Figurative Language Types of Figurative Language What is Figurative Language

hi everyone mrs roberts here today we're going to look at figurative language have you ever read story or poem and thought wow that was really interesting and feel like i'm right in the story if you have then you've probably read examples of figurative language figurative language is creative way to use words or phrases to make interesting comparisons explain something that is abstract or add dramatic effect writers often use figurative language in stories poems and even songs it makes text more engaging and relatable as it draws on the reader's emotions and helps them think about topic in new way while there are many types of figurative language in this video we're going to focus on similes metaphors personification idioms and hyperbole simile is type of figurative language used to directly compare two things it is easy to recognize in text as they often use the words like or as to suggest that the objects or ideas are alike for example commonly used simile is you're like two peas in pod we can see here the word like is used to make the comparison does this mean you and your friend are actually peas in pod no that's just way of comparing you and your friend by saying you're very similar to each other in the same way that peas are in pod you might have also heard this simile she's as sweet as sugar what does this mean does the girl actually taste sweet no this simile helps the reader understand the girl's sweet personality and how kind she is metaphor is word or phrase that is used to make direct comparison between two things it is form of figurative language that describes something by stating that one thing is actually another this is usually achieved by highlighting shared quality between the two things being compared linking words such as like or as are not used in metaphors for example you may have heard someone say here's ray of sunshine this metaphor creates an image of person who is happy and bright like rays of sunshine some other common metaphors include time is money and life's roller coaster personification is achieved when human characteristics such as actions or feelings are given to non-human things like objects or animals it is used to make these objects more relatable and is commonly used in poetry for example the flowers danced in the wind uses personification to give the flowers the human quality of being able to dance this creates an image in the reader's mind of flowers moving about gently in the blowing breeze as though they are dancing sometimes we even use personification in our daily speech when we say things like that last piece of cake is calling my name the cake isn't really calling out someone's name but this personification of the cake emphasizes that the last piece of cake is very tempting have you ever heard someone say it's raining cats and dogs this is an example of an idiom idioms are words phrases or expressions that cannot be taken literally they don't actually mean what the words say idioms are more commonly used in everyday sayings than they are in formal pieces of writing do you know what these common idioms really mean the cat is out of the bag this just means secret has been let or what about this one you're pulling my leg this just means someone is joking with you and our final figurative language type for this video is hyperbole it uses exaggeration for emphasis and to intensify an image in the reader's mind it is often used with humor and it isn't meant to be taken literally hyperbole is another figurative language device used in our daily speech some examples include i'm so hungry could eat dirt and i've asked you million times to clean your room well that brings us to the end of this video in figurative language hopefully you can now identify the five types we have explored in the things that you read and in what people say if you liked this video hit the thumbs up button and leave comment below thanks for watching