Figurative Language is the use of words that go beyond their ordinary meaning. It requires you to use your imagination to figure out the author's meaning. For example, if someone tells you that it is raining cats and dogs, you know that there are not actually cats and dogs falling from the sky. You know it really means that it is raining very hard.
The PSSA evaluates students' ability to figure out such language. There are several terms you should be familiar with to have a better understanding of each.
They are:
Alliteration Metaphor
Hyperbole Personification
Idiom Simile
Alliteration is the repetition (repeating) of a consonant sound at the beginning of two or more words that are next to each other or near each other to create a feeling or mood. For example, in the sentence, "Fly away, my fine feathered friend!" the "f" sound is repeated over and over again.
To earn two stars on your folder, correctly complete the following sentences on a separate sheet of paper so that they become examples of alliteration:
1. The two turtles...
2. The ragged doll...
3. A horrible house...
4. A tiny kitten...
5. One little mouse...
6. The dirty dog...
7. The broken computer...
8. The little girl...
9. Eight ants...
10. Delicious cookies...
A hyperbole is an exaggeration of the truth, usually meant to be humorous or funny. The sentence, "I can eat a million ice cream cones", is an exaggeration of the true fact that the speaker likes ice cream cones.
Writers and poets use hyperbole to get a point across or to be funny.
Read the two stanzas below from the poem, "No Difference", by Shel Silverstein and see if you could identify the hyperboles.
Small as a peanut,
Big as a giant,
We're all the same size
When we turn out the light.
Rich as a sultan,
Poor as a mite,
We're all worth the same
When we turn out the light.
Silverstein is using hyperbole to exaggerate people's size and wealth to be humorous and to make a point.
Read the following excerpt from the tall tale, The Growin' of Paul Bunyan by William J. Booke. Write all of the examples of hyperbole that you can find in these paragraphs on a separate sheet of paper. You will earn one sticker for each hyperbole you correctly identify.
The hardest thing for ole Paul about gettin' started in the mornin' was puttin' on his boots. It wasn't so much the lacin' up that got him down (although when your bootlaces are exactly 8,621 feet an' four an' three quarters inches long, an' each one has to be special ordered from the Suwanee Steamship Cable Company in New York City, an' if because you're strong as ole Paul you tend to snap about two laces a week as a rule, then just tyin' your boots can be a bit of an irritation, too).
No, the hardest part o' puttin' on his boots was makin' sure he was the only one in 'em. Because, you see, they was so big an' warm that all the critters liked to homestead in 'em. So he'd have to shake 'em for nine or ten minutes just to get out the ordinary rattlesnakes an' polecats. Then he'd reach in an' feel around real careful for mountain lions an' wolf packs an' the occasional caribou migration. Fin'ly he'd wave his hand around real good to see if any hawks or eagles was huntin' game down around the instep. Then he could start the chore o' lacin'.
An idiom is a phrase that is made up of words which can't be understood by literal, or ordinary, meaning. For example, the idiom, or expression, "hit the road", has nothing to do with going out your door and smacking your street. It really means "go away".
Below is a list of some common idioms and their actual meanings.
Idiom Actual Meaning
Cross that bridge when you come Don't worry about problems
to it. until they actually happen.
hit the hay go to bed
raining cats and dogs raining hard
on cloud nine very happy; joyous
once in a blue moon almost never; not very often
One a separate sheet of paper, write the idiom found in each sentence and next to it, the actual meaning. You will need to use context clues to figure out the real meanings if you have never heard of the idiom before. You will earn three stickers if you correctly identify the idioms and their actual meanings.
1. If you don't hand in your report, you will miss the boat for an "A".
2. Tomorrow is Jack's surprise party, so don't let the cat out of
the bag when you see him.
3. When Erin didn't do her homework and failed the quiz, her mom
hit the roof.
4. Joe is down in the dumps since his friend moved away.
5. Mary wasn't paying attention and seemed out in left field when
the teacher called on her.
6. George said I would lose, but since I didn't, he will have to eat his
words.
7. You shouldn't spend an arm and a leg on a foolish video game!
8. He went out on a limb and asked the principal if he could miss
class to go to the party.
9. All I said was I didn't feel like doing my work and the teacher
jumped down my throat.
10. When Sara didn't turn in her project, her "A" went down the
drain.
A metaphor is a comparison of two different things to show a likeness between them. Metaphors do not use the words like or as when making comparisons, as do similes. Sometimes, they say that one thing is another, such as " her teeth are pearls". Metaphors also suggest a comparison. For example, in the line, "The fog comes in on little cat feet", from "The Fog" by Carl Sandburg, the fog is being described as if it were a cat.
Read the descriptive paraghraph below and, on a separate sheet of paper, write all the metaphors you find and describe the comparison. For each correct metaphor and comparison you identify, you will receive a sticker on your folder.
Autumn is a season of dust. Into the dust crumble memories of powerful ocean tides hitting a sea of sand, early morning walks on a white crescent of beach, and sun scorched hills where the beauty of the summer slowly unfolds. But autumn, too, will bring her own memories. The foilage is a painting come to life and the music of the falling leaves will serenade us into winter.
Personification is the technique of giving a non-human thing human qualities such as hearing, feeling, talking, or making decisions. Writers use personification to emphasize something or make it stand out. Personification makes the material more interesting and creates a new way to look at every day things.
Read the poem "Summer Grass" by Carl Sandburg and think about how personification is used to make the poem more descriptive.
"Summer Grass" by Carl Sandburg
Summer grass aches and whispers
It wants something: it calls and sings; it pours
out wishes to the overhead stars.
The rain hears; the rain answers; the rain is slow
coming; the rain wets the face of the grass.
To earn two stickers on your folder, correctly identify the examples of personification in the sentences below. On a separate sheet of paper, write each sentence and underline the non-human thing and circle the human quality. If you identify all ten correctly, you will get two stickers.
1. The winter wrapped its icy claws around Northeast Pennsylvania.
2. The alarm clock screeched that it was time to get up.
3. Fear grabbed me as I heard footsteps behind me.
4. The washer sputtered and groaned as it removed the mud
from the knees of my old jeans.
5. The printer spit out more copies than I needed.
6. The branches of the tree pointed to the old dirt road.
7. The flood waters swallowed the trees in one big gulp.
8. The stars winked at us from the night sky.
9. Listening to the piano sing its happy tune made me want to
dance.
10. That carrot cake with the cream cheese icing is calling my name.
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