Literary Devices/Elements Figurative

Language
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Literary Elements
Parts of fiction
texts

Simile

Metaphor

Extended
Metaphor

Literary Devices Tools authors use make their writing better

Figurative Language Tools used to describe in a unique and
imaginative way

Figurative Language
uses the words like or as to
compare one object or idea with
another to suggest they are alike.
-She took in her breath as if it were a
prayer.
-The thought crept into his mind like a
snake into a the bed of a sleeping child
a direct comparison between two
unlike things, not using like or as. (A
simile would say you are like
something; a metaphor is more sure
- it says you are something.)
He is the foundation I stand on.
The picture was a morphine dose for my
heart.
The child is born, a flower for the world.
cause baby, youre a firework
In an extended metaphor, the
metaphor is carried over many
sentences or lines.
The Rose that Grew from Concrete
By Tupac Shakur
Did you hear about the rose that grew
from a crack in the concrete?
Proving nature's law is wrong it
learned to walk with out having feet.
Funny it seems, but by keeping it's
dreams,
it learned to breathe fresh air.
Long live the rose that grew from
concrete

when no one else ever cared.

Hyperbole

An exaggeration that is so dramatic

that no one would believe the
statement is true.
Tall tales are hyperboles.
I will love you for 100 forevers.

Personificati
on

A figure of speech in which human

characteristics are given
to an animal or an object.
The dream tickled me.
The house drew a hollow breath and
slept.
Black smoke told secrets in the hills.

Alliteration
(Assonance
and
Consonance
)

Repeated sounds at the beginning of

a group of words
Assonance: repeating vowel sounds
inside 3 or more words
Consonance: repeating consonant
sounds inside 3 or more words
- Sally sells seashells by the sea
- I long fondly for resolve
- Bitter feelings let fights persist
The use of a word to describe or
imitate a natural sound or the sound
made by an object or an action.
Snap! Clap! Boom!

Onomatopo
eia

Clich

an expression that has been used so

often that it has become common
and sometimes boring.

Opposites attract.
You are what you eat.

Idiom

an expression that has a meaning

apart from the meanings of its
individual words. Its not meant to
be taken literally.
Its raining cats and dogs.
He kicked the bucket.

Pun

A play on words. Uses a word or words

that have more than one meaning. Lots of
jokes are puns.
My dog not only has a fur coat, but also
pants.