Have you ever written something so pretty or so nice, that your words seem to pop out of your paper? There may be times when you had an idea formed in your head and when you wrote it, it sounded different but in a good way. Of course there will be times when you tried but it ended wrong or just too bland for your liking. Have you ever had the issue of having either writers blocked or the fact that the more you write the more it gets frustrating? Again, you are not alone. There is a way to make your writing better and stand out. There is a way to make your words sound fancier and better. In a way that it would not be too bland or repetitive. We all have been there, and its nothing to be embarrassed about. That your emotions can be written on paper as well. The solution is figurative language. If you want to know more about figurative language, you should scroll down below, download these examples and get more information that you can use for your next writing. You should also check out Idioms.
What is a figurative language? You may have heard of this before. Whether it was discussed in class or you may have read of it somewhere. To keep things interesting, here are a few you may have heard of but never realized they were figurative language. “She is as white as snow.” “Take your time but do make haste!” “The sun is smiling down on me.” “He’s turning green with envy.” If you think that these words sound nice and more interesting than the normal words that you may read or hear or write, you’re correct. These are examples of figurative language. So from these few examples alone, you may now have an understanding of what figurative language is. A figurative language is used when you want to say something about an object or a word that is used to describe another in a means of comparing it to something else. However, these words do not really have any literal meaning to it. It is simply used as a way to make it sound better and fancier.
Figurative language is often used in literary writings. From poems, to essays, speeches, short stories and even novels. Here are some common kinds of figurative languages. Simile and Metaphor, Personification, Hyperbole, and Irony.
For starters, the most common figurative language to be discussed is Simile. What is a Simile? A simile is a figurative language that uses “as” or “like” when comparing something to another. An example would be “She is like the wind.” “He is as fragile as the glass he is holding.”
A metaphor is another figurative language that compares one thing to another. But unlike the simile, a metaphor does not use “as” or “like” when comparing. It immediately shows what it is comparing. An example for this would be “She feels blue today.” “He is green with envy.” “Chaos is an angel.”
Personification is defined as giving life to inanimate objects. What it means is that, anything that has no life, is given life or is personified as something alive. An example of personification would be “The flowers are dancing to the melody of the wind.” Flowers and wind are given life by giving them actions. To personify that they are alive. The next one is hyperbole.
Hyperbole is a type of figurative language that exaggerates something. An example for this would be “These heels are killing me.” “Her dad is going to kill her.” “She walks like a turtle today.” From these examples, you can be aware that they are only exaggerated to make them sound nice or the author is trying to tell something in the most exaggerated way.
The last common figurative language is Irony. Irony is often mistaken for sarcasm, however, both Irony and Sarcasm differ. Sarcasm is merely a form or a kind of irony, while Irony is a figure of speech. In addition to that, Irony is used when you want to say the opposite of what you mean. An example would be when you are complimenting about bad weather. “Nice weather we’re having.” “I like your dress, it’s so vintage.”
A person who may not be able to detect the irony would think you mean it in a genuine way. However, you are actually communicating on the opposite of it. You are simply telling the person that the dress she may be wearing is out of fashion. There are other types of figurative languages that may not be as common as the ones mentioned already. We have onomatopoeia which means any word that imitates the sound of it. Examples would be “Bang!” “Yikes!” “Ouch!” This figurative language is often used in poems. Idioms are also considered a part of the figurative language. As we know, Idioms are words whose meanings are not in a literal sense. Synecdoche, Allusion, Alliteration, Assonance, and Pun are just some of the other types of figurative language. The list can go on. But the ones mentioned above, are mostly the most common figurative languages that are often used without anyone even noticing it.
Now that we know the different kinds of figurative language, the common ones and the not so common ones, it is high time we wonder how to use them. Have you ever thought about it? How does one go about and use these different kinds of figurative languages? Is there something that should be talked about or something that should be discussed? If you are wondering about them, here are some ways to use figurative languages.
You can use figurative language when writing poetry. As most noticed when they hear figurative languages, they often think about poetry. Since poetry has given writers free reign on how to express their feelings. Take the example of the poem trees by Joyce Kilmer. It speaks about trees but it is also given life. There are a lot of figurative languages found in that poem.
Just like in poetry, figurative language can also be used or found in short stories. When authors use figurative language in their stories, it gives the readers the impression that the characters in the stories have lives, or can come to life. Take Animal Farm by George Orwell as an example for a personification story. Where he gives life to animals and they are the main characters of the story. These kinds of stories often use different types of figurative language to connect with their readers.
What better way to express how you feel than to use figurative language in your daily conversations? It is also a good way of practicing with friends or classmates when talking about it in class. Not only is this a good idea or a good way to use figurative language, it is also a good idea to find ways on making a conversation sound more fun and interesting at the same time, you’re learning.
Have you ever noticed when reading essays or listening to speeches that they sound interesting or look interesting? The secret to that is placing good information and figurative language. This is to make sure that by placing figurative language on your essays, they pop right out of the paper. They make it sound very nice to read. The same goes for speeches, figurative language makes speeches sound well thought out and well written. It draws attention to the right kind of people.
Enhancing one’s vocabulary does not always mean new words learned. It can also mean knowing more about other kinds of words that fall under the category of figurative language. For students, this is another kind of activity that they can do alone or with friends.
A figurative language are words that you use to compare, or describe something that usually is not what it may seem. This kind of language is often used in literary writings like poems, short stories, novels, etc.
The many kinds of figurative languages are Simile, Metaphor, Personification, Paradox, Alliteration, Irony, Hyperbole, Assonance, Pun, Idioms, etc.
The difference between sarcasm and irony is, sarcasm is a form of irony that is intended to criticize or to hurt someone. Irony is a figurative language, and it gives out the opposite of what is being said.
The difference between a Simile and a Metaphor is that, a simile uses as or like when comparing something. While a Metaphor directly compares the object to another word. It does not need to use as or like in the sentence.
The difference between Assonance and Alliteration is, Assonance uses similar vowel sounds. While Alliteration uses consonant sounds. An example of alliteration would be Peter Piper pick a peck of pickled peppers. The tongue twister Peter Piper is a good example of an Alliteration. An example of Assonance would be “True Blue Drew.”
This is the end of the article, this is where we stop. This is all about figurative language and I hope your questions have all been answered. Given the fact that there are a lot of types of figurative language, its definitions and examples. May this be helpful to you in a way that learning about these types of figurative languages would turn out to be fun and informative.