Figurative language in literature

My nostrils nearly drowned in the scent of sweetness

(The Secret Life of Bees)

• allusion

• personification

• metaphor

• symbolism

The month of August had turned into a griddle where the days just lay there and sizzled

(The Secret Life of Bees)

• metaphor

• simile

• alliteration

• onomatopoeia

Maycomb was old town, but it was a tired old town when I first knew it.

(To Kill a Mockingbird)

• symbolism

• personification

• irony

• simile

Then I saw the shadow. It was the shadow of a man with a hat on. At first I thought it was a tree, but there was no wind blowing, and tree-trunks never walked. The back porch was bathed in moonlight, and the shadow, crisp as toast, moved across the porch towards Jem.

(To Kill a Mockingbird)

• hyperbole

• simile

• metaphor

• alliteration

"There he go!" someone shouted as the back door of the storeroom slammed shut. Stacey turned quickly and sped to the back of the building. T.J. was fleeing straight toward Soldiers Road. Stacey tore across the Wallace yard and, leaping high like a forest fox, fell upon T.J., knocking him down.

(Roll of Thunder Hear my Cry)

• symbolism and imagery

• alliteration and symbolism

• simile and metaphor

• alliteration and simile

Anne, starting out alone in the morning, went down Lover's Lane as far as the brook. Here Diana met her, and the two little girls went on up the lane under the leafy arch of maples--"maples are such sociable trees," said Anne; "they're always rustling and whispering to you,"--until they came to a rustic bridge.

(Anne of Green Gables)

• simile

• onomatopoeia

• personification

• hyperbole

Here we go again. We were all standing in line waiting for breakfast when one of the caseworkers came in and tap-tap-tapped down the line. Uh-oh, this meant bad news, either they'd found a foster home for somebody or somebody was about to get paddled. All the kids watched the woman as she moved along the line, her high-heeled shoes sounding like little fire-crackers going off on the wooden floor.

(Bud not Buddy)

• idiom and onomatopoeia

• metaphor and alliteration

• irony and alliteration

• onomatopoeia and simile

One of the older boys at the Home told me if you dipped someone's hand in a warm glass of water whilst they're asleep they don't have any choice but to pee the bed. It's something about chemistry and biology making some valve in your guts open up and ... woop, zoop, sloop ... you got a wet bed.

(Bud not Buddy)

• imagery

• symbolism

• irony

• onomatopoeia

Being careful not to wake Johnny up, I went to sit on the steps and smoke a cigarette. The dawn was coming then. All the lower valley was covered with mist, and sometimes little pieces of it broke off and floated away in small clouds. They sky was lighter in the east, and the horizon was a thin golden line. The clouds changed from gray to pink and the mist was touched with gold. There was a silent moment when everything held its breath, and then the sun rose. It was beautiful.

(The Outsiders)

• imagery and personification

• imagery and irony

• symbolism and onomatopoeia

• idiom and hyperbole

Over the island the build-up of clouds continued. A steady current of heated air rose all day from the mountain and was thrust to ten thousand feet; revolving masses of gas piled up the static until the air was ready to explode. By early evening the sun had gone and a brassy glare had taken the place of clear daylight. Even the air that pushed in from the sea was hot and held no refreshment. Colors drained from water and trees and pink surfaces of rock, and the white and brown clouds brooded. Nothing prospered but the flies who blackened their lord and made the split guts look like a heap of glistening coal. Even when the vessel broke in Simon's nose and the blood gushed out they left him alone, preferring the pig's high flavor.

(Lord of the Flies)

• Assonance and metaphor

• Imagery and simile

• hyperbole and alliteration

• irony and symbolism