FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE

Word or phrase used to give particular emphasis to an idea or sentiment - conscious deviation from the literal meaning of the word, or the usual sentence construction

Simile
Comparing two unlike things or ideas by using the words like or as

My love is like a rose.

Metaphor
Words or phrases literally denoting one kind of object or idea in place of another to suggest a likeness between them My love is a rose.

Apostrophe
Addressing someone absent/dead, or something inhuman, as if the person or thing is present, alive, and could respond Beloved Land, let me explain to thee Why thought of nearing death provokes a pain

Personification
Attributing human characteristics to something inhuman The river runs swiftly along the mountain.

Oxymoron
Combining two seemingly contradictory words Im freezing in the sun Im burning in the rain

Hyperbole
Exaggerating a thing or person by depicting it to be better or worse, or larger or smaller Dont carry the whole world on your shoulders.

Euphemism
Substituting offensive terms with delicate or inoffensive terms Im going to the toilet. = Im going to the comfort room.

Onomatopoeia
Imitating the natural sound of the object or thing She hears the hissing of the snake.

Short exercise
Identify what form of figurative language is used in the text.

Kuya Raymond is as strong as a horse.

Kuya Raymond is as strong as a horse. simile

Poetry is magic.

Poetry is magic. Metaphor

The wind howls loudly.

The wind howls loudly.

Personification

Lovers speak of living deaths, dear wounds, fair storms, and freezing fires.

Lovers speak of living deaths, dear wounds, fair storms, and freezing fires. Oxymoron

She drinks the juice in oceans.

She drinks the juice in oceans. Hyperbole

Her pet passed away last night.

Her pet passed away last night. Euphemism

The Indian heard the whizzing of the arrow as it flies over his head.

The Indian heard the whizzing of the arrow as it flies over his head. Onomatopoeia

God's law is a light to his feet and a lamp to his path.

God's law is a light to his feet and a lamp to his path. Metaphor