteration

26. I’ve got your back.
Idiom

27. My pony is a little hoarse today.
Pun

28. My backpack weighs a million pounds!
Hyperbole