Do you have any
idea about
figurative
language?
Why do authors
use figurative
laguage?
Are there how
many types of
figurative
language that you
know?
Types of
Figurative
Language
There are three
types of figurative
language
Study the
following lines
from some poems
Study the
following lines
from some poems
These lines show
one kind of
figurative
language
The moon is like a flower.
In heaven’s high bower.
My tree is like a duster reading high.
Stretching forth to sweep the cloudy
sky.
The lines above show
simile
A simile contains the words
like or as.
What two things are
compared to the first sample?
The moon is like a flower.
In heaven’s high bower.
What is common between the
moon and flower?
The moon is like a flower.
In heaven’s high bower.
What two things are
compared in the second
sample?
My tree is like a duster
reading high.
Stretching forth to sweep
the cloudy sky.
What is common between
a tree and a duster?
My tree is like a duster
reading high.
Stretching forth to sweep
the cloudy sky.
Study another set of lines
from some poems. These
lines show another kind
of figurative language.
A train is a dragon that roars though the dark.
He wriggles his tail as he sends up a spark.
Who tossed those golden coins.
The dandelions glittering on my lawn.
The sample show
Metaphor.
Metaphor is a kind of
figurative speech. It
states a direct
comparison of two
unlike things that have
something in common.
Metaphor does not use
the words like or as.
What two things are
compared in the first
sample?
A train is a dragon that roars though the
dark.
He wriggles his tail as he sends up a spark.
In what way is a train like a
dragon?
A train is a dragon that roars though the
dark.
He wriggles his tail as he sends up a spark.
What two things are
compared in the second
sample?
Who tossed those golden coins.
The dandelions glittering on my
lawn.
How is a dandelion like a
golden coin?
Who tossed those golden coins.
The dandelions glittering on my
lawn.
Study the following
lines from some
poems. These lines
show another kind of
figurative language.
Slowly, silently now the moon
Walks the night in her silver
shoes;
This way and that, she peers
and sees
Silver fruits upon silver trees.
The birds have washed their
faces
And cuddle in a row
Upon a little frosty bush
That twinkles in the snow.
These lines show
personification
Personification is the
giving of human
qualities to animals,
objects and ideas
Look at the first
sample.
What human
qualities are given to
the moon?
Slowly, silently now the moon
Walks the night in her silver shoes;
This way and that, she peers and
sees
Silver fruits upon silver trees.
The moon can walk in her
silver shoes and can peer
and see.
What human qualities are
given to the birds in the
second sample?
The birds have washed their
faces
And cuddle in a row
Upon a little frosty bush
That twinkles in the snow.
Washed their faces and
cuddle in a row.
What are the types of
figurative language?
a. Simile
b. metaphor
c. personification
a. Simile
states a comparison of two
unlike objects but have
something in common. It
contains the words like or
as.
b. metaphor
states a direct comparison
of two unlike objects that
have something in common.
It does not use words like or
as.
c. personification
brings to life an inanimate
object by giving it the
qualities of a person.
Values Integration
The birds and spiders were
described in the third poem
as if they were human
beings. How can you show
your love and concern for
the animals like them?
Application:
I will read some lines from
famous poems. Clap your
hands if it is simile, stump
your feet if it is metaphor,
and shout hurray if it is
personification.
a. The birds may stop their
soulful singing,
The phantom breeze may
cease to sigh,
The flowers sweet may lose
their fragrance,
But love can never die.
b. I wandered lonely as a
cloud
That floats on high o’er
valleys and hills.
c. Twinkle, twinkle little star
How I wonder what you are
Up above the world so high
Like a diamond in the sky.
d. Maps are really magic
wands,
For home staying vagabonds.
e. A spider walked a tightrope there
And did not trip or fall
She even kept her balance well
Without a parasol.
Enrichment:
Go to line A if the figurative
language is simile, B for
metaphor, and C for
personification.
1. I heard a mouse
Bitterly complaining
In a crack of moonlight
Aslant on the floor.
2. Mary had a little lamb,
Its fleece was white as
snow.
3. They seems like animal
eyes in the park
That are stealthily
searching for prey.
4. The river quivers
And say to me:
Up there child
Deep down in you
A hidden world.
Evaluation:
Write S if it is simile,
M if it is metaphor,
and P if it is
personification.
1. There are no winged
fairies, either.
Only the water
Laughing, rippling
From the jumping pebbles
In crazy, funny sizes.
2. Some words clink
As ice in drink
3. After the rain, the fireflies
Coming out like a net
To catch the night’s
Darkness and the passing hour.
3. After the rain, the fireflies
Coming out like a net
To catch the night’s
Darkness and the passing hour.
4. That when the sun or
Koemigotuhl’s height
Pours out its golden flood.
5. He is gone on the mountain,
He is lost to the forest,
Like a summer-dried fountain
When our need was the sorest.
Assignment:
Identify the following figurative
language use in each sentence.
Write simile, metaphor or
personification.
1. His lips are white as vinegar
when he broke her mom’s
favorite vase
2. The infant’s smile was a ray
of sunshine to the whole
family.
3. The moon faithfully
controls the tide’s ebb and
flow.
4. The contestant was a
nervous butterfly on the stage.
5. Her hair shines like twinkling
stars in the night.
