Figurative language 1[1]

Joyet 2004 1

Language TypesLanguage Types

We’re going to look at two types of language:

figurative language

and literal language

Joyet 2004 2

Figurative vs. LiteralFigurative vs. LiteralTo understand

figurative language

figurative

one has to understand the difference between

and literal

Joyet 2004 3

More on LiteralMore on Literal

My meaning is exactly what I say.

To be literal is to mean what you say. For example:If I tell you to sit down! I mean it literally: “sit down,” as in: “sit in your seat now, please.”

Joyet 2004 4

and more on Literaland more on Literal

I mean exactly what I say.

Here’s another example.I’m tired and going home.

This means “I’m tired and I’m going home” there is no other meaning other than what is said.

Joyet 2004 5

FigurativeFigurative

I’m not suggesting we get into the freezer.

To be figurative is to not mean what you say but imply something else. For example:

If, I tell you: “let’s go chill!”

Joyet 2004 6

Figurative continuedFigurative continued

It has nothing to do with temperature.

“let’s go chill” …

…means let’s relax together and do something fun.

Joyet 2004 7

Figurative vs. LiteralFigurative vs. Literal

Confused?

Think of it this way:

Literal as real

Figurative as imaginary

Joyet 2004 8

Why Figurative Language? Why Figurative Language?

Also known as descriptive language, or poetic language, figurative language helps the writer paint a picture in the reader’s mind.

Truman Capote Truman Capote In True BloodIn True Blood

Joyet 2004 9

Barbara Kingsolver Barbara Kingsolver The Poisonwood BibleThe Poisonwood Bible

Joyet 2004 10

Harry Potter and the Deathly Harry Potter and the Deathly HallowsHallows

“Harry hurried back to the entrance to find Ron face-to-face with a most eccentric looking wizard. Slightly cross-eyed, with shoulder length hair like shards or mis-bundled wheat, he wore a cap thats tassel dangled in front of his nose and robes of an eye-watering shade of egg-yolk yellow. An odd symbol like a triangular eye glistened from a golden chain around his neck.”

Joyet 2004 11

Breaking Dawn Breaking Dawn Stephanie MeyerStephanie Meyer

“The boat slowed dramatically, drawing with precision into position against a short dock constructed of wooden plank, bleached into whiteness by the moon. The engine cut off, and the silence that followed was deafening. There was nothing but the waves, slapping lightly against the boat, and the rustle of the breeze dancing with the palms. The air was warm, moist, and fragrant-like the steam left behind after a hot shower.”

Joyet 2004 12

Joyet 2004 13

Why Figurative Language? Why Figurative Language?

You know descriptive, that’s when you describe something.

Joyet 2004 14

Why Figurative Language? Why Figurative Language?

Poetic language, that’s what poets do.

Figurative language helps paint a picture in the reader’s mind.

Joyet 2004 15

Again: Figurative LanguageAgain: Figurative Language

Figurative Language does not always mean what is being said or read, but serves to make it more interesting.

Joyet 2004 16

12 Techniques of 12 Techniques of Figurative LanguageFigurative Language

There are 12techniques that we’re going to look at, and yes, you’ll need to learn all 12.

Joyet 2004 17

12 Techniques of 12 Techniques of Figurative LanguageFigurative Language

You will need to:understand themidentify themuse them in your writing

Joyet 2004 18

The 10 techniques to know: onomatopoeia Allusion alliteration simileSymbolismAssonanceoxymoron

metaphor personification idiom hyperboleconsonance

12Techniques of 12Techniques of Figurative LanguageFigurative Language

Joyet 2004 19

Let’s look at the techniques one at a time.

12Techniques of 12Techniques of Figurative LanguageFigurative Language

Joyet 2004 20

OnomatopoeiaOnomatopoeia

Examples of the onomatopoeia:Bang, went the gun!

Swoosh went the basketball

through the hoop.

Joyet 2004 21

OnomatopoeiaOnomatopoeia

The formation or use of words such as buzz, murmur or boo that imitate the sounds associated with the objects or actions they refer to.

Joyet 2004 22

Onomatopoeia in practiceOnomatopoeia in practice

Onomatopoeia is the use of words whose sounds make you think of their meanings. 

