INCORPORATING

FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE
INTO YOUR WRITING
Adrienne Salinas

DEFINITION:
FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE (n): speech or writing

that departs from the literal meaning

in order to achieve a special effect or meaning

PURPOSE:
Creates vivid images Gives a distinctive style Captures readers attention Draws reader into the story

USES:
To enhance your own personal style of writing To make the reader think more about your statement To create writing that is more

pleasurable and entertaining

To convey complex & abstract ideas

SIMILE:
Comparing two very different things that have something in common
Example: Money is like fertilizer its not any good unless you spread it around. (Adapted from Francis Bacon)
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Methods for Constructing Similes:

X is like Y X is more than Y X is similar to Y X is not like Y X is less than Y X resembles Y X is the same as Y X does Z; so does Y X makes me think of Y

METAPHOR:
Comparing two different things by
identifying the subject with the image

Example: The first beam of hope that had ever darted into his mind rekindled youth in his cheeks and doubled the lustre of his eyes. (Samuel Johnson)
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Methods for Constructing Metaphors:

life is a river life flows

using the subject of life and the image of a river

the river of life swimming upstream in life

lifes river a flowing life

METONYMY:
Type of metaphor: an associated idea is substituted for the subject idea

Example: The pen is mightier than the sword.

(Edward Bulwer-Lytton)

CATACHRESIS:
Type of metaphor: substituting an associated

thing for the intended idea Example:

I will speak daggers to her, but use none.

IRONY:
A statement whose hidden meaning is different than its apparent meaning Example: It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.
(from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen)

PERSONIFICATION:
Giving human attributes to animals, objects, or ideas Example:
The wind stood up and gave a shout. He whistled on his fingers and Kicked the withered leaves about And thumped the branches with his hand And said he'd kill and kill and kill, And so he will! And so he will!
(from "The Wind by James Stephens)

HYPERBOLE:
An overly exaggerated statement

Example:
Give me a thousand kisses, then a hundred, then another thousand, then a second hundred. Then still another thousand, then a hundred.
(Edward Bulwer-Lytton)

AVOID:

Clichs

slept like a log happy as a clam

Overuse Unclear language

OVERVIEW OF TERMS:
Simile: comparing two very
different things that have something in common
Personification: giving

Metaphor: comparing two

different things by identifying the subject with the image

Irony: a statement whose

hidden meaning is different than its apparent meaning

human attributes to animals, objects, or ideas Metonymy: an associated idea is substituted for the subject idea Catachresis: substituting an associated thing for the intended idea Hyperbole: an overly exaggerated statement