Literal & Figurative Language

Literal and Figurative Language

Literal language is a fact or idea stated directly.Use this language when you want your writing to

be understood exactly as it is written. Textbooks are written in literal language.What are some other things written in literal

language?

“I could dance until my feet fall off!”

Literal and Figurative Language

Figurative language is used when the reader knows words do not carry their ordinary meaning.

Example Charlie’s bragging gets under my skin.

Literal or Figurative Language?Seeds grow in a remarkable way. The sun

and water make the seed sprout roots. The roots grow down into the soil to acquire nutrients from the dirt. Then, the seed sprout starts to push up through the top of the soil to get direct sunlight to grow more. As the sprout moves up, a plant begins to form.

Literal or Figurative Language?Just like children, some small seeds grow in a

remarkable way. Sun and water as clear as crystal make the seed sprout roots. At a slow speed, the roots grow down into the core of the earth to acquire nutrients from the deep dark dirt. Then, BANG! just like Lady Gaga popping up through the stage, the seed sprout starts to push up through the top of the soil to get direct sunlight to grow as tall as The Empire State Building. As the sprout moves up, a plant begins to form.

Alliteration

• The repetition of an initial consonant sound.

• Awful Alice ate ants.

Hyperbole

An exaggeration

“I could dance until my feet fall off!”

Onomatopoeia

• A word that imitates the sound it represents.

Simile

• A figure of speech that directly compares two different things, usually by using the words "like" or "as“.

Metaphor

• The comparison of two UNLIKE things, without using “like” or “as”.

• She is a shining star in the class.• Life is a constant battle.

Idioms

• Idioms are words, phrases, or expressions that are either grammatically unusual, and their meaning cannot be taken literally.

• “It’s raining cats and dogs”

Allusion

• reference to a well-known person, place, thing, event, literary work, or work of art

• Example Shrek…name the references you see in the following clip

• http://www.shrek.com/

Oxymoron

• A statement with two parts that seem contradictory

• jumbo shrimp, Civil War, freezer burn

Nothing is on the page, so it must be ______ ink.

Personification

• Giving human traits (qualities, feelings, action, or characteristics) to non-living objects (things, colors, qualities, or ideas).

• My computer hates me.

Name the Figurative LanguageJust like children, some small seeds grow in a

remarkable way. Sun (warmth) and water as clear as crystal make the seed sprout roots. At a slow speed, the roots grow down into the core of the earth to acquire nutrients from the deep dark dirt. Then, BANG! just like Lady Gaga popping up through the stage, the seed sprout starts to push up through the top of the soil to get direct sunlight to grow taller than The Empire State Building. As the sprout moves up, a plant begins to form.