For example; buzz, thump, pop.

Many comic strips use onomatopoeia. 

Poetry ExamplePoetry Example

RUNNING WATER (Onomatopoeia) water plops into pond

splish-splash downhillwarbling magpies in treetrilling, melodic thrill

whoosh, passing breezeflags flutter and flapfrog croaks, bird whistlesbabbling bubbles from tap

Joyet 2004 23

Joyet 2004 24

AlliterationAlliteration

A poetic device which repeats the same beginning sound for effect. Examples of Alliteration:

   Sally Sells Seashells By The Sea Shore

   Rolling, Racing, Roaring, Rapids            

Joyet 2004 25

AlliterationAlliterationAlliteration is a sentence or phrase that begins with the same letter and sound.  Tongue twisters are generally alliterations. For example:  busy batters bat baseballs by bases.

Joyet 2004 26

AlliterationAlliteration

Alliteration is the repetition of the beginning sounds in two or more words. Remember alliteration as a tongue twister, such as:

"Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers."

Poetry ExamplePoetry Example

Dewdrops Dancing Down Daisies

By Paul Mc Cann

Don't delay dawns disarming display . Dusk demands daylight . Dewdrops dwell delicatelydrawing dazzling delight .Dewdrops dilute daisies domain. Distinguished debutantes . Diamonds defray delivereddaylights distilled daisy dance .

Joyet 2004 27

Joyet 2004 28

SimileSimile

Examples of similes:She is like a rainy day.He is as busy as a bee.They are like two peas in a pod.

A simile is a figurative language technique where a comparison is made using like or as.

Joyet 2004 29

SimileSimileA figure of speech in which two essentially unlike things are compared, often in a phrase introduced by like or as, as in: “How like the winter hath my absence been” or “So are you to my thoughts as food to life” (Shakespeare).

Joyet 2004 30

Complete your custom simileComplete your custom simile

The cat was as scary as a ____.The night is like a ____.The moon is like a ____The scarecrow was as scary a ____.Her eyes shown like ___________.

Poetry ExamplePoetry Example

Dream Deferred   What happens to a dream deferred?Does it dry upLike a raisin in the sun?Or fester like a sore--And then run?Does it stink like rotten meat?Or crust and sugar over--like a syrupy sweet?Maybe it just sagslike a heavy load.Or does it explode?

Joyet 2004 31

SymbolismSymbolism

The use of symbols, or to a set of related symbols.

Symbols-anything that stands for or represents something else beyond it

Flags and crosses are symbols and words are symbols as well

Joyet 2004 32

Joyet 2004 33

Joyet 2004 34

Joyet 2004 35

Joyet 2004 36

Joyet 2004 37

Joyet 2004 38

CCOOLLOORRSS

REDGREENBLACKWHITEPURPLE

Joyet 2004 39

Poetry ExamplePoetry ExampleThe caged bird sings

with fearful trillof the things unknownbut longed for stilland is tune is heardon the distant hillfor the caged birdsings of freedom

The free bird thinks of another breezean the trade winds soft through the sighing treesand the fat worms waiting on a dawn-bright lawnand he names the sky his own.

But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreamshis shadow shouts on a nightmare screamhis wings are clipped and his feet are tiedso he opens his throat to sing

Joyet 2004 40

AssonanceAssonance

The repetition of identical or similar vowel sounds in the stressed symbols of neighboring words.

And round about the keel with faces pale, Dark faces pale against that rosy flame, The mild-eyed melancholy Lotos-eaters came.

Joyet 2004 41

Poetry ExamplePoetry Example

. We Real Cool- The Pool Players. Seven at the Golden Shovel.

