Download Figurative Language

Figurative Language
Miss L. S. Wallis
Berry Shoals Intermediate School
Spring, 2003
Figurative Language
There are many different types.
It is used in stories and reports.
It adds interest and details.
Common Types of
Figurative Language
Hyperbole: Extreme exaggeration
Idiom: Using words different from their
meaning
Metaphor: Comparing two things without
using “like” or “as”
Simile: Comparing two things using
“like” or “as”
Hyperbole
The key to this exaggeration is that it is an
EXTREME EXAGGERATION!
It is used to emphasize your point.
Examples:
My mother exploded when she saw the mess.
Her face turned blood red.
She told me a million times to clean up my room.
Idioms
An idiom is a word(s) used in a different way
from its usual or dictionary meaning.
Examples:
1.
Sarah and Emeshia ironed out their problems.
2.
You’re pulling my leg.
3.
She had the audience in the palm of her hand.
Metaphors
To begin this comparison, think of two things
that have something in common such as
their color, size, shape, or behavior.
Examples:
1. A speed skater and a roadrunner
2.
Blue eyes and the ocean
3.
Springtime air and light perfume
Metaphors cont.
Then create your sentence…
The skater in the red shirt is a real roadrunner.
Her angry blue eyes were oceans about to storm.
The light perfume was the green springtime air swirling
around our heads.
Simile
Now, you may use the words “like” or “as”
when comparing two things!
Examples:
1. Mother heard sounds like a ghost rattling chains.
2.
Mother is as jumpy as a black long-tailed cat in a room
full of rocking chairs.
3.
She ran like the wind when she saw the drapes move.
Colorful Language
Figurative language adds color to your writing by
putting pictures in the minds of your readers to help them
understand the written word.
Using different types can help to make your writing more
interesting to your reader.
It adds details beyond basic understanding.
After a gazillion slides the show is over.
(Hyperbole, Idiom, Metaphor, or Simile)
The show stopped short of boring.
(Hyperbole, Idiom, Metaphor, or Simile)
The end was a sunset readying our written
world for bright tomorrow.
(Hyperbole, Idiom, Metaphor, or Simile)
The end came like a door slamming shut.
(Hyperbole, Idiom, Metaphor, or Simile)
….The End