Literal vs.

Figurative Language
Computer Lab Instructions
1. Get a chair, sit down. You may choose
your seat, but you will be moved if you
talk. No warnings.
2. Log in and open to
http://www.scholastic.com/browse/article.j
sp?id=3757135#1
Today – December 3, 2012
 We will review figurative language.
 We will preview the worksheets.
 We will read the online article.
 You will complete both worksheets and turn
them in at the end of class for a classwork
grade.
 If you finish early, you may take the online
quiz, print it and submit for extra credit.
If you are able to work together
after reading,
 Stop talking and look to the front if you hear
this sound.

 http://youtu.be/AbJ_Jg_CX-c
Literal vs. Figurative Language
 Literal language – the words mean what
they say

 Figurative language – words are used in an

imaginative way to express ideas that are
not literally true.
Figurative Language
 Writing or speech that is not meant to be
taken literally.
 The many types of figurative language are
known as figures of speech.
 This includes metaphors, similes and
personification.
 Language shaped by imagination.
Figurative Language
 Simile
 A figure of speech that uses the words like, as,
than, or resembles to compare things that have
little or nothing in common.
 Life is like a box of chocolates; you're never
sure what you're gonna get.
Figurative Language
 Metaphor
 A comparison between unlike things in which
some reasonable connection is instantly
revealed. A metaphor is a more forceful version
of a simile because like or as is dropped.

 “I tear my heart open, I sew myself shut.”

 “I have just boarded a plane, without a pilot
And violets are blue, roses are red
Daisies are yellow, the flowers are dead.”
Mixed Metaphor
 is a succession of incongruous or ludicrous
comparisons.
 When two or more metaphors (or cliches)
are jumbled together, often illogically, we
say that these comparisons are "mixed."
Mixed Metaphor
 In Garner's Modern American Usage, Bryan A.
Garner offers this classic example of a mixed
metaphor from a speech by Boyle Roche in the
Irish Parliament: "Mr. Speaker, I smell a rat. I
see him floating in the air. But mark me, sir, I
will nip him in the bud." This sort of mixed
metaphor may occur when a speaker is so
familiar with the figurative sense of a phrase
("smell a rat," "nip in the bud") that he fails to
recognize the absurdity that results from a literal
reading.
Personification
 Attributing human qualities to nonhuman
things or to an abstract idea.

The seasons played around his knees

Like Children round a sire
Grandfather of the days is he
Of dawn, the Ancestor
- Emily Dickinson
Hyperbole
 is just a big word for "exaggeration.“

As the Tilt-a-Whirl started spinning, Jackie

held on tighter than a tick on a dog's ear.
For example: The money was burning a hole in her pocket.
Or, her phone was blowing up.
Literal vs. Figurative Language
 Note what happens when figurative
language is taken literally.

 http://youtu.be/v6mfDJ02VCY
Find the figurative language
 Write them down.

 http://youtu.be/5xxQs34UMx4
Figurative Language
 Symbolism - The practice of using symbols.

 Symbol - An object, setting, event, animal,

or person that on one level is itself, but that
has another meaning as well.
 http://youtu.be/x2m_hwDlntw
Figurative Language
 For example, the American flag is really a
piece of fabric with stars and stripes on it,
but it also represents the United States and
ideals like freedom, patriotism, and pride.
 In a story or play, rain could be a symbol;
the rain would really be rain, but it might
also represent an idea like sadness or
leaving the past behind.
Watch Video – Look for
symbolism and other figurative
language

 http://www.scholastic.com/browse/article.js
p?id=3757135
Go to:
http://www.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=375713
5#1s

INTO DARK WATER

As you read, look for figurative
language.
 What words does the author use to
describe the sky before the disaster? What
feelings do these words evoke?
 The sky was “brilliant,” and the stars
“reminded Jack of diamonds.”
 The description evokes hope, promise,
excitement, happiness, etc.
As you read, look for figurative
language.
 How does the author use imagery and symbolism to
create a sharp contrast between the time before and
after the ship begins to sink?

 (Hint: Consider how she describes the water.)

 After using images of light to symbolize life and
establish a sense of promise and excitement, the author
describes the water as black and cold, symbolizing
death and evoking feelings of doom and fear.