Figurative Language Journal Notes
Most of the time when people speak they say exactly what they mean. This is when they are speaking literally. There are times, though when we don’t mean exactly what we say. We speak in a way that makes our words more colorful and the images related to what we say, more vivid. This is when we speak figuratively.
Today, you will review the five major types of figurative language: simile, metaphor, personification, hyperbole, and idiom.
- Simile is the comparison of two unlike things using like, as, or seems.
Examples:
- “Life is like a box of chocolates; you never know what you’re gonna get.”
The above example is from the movieForest Gump. The two unlike things being compared are life and a box of chocolates. The simile means that life has variety and there is a sense of mystery and surprise.
- Xiomara’s hair is like a long, calm, dark river.
The two unlike things being compared are Xiomara’s hair and a long, calm, dark, river. The simile means that her hair is long, probably straight, and dark colored. The writer says this to give the reader a picture in their mind of Xiomara’s hair. It is more powerful to say that her hair is like a long, calm, dark river than to just say her hair is long, straight, and dark colored. Don’t you agree?
- Metaphor is the comparison of two unlike things by saying that one thing IS the other.
Examples:
- Grandma said that Granddad is peanut butter: smooth but nutty.
The two unlike things being compared is Granddad and peanut butter. The metaphor means that Granddad is “smooth” which probably means he is charming, likeable, and easy to get along with. He is “nutty” meaning he is fun-loving, witty, and fun to be around.
- Personification is the comparison where a non-human being or object is given human qualities and characteristics.
Examples:
- The trees danced and swayed its arms to the music of the wind.
The non-human thing is the tree and the human qualities/characteristics it is being given are that it is “dancing” and “swaying its arms.” Trees aren’t human, so they don’t really dance and they don’t have arms. The figurative language helps you make a mental vision and helps you to see how a tree can seem like a human. This is personification.
- Hyperbole is a grand exaggeration used to make a stronger point and many times (but not always) also to be humorous (funny).
Examples:
- Mom was so big when she was pregnant that she blocked out the sun anytime she went outside.
This is a huge exaggeration. Mom was big when she was pregnant, yes, but not literally THAT big. It is just being said to express that she was really big, and to be a little funny.
- Idioms are culture specific phrases and sayings that just mean something different than their literal meaning. They are common and familiar phrases that only people o that country, region, or culture might understand. Look at the examples below.
Examples:
- I got shotgun! This expression in our country means you want to sit in the front seat of the car. You wouldn’t say this in another country because people might literally think you really do have a shotgun.
- I’ve got dibs on the leftover slice of pizza! In our country this expression means that you get first pick of something. If you said this in another country people probably would not know what you meant and would eat that slice of pizza.
- You’re chicken. This means you are scared or afraid to do something. Someplace else if you said this people might think you are calling them a chicken as an insult.
- It’s raining cats and dogs. This common idiom means that it is raining really hard.
For practice try to create your own sentences with simile, metaphor, personification, hyperbole, and idioms, and be “on the look-out” for them when you read.