10 Types of Figurative Language

In the short story “Thank You, M’am,” : “…a large purse that had everything in it but a hammer and nails.” This is a hyperbole because it is definitely exaggerated; the woman does not literally have everything else in that purse besides hammer and nails.

The literary devices in “Thank You, M’am” include hyperbole, imagery, repetition, and symbolism.

• Simile. A simile is a figure of speech that compares two separate concepts through the use of a clear connecting word such as “like” or “as.”
• Metaphor. A metaphor is like a simile, but without connecting words.
• Implied metaphor.
• Personification.
• Hyperbole.
• Allusion.
• Idiom.
• Pun.

Types of Figurative Language

• Simile.
• Metaphor.
• Personification.
• Onomatopoeia.
• Oxymoron.
• Hyperbole.
• Allusion.
• Idiom.

Irony is not figurative language.

The best definition of figurative language is; when words are used in a way that departs from their actual meanings to achieve a special effect or mental image, then the language is called figurative language. Fiction writers mostly make use of this type of language.

Using figurative language is an effective way of communicating an idea that is not easily understood because of its abstract nature or complexity. Writers of prose and poetry use figurative language to elicit emotion, help readers form mental images and draw readers into the work.

1 : attribution of personal qualities especially : representation of a thing or abstraction as a person or by the human form. 2 : a divinity or imaginary being representing a thing or abstraction. 3 : embodiment, incarnation.

Personification means: “Giving an object or animal human characteristics to create interesting imagery.” An example of personification would be in the nursery rhyme “Hey Diddle Diddle” where “the little dog laughed to see such fun.” “Making an object or animal act and look like they are human.”

You can identify personification by noticing any moments where the author describes something non-human with human characteristics. Personification examples could include a writer comparing the sun’s warmth to the arms of a loving mother.

Writers use personification to give human characteristics, such as emotions and behaviors, to non-human things, animals, and ideas. The statement “the story jumped off the page” is a good example of personification.

Personification is a literary device where a nonhuman object or idea is assigned human characteristics. An example of personification is saying a hyena laughed. Hyenas don’t laugh–laughing is a human characteristic–but that description paints a clear picture of the sound a hyena makes.

Jackson masterfully creates a character out of the mansion with haunting, detailed description of its physical appearance and by giving the house its own malicious personality. Giving thoughts and feelings to the house adds to the personification. Jackson is not only creating a place, but a character.

How to Write a Personification

1. Think of the feeling you want to express or draw out.
2. Now think of a situation that would fit that feeling.
3. Use personification by describing the objects and scene as if they were people showing that feeling.

Personification. Metaphor is a word or phrase that takes on the meaning of something else. Personification is a figure of speech that attributes human nature and characteristics to something that is not human—whether living or nonliving. …

A metaphor is a figure of speech that is used to make a comparison between two things that aren’t alike but do have something in common. A metaphor uses this similarity to help the writer make a point: Her tears were a river flowing down her cheeks.

The term simile refers to a simple comparison between two things that are clearly not the same using the word like or as. On the other hand, William Wordsworth’s famous line, “I wandered lonely as a cloud” offers both a simile and personification at once.

Why is it important? Personification connects readers with the object that is personified. Personification can make descriptions of non-human entities more vivid, or can help readers understand, sympathize with, or react emotionally to non-human characters.

An example of a personification of wind is: The wind leaped through the open window and scattered across the tile floor. In the passage below, (whose extreme height and charismatic character burst the bonds of this answer box), wind is personified as a howling, cheeky identity capable of pushing water onto the shore.

METAPHORS. THE WIND CAME UP IN GUSTS. A MIGHTY DESERT WIND. THE WIND CARRIED THE SOUND. THE FIRST WARM WIND OF SPRING.

Wind howls when it’s broken up from passing through or around objects, such as trees. The gust of air will split up to move around the tree and then comes back together on the other side. The mixing of the two currents causes vibrations in the air, which produce that ghostly howling noise that gives us the creeps.

Eolian sound, also spelled Aeolian, sound produced by wind when it encounters an obstacle. Fixed objects, such as buildings and wires, cause humming or other constant sounds called eolian tones; moving objects, such as twigs and leaves, cause irregular sounds.