English
What is figurative language, and what are the main types?
Quick answer
Figurative language uses words in a non-literal way to create a picture or feeling, as in similes, metaphors, personification, hyperbole and idioms. It's raining cats and dogs is one example.
In one sentence
Figurative language means using words in a way that is not meant to be taken literally, to paint a picture, show a feeling or make an idea hit harder.
Explained
Words can work in two ways. Literal language means exactly what it says: It is raining heavily. Figurative language means more than, or something different from, what the words say: It's raining cats and dogs. No animals are falling from the sky, but you instantly know the rain is very heavy, and the picture is far more fun.
lion
star
lightning
Writers use figurative language to help readers see, hear and feel things. Compare The room was untidy with My bedroom looked as if a tornado had hit it. The second sentence gives you a picture, a sense of how bad it is and a bit of humour, all at once.
There are many kinds (often called figures of speech). These are the ones you meet most in school:
- Simile: compares two things using like or as. She was as quiet as a mouse. See similes.
- Metaphor: says one thing is another. The classroom was a zoo. See metaphors.
- Personification: gives human actions or feelings to something that is not human. The wind howled at the door. See personification.
- Hyperbole (say hy-PER-bo-lee): a huge exaggeration. I've told you a million times!
- Idiom: a fixed phrase whose meaning is different from its words. Break a leg means good luck.
- Oxymoron: two opposite words side by side. A deafening silence, bittersweet.
- Onomatopoeia and alliteration: sound effects. The bacon sizzled (a word that sounds like its meaning); Silly Sally sang songs (repeated first sounds). Strictly these are sound devices, but most school lists include them, and alliteration often works alongside figurative language in poems.
To understand figurative language, ask two questions. What does it really mean? (the quality being shown: heavy rain, a noisy class). Why did the writer choose it? (the effect: it is funny, scary, vivid, memorable). In tests, the best answers do both: they name the device, explain the meaning and describe the effect on the reader.
Examples
| Type | Example | What it really means |
|---|---|---|
| Simile | He ran like the wind. | He ran very fast. |
| Metaphor | Grandad has a heart of gold. | Grandad is very kind. |
| Personification | The old stairs groaned under our feet. | The stairs creaked loudly. |
| Hyperbole | This bag weighs a ton! | The bag is very heavy. |
| Idiom | It's a piece of cake. | It is very easy. |
| Oxymoron | The silence was deafening. | The silence was so total it felt loud. |
| Onomatopoeia | The bees buzzed in the flowers. | Buzz copies the sound. |
| Alliteration | The wild wind whipped and whistled. | Repeated w sounds like rushing air. |
Worked example from a poem: The moon was a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas (from Alfred Noyes's poem "The Highwayman"). It is a metaphor: the moon is a ship (a galleon) and the clouds are the sea. Meaning: the moon looks as if it is sailing between moving clouds. Effect: the words ghostly and tossed make the night feel eerie and stormy, which sets up the danger in the story.
Common mistakes
- Mixing up simile and metaphor. Fix: look for like or as. With them it is a simile; without them it is a metaphor.
- Calling every "like" a simile. I like pizza and It looks like rain compare nothing; they are literal.
- Taking idioms literally. Hold your horses has nothing to do with horses: it means wait. If a phrase makes no sense word by word, it may be an idiom.
- Naming the device but not explaining it. "This is personification" earns little on its own. Add what it means and the effect: "The wind howled, like an angry animal, which makes the storm sound frightening."
Step by step
Step by step
- Read it literallyAsk: could this be true word for word? If not (a clock cannot scream), it is figurative.
- Look for clueslike or as means a simile; a thing doing a human action means personification; an impossible amount means hyperbole; a familiar fixed phrase may be an idiom.
- Name the deviceChoose the best label: simile, metaphor, personification, hyperbole, idiom, oxymoron.
- Work out the meaningWhat two things are being linked, and what quality do they share? Put it in plain words.
- Explain the effectWhat picture or feeling does it create, and why might the writer have chosen it?