We real cool. We    Left school. We

Lurk late. We Strike straight. We

Sing sin. We    Thin gin. We

Jazz June. We    Die soon

Joyet 2004 42

OxymoronOxymoron

Oxy is Greek for “sharp” Moron is Greek for “dull” A figure of speech that combines two usually contradictory

terms “Why then, O brawling love, O loving, hate, O anything of nothing first create; O heavy lightness, serious vanity, Misshapen chaos of well-seeming forms, Feather of lead, bright smoke, cold fire, sick health, Still waking-sleep, that is not what it is!” Milton

Joyet 2004 43

Joyet 2004 44

Living-dead

Joyet 2004 45

Jumbo shrimp

Peace riotPeace riot

Joyet 2004 46

Joyet 2004 47

Evaporated milk

Joyet 2004 48

Joyet 2004 49

Joyet 2004 50

Joyet 2004 51

Joyet 2004 52

AllusionAllusionAn indirect or passing reference to some event,

person, place, or artistic work, the nature and relevance of which is explained by the writer but relies on the reader’s familiarity with what is being mentioned.

My father told me to never do tomorrow what I can do today, for if Noah would have waited a day to build the ark, he would have found himself all wet.

Mark, our town’s Shakespeare, was in the newspaper.

Joyet 2004 53

Literary ExampleLiterary Example

The title of the short story “By the Waters of Babylon,” by Steven Vincent Bent is a Biblical Allusion because this phrase, “By the Waters of Babylon alludes to Psalm 137 and the capture of the Jews. In Psalm 137, the Jews mourn over the loss of their homeland and consider themselves, “by the waters of Babylon,” a foreign land.

Joyet 2004 54

Joyet 2004 55

MetaphorMetaphorA poetic comparison that does not use the words like or as.

Examples of metaphors:She is a graceful swan.He is a golden god.They are honey from the honeycomb.

Joyet 2004 56

MetaphorMetaphor

A figure of speech in which a word or phrase that ordinarily designates one thing is used to designate another, thus making an implicit comparison, as in “a sea of troubles” or “All the world's a stage” (Shakespeare).

Joyet 2004 57

Brian was a wall, bouncing everytennis ball back over the net.

This metaphor compares Brian to a wall because __________.a. He was very strong.b. He was very tall.c. He kept returning the balls.d. His body was made of cells.

Joyet 2004 58

We would have had more pizza to eat ifTammy hadn’t been such a hog.

Tammy was being compared to a hog because she __________.

a. looked like a hog b. ate like a hogc. smelled like a hogd. was as smart as a hog

Joyet 2004 59

Cindy was such a mule. We couldn’tget her to change her mind.

The metaphor compares Cindy to a mule because she was __________.

a. always eating oatsb. able to do hard workc. raised on a farmd. very stubborn

Joyet 2004 60

The poor rat didn’t have a chance. Our old cat, a bolt of lightning, caught his prey.The cat was compared to a bolt of lightning because he was _______.

a. very fast b. very brightc. not fond of fleas d. very old

Joyet 2004 61

Even a child could carry my dog,Dogface, around for hours. He’ssuch a feather.

This metaphor implies that Dogface:a. is not cute b. looks like a birdc. is not heavy d. can fly

Poetry ExamplePoetry ExampleI am a mountain, I am a tall tree,

I am a swift wind sweepin' the countryI am a river, down in the valley, I am a vision, and I can see clearlyI'm that star up in the skyI'm that mountain peak up highHey, I made itI'm the world's greatestAnd I'm that little bit of hopeWhen my back's against the ropes

Joyet 2004 62

Joyet 2004 63

PersonificationPersonification

Personification is a figurative language technique in which human characteristics are given to nonhuman things.

Joyet 2004 64

PersonificationPersonification

The leaves danced in the wind

Example of personification:

The heat ripped the breath from her lungs.

Joyet 2004 65

PersonificationPersonification

A figure of speech in which inanimate objects or abstractions (things that are not human) are endowed with human qualities or are represented as possessing human form.

Joyet 2004 66

PersonificationPersonification

Examples of Personification:

Hunger sat shivering on the road

Flowers danced about the lawn.

Joyet 2004 67

PersonificationPersonificationExamples:The sleeping water reflected the

evening sky. Humidity breathed in the girl's

face and ran its greasy fingers through her hair.

The tree arrested the oncoming car.

Poetry ExamplePoetry Example The Train I like to see it lap the miles,

And lick the valleys up,And stop to feed itself at tanks;And then, prodigious, step

Around a pile of mountains,And, supercilious, peerIn shanties by the sides of roads;And then a quarry pare

To fit its sides, and crawl between, Complaining all the whileIn horrid, hooting stanza;Then chase itself down hill

And neigh like Boanerges;Then, punctual as a start its own,Stop-docile and omnipotent-A stable door.

