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FIGURATIVE
LANGUAGE
Figurative language is a tool that an
author employs (or uses) to help the
reader visualize (or see) what is
happening in a story or poem. Some
common types of figurative language are:
simile, metaphor, alliteration,
onomatopoeia, idiom, puns, and sensory
language.
LESSON
THE SIMILE (Click
here for more samples of SIMILE)
A simile is a comparison using like or
as. It usually compares two dissimilar
objects.
For example: His feet were as big as
boats. We are comparing the size of feet
to boats.
Using the poem below underline all of
the similes. Decide which items are
being compared.
(Simile)
A Dream
Deferred
-- Langston Hughes
What happens
to a dream deferred?
Does it dry up
Like a raising in the sun?
Or fester like a sore -
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over -
Like a syrupy sweet?
Maybe it
just sages
Like a heavy load.
Or does it
explode?
THE METAPHOR (Click
here for more samples of METAPHOR)
A metaphor states that one thing is
something else. It is a comparison, but
it does NOT use like or as to make the
comparison.
Dreams
-- Langston Hughes
Hold fast to
dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.
Hold fast to
dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.
Identifying Similes and Metaphors
Poetry Worksheet #1
Decide whether each sentence contains a
simile or a metaphor. Write the word
SIMILE if the sentence contains a
simile. Write the word METAPHOR if the
sentence contains a metaphor.
1. The baby was like an octopus,
grabbing at all the cans on the grocery
store shelves.
2. As the teacher entered the room she
muttered under her breath, "This class
is like a three-ring circus!"
3. Al Sharpton's steps were thunder as
he ran toward George Bush.
4. The pillow was a cloud when I put my
head upon it after a long day.
5. I feel like a limp dishrag.
6. Those girls are like two peas in a
pod.
7. The fluorescent light was the sun
during our test.
8. No one invites Jamal to parties
because he’s a wet blanket.
9. The bar of soap was a slippery eel
during the dog’s bath.
10. Dijone' was as nervous as a cat with
a long tail in a room full of rocking
chairs
Identifying The Words and Meaning of
Metaphors and Simile
Poetry Worksheet #2
On your own paper or the computer's word
processor,
write 10
metaphors and 10 similes
using your own |
