Use of Figurative Language

Figurative language describes an idea or item through comparison. Authors and speakers use it to enhance their messages. When students identify figurative language, their understanding increases and they improve their writing.

Features

Figurative language elaborates a message and provides greater detail. It is often imaginative, picturesque and creative.

Benefits

Students enjoy and appreciate literature more if they have an understanding of figurative language. Students who like reading perform better in school.

Types

A simile is a comparison using "like" or "as," such as "he's as cold as ice." A metaphor is a direct comparison, such as Simon and Garfunkel's "I am a rock, I am an island."

Significance

To understand what they read, students must be sensitive to the choices authors make. This implication for reading transfers to students' own writing.

Expert Insight

People use figurative language in everyday language. Once students become aware of this, they find examples in literature much easier to identify and understand.

Famous Ties

Martin Luther King Jr. was a master of figurative language. His famous "I Have a Dream" speech is full of figurative language, such as "One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination."

References

• Critical Reading