Practice questions
Name the figurative language and explain it
Try each one, then check your answer.
- The snow was as white as sugar.
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Uses as … as: simile. It means the snow was very white and sparkly. - My backpack weighs a ton!
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An impossible amount: hyperbole. It means the bag is very heavy. - The leaves danced in the wind.
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Leaves cannot dance: personification. They moved lightly and quickly, like dancers. - The bees buzzed around the hive.
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Buzzed copies the sound: onomatopoeia. - Her words were daggers.
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Says words are daggers, with no like: metaphor. Her words were hurtful. - Silly Sally sang seven songs.
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Repeated s sounds at the start of words: alliteration. - It's raining cats and dogs.
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A fixed phrase that is not meant literally: idiom. It is raining very heavily. - He ran like the wind.
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Uses like: simile. He ran very fast. - The old car coughed and groaned up the hill.
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Cars cannot cough: personification. The car struggled noisily. - That test was a breeze.
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Says the test was a breeze: metaphor (also a common idiom). It was very easy. - I'm so hungry I could eat a horse.
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A huge exaggeration: hyperbole. I am very hungry. - After the news, there was a deafening silence.
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Two opposites together: oxymoron. The silence was total and striking. - Literal or figurative: "Grandad has a heart of gold."
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Figurative (a metaphor): Grandad is very kind. - Literal or figurative: "The baker put the bread in the oven."
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Literal: it means exactly what it says. - Find two devices: "The thunder grumbled like a giant with a stomach ache."
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Grumbled is personification; like a giant is a simile. The thunder was a low, rumbling, threatening sound.
Questions people ask
What is figurative language in simple words?
It is when words mean something more than, or different from, their dictionary meaning, to create a picture or a feeling. Time flies does not mean time has wings; it means time passes quickly.
What is the difference between literal and figurative language?
Literal language means exactly what it says (I am very hungry). Figurative language uses an image or exaggeration to say it (I could eat a horse). The meaning is similar, but the figurative version is more vivid.
What are the main types of figurative language?
Most school lists include simile, metaphor, personification, hyperbole, idiom and oxymoron, and often the sound devices onomatopoeia and alliteration. Older students also meet irony, understatement, symbolism and allusion.
Is a rhetorical question figurative language?
Not exactly. A rhetorical question (Who doesn't love chocolate?) is a rhetorical device: a question asked for effect, not for an answer. It is often taught next to figurative language because both are ways writers persuade and add emphasis.
Is an idiom figurative language?
Yes. An idiom like spill the beans (tell a secret) is figurative, because its meaning cannot be worked out from the literal words. Many idioms started life as metaphors.
How do you identify figurative language in a poem?
Read each line and ask whether it could be literally true. Underline anything that could not, then look for like or as, human actions given to things, and exaggerations. Finally, ask what feeling the image adds to the poem.
Why do writers use figurative language?
To make writing vivid and memorable, to show feelings without stating them, and to explain new ideas through familiar ones. Her heart was a drum shows nerves more powerfully than She was nervous.
Quick quiz
Figurative language
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Question 1 of 4
Which sentence uses figurative language?
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Related topics
Similes
A simile compares one thing to another using like or as, such as as brave as a lion or her eyes shone like stars.
Metaphors
A metaphor describes something by saying it is something else, without using like or as, such as The classroom was a zoo or Time is a thief.
Personification
Personification gives human qualities or actions to things that are not human, like The wind howled or The sun smiled down on us.
Alliteration
Alliteration is when several words close together start with the same sound, like six silly snakes or big brown bear. It makes writing catchy and memorable.
Persuasive techniques
Persuasive techniques are tools writers, speakers and advertisers use to convince an audience, such as rhetorical questions, emotive language, facts, the rule of three and ethos, pathos and logos.
Rhetorical devices (and ethos, pathos, logos)
Rhetorical devices are techniques used to persuade or move an audience, such as rhetorical questions, anaphora and antithesis. Ethos, pathos and logos are the three appeals behind them.