Literary devices - figurative language

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• vwo
• Leerjaar 4

Literary devices: 

Figurative language

After this lesson...

... you can recognise examples of metaphors, similes, hyperboles, understatements and personifications!

... you know why figurative language is used

Figurative language: Why?

- to evoke vivid imagery

- to bring emotional intensity

- compare an idea to something tangible so readers can better visualize what the author means

etc.

“ Love is a feeling,” becomes “Love is a cup of coffee on a rainy Sunday morning.”

Kies uit:

Metaphor vs. Simile

A comparison between two things without 'like' or 'as'

A comparison between two things with the words 'like' or 'as'

Hyperbole vs. Understatement

Describing something in a way that makes it seem less important, bad, serious etc. than it really is

Exaggeration for emphasis or effect

I will love you forever

My parents are from the Stone Age

Personification

Human traits are given to objects or ideas

Personification

Simile

Metaphor

Hyperbole

Understatement

She is a walking dictionary

The car is feeling cranky today

The middle of the street isn’t the best place for your child to play.

She hung her head like a dying flower

I would die without you!

00:28

"I'm a hot air balloon that could go to space"
is a

1. metaphor
2. simile
3. personification

0

02:19

Which phrase of the lyrics contains a personification?

I'm never gonna dance again, guilty feet have got no rhythm
Though it's easy to pretend, I know you're not a fool
I should have known better than to cheat a friend
And waste a chance that I'd been given
So I'm never gonna dance again the way I danced with you

00:19

Havana, ooh-na-na (ayy) Half of my heart is in Havana, ooh na-na (ayy, ayy)
He took me back to East Atlanta, na-na-na, ah
Oh, but my heart is in Havana (ayy)
There's somethin' 'bout his manners (uh-huh)
Havana, ooh-na-na (uh)

Identify the hyperbole:

00:28

"I'm a hot air balloon that could go to space"

is a

1. Personification
2. Simile
3. Metaphor

00:14

You're as cold as ice

is a

1. Personification
2. Hyperbole
3. Metaphor
4. Simile

"Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? / Thou art more lovely and more temperate.” (Shakespeare)

1. understatement
2. hyperbole
3. metaphor
4. personificatie

Just like moons and like suns, / With the certainty of tides, / Just like hopes springing high, /
Still I'll rise.” (Maya Angelou)

1. metaphor
2. simile
3. personification
4. hyperbole

“Who has seen the wind? / Neither you nor I: / But when the trees bow down their heads, /
The wind is passing by.” (Christina Rosetti)

1. simile
2. personification
3. metaphor
4. hyperbole

Figurative Language Worksheet --> Handouts

Id

Provide an example of an understatement