Figurative language
Literary term · say it FIG-yuh-ruh-tiv LANG-gwij
Figurative language uses words beyond their literal meanings to express an idea, feeling, or comparison. It includes simile, metaphor, personification, and hyperbole, helping readers picture something or understand it in a fresh way.
Four common kinds of figurative language
Simile
A simile compares different things using words such as like or as. The comparison highlights something they share.
Near the beginning of A Christmas Carol, Scrooge is compared to an oyster, suggesting how tightly he shuts himself away from others.
In A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
Metaphor
A metaphor describes one thing as another without using like or as. It asks readers to carry qualities from one thing to the other.
In As You Like It, Jaques describes the world as a stage and people as actors, presenting a human life as a series of roles.
In As You Like It by William Shakespeare
Personification
Personification gives human qualities or actions to something nonhuman, such as an object, an idea, or a force of nature.
When Juliet is believed dead in Romeo and Juliet, Capulet speaks of Death as her bridegroom, treating death as a person who has claimed her.
In Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
Hyperbole
Hyperbole is deliberate exaggeration. It makes a feeling or situation seem much larger or more extreme than it literally is.
After killing Duncan in Macbeth, Macbeth imagines that the blood on his hands would turn an entire ocean red rather than wash away.
In Macbeth by William Shakespeare
How to spot figurative language
- Look for descriptions that cannot be literally true.
- Check for comparisons, exaggerations, or human actions given to nonhuman things.
- Ask what the unusual wording helps you picture or feel.
What is the difference between figurative and literal language?
Literal language means what its words directly state, while figurative language asks readers to understand something beyond that direct meaning. A freezing room may truly be very cold; calling the room an icebox compares it to something colder to stress the discomfort.
Is imagery the same as figurative language?
Imagery and figurative language overlap, but they are not the same. Imagery appeals to the senses and can be entirely literal, such as a description of warm bread. Figurative language goes beyond literal meaning, sometimes using sensory details to build a comparison.
Related terms
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