Figurative Language:

 

Using words in a non-literal, imaginative way to create a picture in the mind of the reader.

Personification:  describing animals or inanimate objects as if they had human qualities.  For example:

  1. The old stone wall stood guard over the lonely farm house. [It seems as if the wall chooses to obey and stand guard, as if it were human.]

  2. Chicago is the "City of the Big Shoulders... a tall bold slugger set vivid against the soft little cities." [Cities don't have human shoulders, though they do have tall buildings and the tough people living in Chicago can handle a lot of problems--as if they had big shoulders to carry a lot of weight.]

  3. "The clever fox was outwitted by the crow." [Human intelligence and human motivations are applied to the animals.]

Metaphor:  An imaginative comparison between two unlike things stated literally but meant at a non-literal level.  For example:

 

  1. The old stone wall was still there, a watchful sentinel guarding the lonely farmhouse. [Stating literally that the old stone wall was a sentinel.]

  2. "He is an iron-fisted ruler." [Stating literally that the leader's fist is made of iron.]

  3. “He was drowning in a sea of words.”

  4. "His baseball cap covered a thick jungle of hair."

Simile:  An imaginative comparison between two unlike things using the connecting words "as" or "like." For example:

  1. The old stone wall  stood like a watchful sentinel, guarding the the lonely farmhouse. [Says the wall was like a sentinel, removing the literal sense.]

  2. "She was strong as an ox."

  3. " He sang like a bird."
  1. “His hair was as thick and wild as a jungle.”   or  “His hair was thick and wild, like a jungle.”

 

Hyperbole:  Exaggeration beyond the truth, to make a point.  For example:        

1.      " That old stone wall has been standing there for a million years."

2.      "His mind was filled with thousands of pictures."

3.      "I could eat a horse."

 

Analogy:  An extended comparison of two different things, showing several points of similarity or comparison.  For example:

1.      “A stone wall around a farmhouse is much like a sentinel standing guard.  It is designed to be on duty all the time and it provides a defense against intruders.  It is reliable and strong, allowing the occupants of the house to sleep peacefully.” [The use of the word "like" suggests a simile, but because the points of comparison are multiple and literally stated, it is actually an analogy.The same is true in the example below.]

2.      “The eye works very much like a camera.  It has a pupil which opens and closes like the camera aperture depending on the amount of light it receives, and it’s lens focuses the image upside down on the retina, just as the camera focuses the image upside down on the film in the back of the camera.”