Joyet 2004 68

Joyet 2004 69

IdiomIdiom

An idiom is a figurative language technique that does not mean what is being said.

Joyet 2004 70

IdiomIdiom

Remember what literal means? This is the opposite.

Think about it. When you tell your hommie “chill,” are you suggesting they walk into a freezer? No.

Joyet 2004 71

IdiomIdiom

The expression “chill,” is an idiom that means: relax, take it easy or don’t worry. There are tons of idioms. I’m sure you use several all the time, without thinking about it.

Joyet 2004 72

IdiomIdiom An idiom is a speech form or an expression of a given language that is peculiar to itself grammatically or cannot be understood from the individual meanings of its elements.

Joyet 2004 73

IdiomIdiom

Idioms are known as regional speech, dialect, slang, jargon, or legal idiom.

Joyet 2004 74

IdiomsIdiomsMore examples of idioms:We were chewing the fat.It’s raining cats and dogs. She’s as sharp as a tack.I wish he would kick the bucket.

““This cellphone cost an arm This cellphone cost an arm and a leg.”and a leg.”

Joyet 2004 75

Joyet 2004 76

“It’s raining cats and dogs.”

““My sister has a serious sweet My sister has a serious sweet tooth!”tooth!”

Joyet 2004 77

Joyet 2004 78

“There’s a fork in

the road.”

Joyet 2004 79

“Knock on wood.”

Joyet 2004 80

“I was saved by the bell!”

““It’s a piece of cake.”It’s a piece of cake.”

Joyet 2004 81

Joyet 2004 82

“Money doesn’t grow on trees.”

Joyet 2004 83

HyperboleHyperbole

• Is when one exaggerates.

• We use hyperbole all the

time when we want to

impress or stress.

Joyet 2004 84

HyperboleHyperbole

“He never speaks to her.”

Never? That is a very long time.

Hyperbole means to exaggerate.

Take for example:

Joyet 2004 85

HyperboleHyperbole

• We have a ton of work.

A ton is a lot of work. A ton is

also a thousand pounds.

Hyperbole example:

Joyet 2004 86

HyperboleHyperbole

• I ate a thousand pounds of pasta.

A thousand pounds is also known

as a ton, this person must be

really obese.

Hyperbole example:

Joyet 2004 87

HyperboleHyperbole

• I told you a million times.

I don’t mind repeating myself, but

a million times? That’s a lot.

Hyperbole example:

ConsonanceConsonance

The repetition of identical or similar consonants in neighboring words whose vowel sounds are different.

The bleak, mild chill willowed through the last of the lanyards. Pitter patter Riff raff “Whose woods these are I think I know.

His house is in the village though;He will not see me stopping here,To watch his woods fill up with snow.”

Joyet 2004 88

Poetry ExamplePoetry Example God’s Grandeur  The world is charged with the grandeur of God.

It will flame out, like shining from shook foil;It gathers to a greatness, like the ooze of oilCrushed. Why do men then now not reck his rod?Generations have trod, have trod, have trod;And all is seared with trade; bleared, smeared with toil;And wears man's smudge |&| shares man's smell: the soilIs bare now, nor can foot feel, being shod.

And for all this, nature is never spent;There lives the dearest freshness deep down things;And though the last lights off the black West wentOh, morning, at the brown brink eastward, springs --Because the Holy Ghost over the bentWorld broods with warm breast |&| with ah! bright wings.

Joyet 2004 89

Joyet 2004 90

We’ve looked atWe’ve looked at

Literal vs. Figurative

Remember:

Real vs. Imaginary

Joyet 2004 91

We’ve looked atWe’ve looked at12Figurative Language techniques: onomatopoeia Allusion alliteration simileSymbolismAssonanceoxymoron

metaphor personification idiom hyperboleconsonance

Joyet 2004 92

State Content Standards for State Content Standards for 99thth and 10 and 10thth

Narrative Analysis of Grade-Level-Appropriate Text

3.7 Recognize and understand the significance of various literary devices, including figurative language, imagery, allegory, and symbolism, and explain their appeal.