Figurative Language Note-Taking Guide

1. Figurative LanguageNote-Taking Guide Created by Laura Patton Indian Woods Middle School December 2008

2. Why study figurative language? • Knowing the figures of speech can help you recognize and understand them when you encounter them while reading poetry, narrative, expository, and persuasive writing. • Studying figurative language can also help you learn how to use it in your own writing.

3. The following slide contains a clever poem to help you remember six types of figurative language.

4. A simile is like a song, It's as easy to remember. A metaphor makes soft white snow Sifted sugar in December. A little alliteration Lets the lesson linger longer. A rake that's been personified Slips and hurts its finger. Hyperbole exaggerates: Her crying caused a flood. Onomatopoeia imitates: Kaboom, Kerplunk, Ka-thud.

5. Let's take a closer look at each of the six types of figurative language mentioned in the poem.

6. Simile A simile compares one thing to another using the words like or as. Example: Voters studied the ballot like eighth graders cramming for a test.

7. Metaphor A metaphor is a comparison made by pretending that one thing is another. Example: The eagle, nature's most elegant airplane, soared and dived through the sunny sky.

8. Alliteration Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds. (By the way, assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds.) Example: Peter Pettigrew, the portly politician, pontificated about pollution.

9. Personification Personification is the strategy of giving human characteristics to concepts or things. Example: The flag waved to the boy scout who stood beneath it in salute.

10. Hyperbole Hyperbole is exaggeration used for special effect. It is not meant to be taken literally. Example: Linda Loquacious, the candidate for senate, spoke for so long that one audience member had time to knit an entire sweater for her husband.

11. Onomatopoeia Onomatopoeia is the use of words that imitate or represent sounds; these words have no other meaning. Example: The curtains on the stage opened with a loud swish and the play began.

12. Let's Review Do you remember the poem for the first six types of figurative language?

13. A _____________ is like a song, It's as easy to remember. A ____________ makes soft white snow Sifted sugar in December. A little __________________ Lets the lesson linger longer. A rake that's been ______________ Slips and hurts its finger. ______________ exaggerates: Her crying caused a flood. ___________________ imitates: Kaboom, Kerplunk, Ka-thud.

14. There are a few other types of figurative language you need to know. • idiom • analogy • allusion

15. Idiom An idiom is a phrase that cannot be understood from the meanings of the individual words in the phrase. Example: The old man kicked the bucket. Can You Think of Other Examples? _____________________________ _____________________________ _____________________________

16. Analogy An analogy is a comparison between familiar and unfamiliar ideas, often seemingly quite dissimilar, intended to help the reader/ listener understand at least one of these ideas. Example: "America has given the Negro people a bad check; a check which has come back marked 'insufficient funds.'" -Dr Martin Luther King, Jr. "I Have a Dream" Speech

17. Analogy Other Examples: • A computer virus is like a virus in the human body. Both self-replicate, and both damage the system the infect. • Studying for a big test is like doing extra free-throw drills before an important game. You’re worried about how you’ll perform, but you know you’ll be glad you took the time to prepare.

18. Allusion Allusion is a reference to something outside the piece of literature - another piece of literature, an event of history, a piece of artwork, a piece of music, a historical or popular figure, a bit of cultural knowledge. Example: "Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand, signed the Emancipation Proclamation." -Dr Martin Luther King, Jr. "I Have a Dream" Speech