Figurative Language 3 - Literature Examples

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What is a simile?

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A simile is a figure of speech that compares two different things using the words 'like' or 'as'. For example, 'Her smile was like sunshine.'

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What is a metaphor?

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A metaphor is a figure of speech that directly compares two different things without using 'like' or 'as'. For example, 'Time is a thief.'

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What is personification?

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Personification is a figure of speech in which human qualities are attributed to animals, inanimate objects, or abstract concepts. For example, 'The wind whispered through the trees.'

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What is hyperbole?

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Hyperbole is an exaggerated statement not meant to be taken literally, used for emphasis or effect. For example, 'I’m so hungry I could eat a horse.'

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What is synecdoche?

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Synecdoche is a figure of speech in which a part is made to represent the whole or vice versa. For example, 'All hands on deck' refers to the crew, not just their hands.

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What is an example of a simile from literature?

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An example of a simile is from 'Gone with the Wind': 'The very mystery of him excited her curiosity like a door that had neither lock nor key.'

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What is an example of a metaphor from literature?

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An example of a metaphor is from 'The Fault in Our Stars': 'The sun was a toddler insistently refusing to go to bed.'

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What is an example of personification from literature?

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An example of personification is from Emily Dickinson's poem: 'Because I could not stop for Death – He kindly stopped for me.'

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What is an example of hyperbole from literature?

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An example of hyperbole is: 'I’ve told you a million times!' which emphasizes the speaker's frustration.

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What is an example of synecdoche from literature?

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An example of synecdoche is from T.S. Eliot's 'The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock': 'There will be time to prepare a face to meet the faces that you meet.'