Figurative Language & Poetic Devices

Figurative Language: Language that communicates meanings beyond the literal

meanings of words

Poetic Devices: Tools that a poet can use to create rhythm, enhance a poem's
meaning, or intensify a mood or feeling
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Simile: A type of figurative language that makes a comparison between two unlike
things using the word like or as
My heart is like ice.

Metaphor: A type of figurative language that makes a comparison between things

that are unlike but that have something in common. Unlike similes, metaphors do
not contain the word like or as.
My heart is ice.

Personification: A type of figurative language in which human qualities are given

to an object, animal, or idea
"For thou wilt lie upon the wings of the night, whiter than new snow on a
raven's back; come, gentle night, come, loving black browed night." (Romeo and
Juliet)
"The books leapt and danced like roasted birds, their wings ablaze with red
and yellow feathers." (Fahrenheit 451)

Symbol: A person, a place, an object, or an activity that stands for something

beyond itself
Dove - Symbol of peace
Ah Sunflower, weary of time,
Who countest the steps of the sun;
Seeking after that sweet golden clime
Where the travelers journey is done; (William Blake)
Paradox: A statement or situation containing apparently contradictory or
incompatible elements
Everything I say, is a lie. (Makeila)
I can resist everything but temptation. (Oscar Wilde)
Whatever you do will be insignificant, but it is very important that you
do it. (Ghandi)
If you try to fail and succeed, which have you done? (George Carlin)

Hyperbole: A type of figurative language in which the truth is exaggerated for

emphasis or humorous effect
Its so fluffy, Im gonna die! (Despicable me)
Yo mama so fat and old when God said, Let there be light, move out
of the way.

Understatement: A figure of speech that consists of saying less than one means,
or of saying what one means with less force than the occasion warrants
Houston, weve had a problem. -Jim Lovell after explosion on Apollo
13
This is an example of understatement because an oxygen tank had exploded on
the spaceship, yet Lovell simply stated that there was a problem rather than an
emergency.
-Mercutio describes his death wound as just a scratch in Romeo and
Juliet.
(When the wound ended up killing him)

Apostrophe: A figure of speech in which someone absent or dead or something

nonhuman is addressed as if it were alive and present and could reply
O happy dagger , This is thy sheath. There rust and let me die. -This
is an example of apostrophe because Juliet speaks to the dagger right
before she kills herself with it as if it was a real person. (Romeo and Juliet)
 Twinkle twinkle little star, how I wonder what you are. Talking directly
to the star even though a star is not human and cannot respond.

Imagery: The representation through language of sense experience

Visual, Auditory, Olfactory, Gustatory, Tactile, Organic, Kinesthetic

Allusion: A reference, explicit or implicit, to something in literature or history

My father carries the weight of the world, this is an allusion to Atlas,
a figure that held up the Earth in Greek mythology; recognizing the trait
instead of the name.
Scrooge from the Christmas Carol because calling someone a
scrooge is like calling someone stinging/grumpy.

Irony: A situation, or a use of language, involving some kind of incongruity or

discrepancy
Verbal Irony, Dramatic Irony, Situational Irony
Verbal Irony: clear as dirt, soft like a brick, as pleasant as surgery
Situational Irony: a fire station burns down, someone going on
Facebook and posts about how useless Facebook is, a vegan never eats
meat, but has had sausage pizza
-Dramatic Irony: The audience knows Oedipus is the killer but he
himself does not know who the killer is.

Tone: The writers or speakers attitude toward the subject, the audience, or
herself or himself; the emotional coloring or emotional meaning of a work
Examples of Tone: ambiguous, angry, annoyed, antagonistic, anxious,
apathetic, apologetic, calm, candid, casual, caustic, despondent, desperate,
detached, diabolic, didactic, foreboding, melancholy, mocking, reflective,
 serene, serious, severe, solemn, taunting, thoughtful, unsympathetic, wistful,
zealous

Digital Scavenger Hunt Activity!

Using available technology, find 2 examples for each of the above

terms/devices.
For instance
Hyperbole: Im so hungry I could eat a horse.
Symbol: A dove is a symbol of peace.

Write each example on a sticky note, and place it accordingly on our

Poetry Word Wall!

Add a few of your examples to the running Figurative Language &

Poetic Devices Google Doc.