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Two types of Language

Literal Language

means exactly what it says.
is explicit, obvious, out in the open and plainly stated.
communicates an ideas clearly and plainly

Figurative Language

infers or suggests rather than stating directly.
makes you use your imagination to figure out the author’s meaning
helps a reader relate to what the author is trying to say.

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Simile

Definition: a comparison between two things we don’t usually think of as similar by connecting them with the words "like" or "as."
Example: "The way you grow old is kind of like an onion or like rings inside a tree trunk." ["Eleven" by Sandra Cisneros]
What is the author trying to say?
How does this simile accomplish

the author’s purpose?

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Simile

WARNING

Just because you see “like” or “as” does not mean you have found a simile!

Ask yourself: What 2 unlike things are being compared?

Not a simile: Sometimes you cry like you did when you were three.

Simile: The red sweater is still sitting there like a big red mountain.

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Hyperbole

Definition (pronounced: hi-PER-bow-lee): an extremely exaggerated description or statement that proves a point.
Example: “Today I wish I was one hundred and two instead of eleven.” ["Eleven" by Sandra Cisneros]
What is the author trying to say?
How does using hyperbole accomplish

the author’s purpose?

What effect does this Figurative

Language have on you as the reader?

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Hyperbole

WARNING

Hyperbole is EXTREME exaggeration to prove a point.

Ask yourself: Is this an over the top exaggeration?

Not hyperbole: I will never ride a roller coaster.

Hyperbole: I could smell the pizza from a mile away

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Alliteration

Definition: a group of words that start with the same consonant sound.
Example: Sarah Sylvia Cynthia Stout would not take the garbage out.
What is the author’s purpose for writing this way?
How does alliteration accomplish the author’s purpose?

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Alliteration

Alliteration is done on purpose.
Pay attention to SOUNDS, not LETTERS
Not alliteration: My dog is buried beside the tree.
Alliteration: The frigid flakes fell softly on the frozen field

WARNING

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Personification

Definition: Giving human characteristics to non-human or inanimate objects (things that aren’t alive).
Example: “But sometimes the prodigy in me became impatient. ‘If you don’t hurry up and get me out of here. I’m disappearing for good,’ it warned.”
What is the author’s purpose for writing this way?
How does alliteration accomplish the author’s purpose?

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Personification

Personification in Advertising

The toilet tissue that really cares for Downunder. (Bouquets toilet paper, Australia)	What do you feed a machine with an appetite this big? (Indesit washing machine and Ariel Liquitabs, laundry detergent, UK)
The car that cares (Kia cars)	Kleenex says bless you. (Kleenex facial tissues)

"Personification permits us to use knowledge about ourselves to comprehend other aspects of the world, such as time, death, natural forces, inanimate objects, etc."

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Allusion

Definition: Making casual reference to a famous historical or literary figure or event, or to another work of literature that the author expects you to know.
Example: “At first my mother thought I could be a Chinese Shirley Temple.” [“Two Kinds” by Amy Tan]
What is the author trying to communicate?
How does this allusion communicate that?

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Metaphor

Definition: A direct comparison between two unlike things stating that one thing IS another.

Example: “And after I played them both a few times, I realized they were two halves of the same song.

“I was Cinderella stepping from her pumpkin carriage with sparkly cartoon music.”

What is the author trying to say?

How does this metaphor accomplish what the author is trying to say?