Name: ______

7th ELA – Mrs. Brinson

Figurative Language Terms(Week of 3-16-15)

What is figurative language? It is language that uses words or expressions with a meaning that is different from the literal interpretation.

What is literal language? It means exactly what is say.

Hyperbole (hie-PER-buh-lee): an exaggerated statement to emphasize a point. When using hyperbole, your reader/listener knows you are not being literal.
Example: "I fought off about 50 million gnats at the family picnic on Saturday."

Notes: ______

Imagery (IM-aj-ree): a very general term that encompasses nearly any description of something that conjures an image, sound, taste, smell or feeling to mind. In other words, a literal or concrete representation of a sensory experience.
Example: "Of restless nights in one-night cheap hotels…" - T.S. Eliot (you should be able to vividly picture someone tossing and turning at night with unpleasant odors, dingy sheets, etc. [things that likely exist in a cheap hotel.]

Notes: ______

Understatement (UHN-der-stayt-ment): the opposite of hyperbole; it is a statement that makes something that is a big deal seem not very important. It's often used for humor.
Example: "The boat had been ripped apart by the storm and now a dozen hungry sharks began circling the captain. 'This isn't great,' he told his wife."

Notes: ______

Idiom (i-dee-uhm): An idiom is an expression used by a particular group of people with a meaning that is only known through common use.

Example: “I’m just waiting for him to kick the bucket.” NOTE: Many idioms that are frequently used are also considered clichés.

Notes: ______

Metaphor - A figure of speech which involves an implied comparison between two relatively unlike things using a form of be. The comparison is not announced by like or as.

Example: “He drowned himself in a sea of grief.”

Notes: ______

Exaggeration: Used to make an event seem like a bigger deal than it was. When you exaggerate, you expect your listeners or readers to believe what you are telling them.

Example:” It was as if the luggage was filled with rocks.”

Notes: ______

Simile:A figure of speech which involves a direct comparison between two unlike things, usually with the words like or as.

Example: “Her new hair color was as black as coal.”

Notes: ______

Literal DescriptionsFigurative Descriptions

 Grass looks green. The grass looks likeit was spray painted. (simile)

 Sand feels rough. Sand is tiny glass pieces against my feet.

(metaphor)

 The flower smells sweet. The flower has thesweetest smelling petals of any in the world. (hyperbole)

 Grasshoppers make a high Grasshoppers are fiddlers who play their legs.

pitched noise(personification)

My big toe hurts It feels as if a large filled vase fell on my toe.

(exaggeration)

This dinner was very expensive This dinner cost and arm and a leg (idiom)