FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE

It is a language that uses

words or expressions with a
meaning that is different from
the literal interpretation.
FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE

It is also known as
“ornaments of
language”
FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE
To comprehend figurative
language, it will require you to
use your imagination to figure
out the writer’s point or
meaning.
[ simile ] [ metaphor ]

[ irony ] [ hyperbole ]

[ personification ]
[ onomatopoeia]
 1, 2+2, 5-4, 5+2, 3+2
• A rolling stone gathers no moss.
• "An ounce of prevention is worth a
pound of cure.“
• A penny saved is a penny earned – from
Poor Richard’s Almanack
 ADAGE
It is a short, pointed, and memorable
saying that is based on facts, and
which is considered a veritable truth by
the majority of people.
Adages border on proverbs. The key
difference here is that proverbs dole
out advice, give you something to
think about, while adages merely
state accepted truths.
• So, adages are not proverbs, however,
proverbs can become adages. If a
proverb is repeated enough over time,
it can advance to an adage.
 1, 6X2, 12, 5, 7,
3X5, 9X2, 20+5
• “All animals are equal but a few
are more equal than others.” –
Animal Farm by George Orwell
• Avatar-
 ALLEGORY
It is a figure of speech in which abstract
ideas and principles are described in
terms of characters, figures and
events.
 1, 12, 6X2, 3X3, 10+10,
5, 9X2, 1, 30-10, 9, 10+4

• But a better butter makes a

batter better.
• A big bully beats a baby boy.
 ALLITERATION
It is the repetition of the initial
consonant sounds of stressed syllables
in neighboring words or at short
intervals within a line of passage.
4-3, 12, 6X2, 21, 10+9, 3X3, 3X5, 10+4
• “I was surprised his nose was not
growing like Pinocchio’s.”
• “He was a real Romeo with the
ladies.”
• “This place is like a Garden of
Eden.”
 ALLUSION
It makes a reference to, or a
representation of, people, places,
events, literary work, myths, or works of
art, either directly or by implication.
1, 10+4, 25-24, 16, 4X2, 15, 17+1, 6-5
• My life is my purpose. My life is my
goal. My life is my inspiration.
• She looked to the left, she looked to
the right, she looked straight ahead.
• Mom, we will not run. We will not
scream. We will not be late.
 ANAPHORA
Is a rhetorical device that consists of
repeating a sequence of words at the
beginnings of neighboring clauses,
thereby lending them emphasis.
1, 10+4, 20, 3X3, 13, 5, 20, 1, 3-1, 15, 12, 5

• Eat to live, not live to eat.

• If you fail to plan, you plan to
fail.
• I go where I please, and I please
where I go.
 ANTIMETABOLE
It is a literary term or device that
involves repeating a phrase in reverse
order.
1, 10+4, 20, 3X3, 20, 8, 5, 19, 1, 19

• Patience is bitter, but it has a sweet

fruit.
• Speech is silver, but silence is gold.
• You are easy on the eyes, but hard on
the heart.
 ANTITHESIS
It is a rhetorical device in which two
opposite ideas are put together in a
sentence to achieve a contrasting
effect.
 1, 16, 4+4, 15, 20-2, 9, 20-1, 10+3

• “Never argue with stupid people,

they will drag you down to their
level and then beat you with
experience.” -Mark Twain
• “Study the past if you would divine
the future.” –Confucius
 APHORISM
It is a statement of truth or opinion
expressed in a concise and witty
manner. The term is often applied to
philosophical, moral, and literary
principles.
 • It, too, focuses on moral instruction
and can be quite witty.
• Aphorisms tend to be more direct than
proverbs and adages. A classic example
is, "Actions speak louder than words."
9-8, 16, 15, 19, 10+10, 18, 15, 17-1, 8, 5
• “Hello darkness, my old friend. I’ve come
to talk with you again.”
• “Oh Starbucks, how I love you! Your
medium dark roast allowed me to
survive that meeting!”
• “Ugh, cell phone, why won’t you load
my messages?”
 APOSTROPHE
Is a figure of speech in which some
absent or non-existent person or thing
is addressed as if present and capable
of understanding or replying.
 1, 19, 20-1, 3X5, 14, 1, 14, 3, 2+3

• Men sell the wedding bells.

• Go and mow the lawn.
• The engineer held the steering to steer
the vehicle.
• “If I bleat when I speak it’s because I just
got . . . flee”
 ASSONANCE
Is the repetition of vowel sounds to
create internal rhyming within
phrases or sentences.
1, 20-1, 25, 10+4, 4, 3+2, 20, 15, 7X2
• The dark, the moon, the stars – all
created the romantic effect.
• Wind, sun, surf – could the day get any
better?
• “Consciousness of place came ebbing
back to him slowly over a vast tract of
time unlit, unfelt, unlived…”
 ASYNDETON
Is a stylistic scheme in which
conjunctions are deliberately
omitted from a series of related
clauses.
 3, 1, 3, 15, 16, 4+4, 3X5, 14, 25
• He is a rotten, dirty, terrible, trudging,
stupid dude!
• “In the startled ear of night
How they scream out their affright,
Too much horrified to speak,
They can only shriek, shriek…”
 CACOPHONY
Refers to the juxtaposition of words
producing a harsh sound.
The word cacophony originates from
the Greek word meaning “bad
sound.”
 3, 8, 3X3, 1, 19, 10+3, 21, 19
• Bad men live that they may eat and
drink, whereas good men eat and drink
that they may live.
 CHIASMUS
A figure of speech in which two or more
clauses are related to each other
through a reversal of structures in or
order to make a larger point; the
clauses display inverted parallelism.
 3, 8, 3X3, 1, 19, 10+3, 21, 19
• Bad men live that they may eat and
drink, whereas good men eat and drink
that they may live.
 CHIASMUS
A figure of speech in which two or more
clauses are related to each other
through a reversal of structures in or
order to make a larger point; the
clauses display inverted parallelism.
•Why used
figurative
language in
 ••How to
identify and
comprehend
••When to use
figurative
language in
 PROVERBS 15:4
“Gentle words bring life and
health; a deceitful tongue
crushes the spirit.”