Personification

The basic idea behind personification is that you take an object or animal and give it human
qualities, such as emotions or thoughts. For example, instead of just describing the wind as
blowing, you might describe it as “breathing” across your face.
“The sun smiled down on us.” 'The story jumped off the page.” “The light danced on the surface
of the water.”
Similie
A simile is a literary device that compares two things in an interesting and vivid way. Words
such as “like” and “as” are used to compare the two subjects. For example, “He was as quiet as a
mouse” or “She smelled like a rose”
 As cold as ice.
 As light as a feather.
 Cool as a cucumber.
 American as apple pie.
 They're like two peas in a pod.
 Sleeping like a log.
 Life is like a box of chocolates.

Hyperbole
Hyperbole is an exaggerated statement or claim that is not meant to be taken literally. For
example, I've told you a million times!
 I'm so hungry I could eat a horse. ...
 'I haven't seen you in ages!'
 'The teacher gave us a ton of homework. ...
 'When your mum sees what you've done, she will kill you. ...
 'She never stops talking. ...
 'This work is going to take me years to finish. ...
 'I'll be there in two seconds.

Metaphor
Metaphor is a comparison between two things that are otherwise unrelated. With metaphor, the
qualities of one thing are figuratively carried over to another. When I say, “Dude, I’m drowning
in work,” I’m using qualities associated with one thing—the urgency and helplessness of
drowning—to convey meaning for another thing—the work I’ve got to do.

Metaphors are everywhere: He’s a couch potato. She’s got a heart of gold. That party was the
bomb. Money is the root of all evil.

Life is a highway. Her eyes were diamonds. He is a shining star. The snow is a white blanket.
Literal
Literal language is used to mean exactly what is written. For example: “It was raining a lot, so I
rode the bus.” In this example of literal language, the writer means to explain exactly what is
written: that he or she chose to ride the bus because of the heavy rain.
Meaning of literal in English. The literal meaning of a word is its original, basic meaning: The
literal meaning of "television" is "seeing from a distance".
Idiom
Idioms are phrases which cannot be understood simply by looking at the meaning of the
individual words in the phrase. We use idiomatic expressions all the time. If your friend is
“beating around the bush,” they are avoiding speaking with you about something directly.
 An idiom is defined as a phrase that consists its own meaning but cannot be understood easily
a group of words established by usage as having a meaning not deducible from those of the
individual words (e.g., over the moon, see the light).