Enlgish Poems
10 Types of Figurative Language
Writers favor a handful of common types of figurative language. Among these are:
- 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.” Examples of simile are phrases such as “He was wily as a fox,” or “I slept like a log.”
- Metaphor. A metaphor is like a simile, but without connecting words. It simply posits that two separate things are the same. For example, “He was a wily fox,” or “She cried a river of tears.”
- Implied metaphor. Metaphor takes a few different forms. Sometimes the object of comparison is purely implied rather than directly referenced, such as in the phrase, “He barked commands at the team,” which implies comparison to a dog.
- Personification. Personification projects human qualities onto inanimate objects, or perhaps animals or natural elements. “The wind howled,” “The words leapt off the page,” and “Time marches on” are all examples of personification.
- Hyperbole. Hyperbole is extravagant, intentional exaggeration. “I have a million things to do today” is a common example of hyperbole.
- Allusion. Allusion is when a text references another external text—or maybe a person, place or event. It can be either explicit or implicit. “We’ve entered a Garden of Eden” is an allusion to the biblical place, for instance.
- Idiom. Idioms are non-literal turns of phrase so common that most people who speak the same language know them. English examples include, “He stole her thunder” and “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”
- Pun. A pun is a play on words. It exploits the different meanings of a word or its homonyms, usually to humorous effect. A well-worn example of a pun is: “Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.”
- Onomatopoeia. In onomatopoeia, words sound like the thing they describe. Sound effects like “tick-tock” and “ding-dong” are everyday examples, as well as words like “zap” and “hiccup.” Sometimes individual words are not onomatopoeic, but they will become so in the context of the words around them, as in Edgar Allan Poe’s “suddenly there came a tapping, as of someone gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.”
- Alliteration. Many experts also consider alliteration an example of figurative language, even though it does not involve figures of speech. Rather, alliteration is a sound device that layers some additional meaning on top of the literal language of the text. It occurs when a series of words start with the same letter sound, such as “wicked witch” or “from forth the fatal loins of these two foes.” This can help build imagery or mood, hence the connection to figurative language.
credits :https://www.masterclass.com/articles/writing-101-what-is-figurative-language-learn-about-10-types-of-figurative-language-with-examples#what-is-figurative-language