NGSSS
Figurative Language
LA.8.2.1.7: Locate and analyze an
author's use of ... figurative language
in a variety of text, identifying how
word choice is used to appeal to the
reader's senses and emotions,
providing evidence from text.
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In this lesson, you will learn about figurative language- special ways that
writers use words to describe thoughts and feelings. By comparing the unfamiliar
to the familiar, figurative language helps readers see and think about things and
ideas in new ways.
Here are some common types of figurative language:
Personification gives human qualities to objects, animals, ideas, and feelings.
"The wind whispered" and "the long fingers of guilt pointed at him" are examples
of personification.
A simile compares two things using the words like or as. "Eyes as dark as coal"
and "hair like cotton candy" are similes. A metaphor compares two things by
saying one thing is another: "The still lake is a mirror." Sometimes the metaphor is
implied, as in the phrase "a blanket of snow."
With symbolism, writers use a physical object or place to represent an idea or a
feeling. The eagle is often used to symbolize moral strength. Red roses symbolize
love, and the clover leaf is a symbol of good luck.
Hyperbole uses exaggeration to make a point. If a character says, "I'm so hungry
I could eat a horse," it means he's very hungry, not that he actually wants to eat
a horse.
Figurative Language
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Personification
gives human qualities to nonhuman things
Simile
compares using like or as
Metaphor
compares saying one thing is another
Symbolism
uses an object or place to represent an idea
or feeling
Hyperbole
an exaggeration used to make a point
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NGSSS LA .8.2.1.7
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Read this poem. Then think about how it uses figurative language to answer the
question below.
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Seasons
Spring comes in on tiptoe,
where her feet touch the earth, flowers bloom.
Summer strolls in with a fri endly wave,
brushing the tall grass, dodging thunderstorms.
5 Autumn sneaks in through the morning mist
and paints all the leaves when we aren't looking.
Winter enters through the lea fl ess branches,
riding the wind, whistling for the snow.
Which words in the first stanza illustrate personification?
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In personification , the writer gives human traits to something that is not human.
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Reread stanza 1. What words refer to human qualities or actions? Look at the words
comes ill 011 tiptoe, l1 er jeet, and tOllch . These words and phrases refer to things a
person has or can do.
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Notice, though, that no person is mentioned in the stanza. The thing that has feet ,
co mes in on tiptoe, and touches is spring.
ANSWER: Spring is personified with the words comes
ill 0 11
tiptoe, l1er jeet, and touch .
In stanza 3, which words does the writer use to personify autumn?
NGSSS LA.S.I.l.7
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Read the passage. Use the Think About It to guide your reading.
Then answer the question. Use the Hint to help you.
Think About It
What feelings does
Isabel have toward her
homework?
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Hint
Think about what the
alien may stand for in
Isabel's dream. How are
the alien's feelings and
Isabel's feelings alike?
CORRECT ANSWER
SUPPORTING DETAILS
INCORRECT ANSWERS
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The Alien Ate My Homework
1
Isabel hated homework, especially th is assignment, because she
had avoided it for too long. Now the task of writing the hi story
report loomed before her, and it was gett ing late. Isabel had played
too much soccer today, and now she was so very tired. She shut her
eyes briefly and nodded off.
2
Isabel drea med of a yellow alien with a lemon-shaped head. The
alien ate her history book and her unfinished hi story report in one
gul p, smacked its lips, and burped, "That homework was bitter, but
that's exactly the way I like it!"
What does the alien symbolize for Isabel?
A Isabel's dislike of homewo rk
B Isabel's fondn ess for lemons
C Isabel's love of ancient history
D Isabel's need for sleep
Answer choice A is co rrect.
Th e alien thinks the homework is bitter, which is how Isabel feels about
her homework assignment. Isabel would probably like to make her
homework disappea r the way the alien made it disappear.
B is not correct, for although th e alien looks like a lemo n, no mention is
made of whether or not Isabel likes lemons.
C is not correct because paragraph 1 states that Isabel hates her history
assignment and homework in ge neral.
D is not co rrec t because although Isabel dreams of the alien when she is
asleep, the alien does not stand for her need for sleep .
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NGSSS LA.B.2.l.7
Read the poem. Use each Think About It to guide your reading.
My Piano
Think About It
What human feature
does the piano have in
stanza 1?
What order does the
speaker give her
fingers? How do they
respond?
How does the poem
end? How are the lines
in the last stanza
different from the rest
of the poem?
NGSSS LA.S.2 .l.7
My piano welcomes me with a broad smile,
flashing hi s eighty-eight teeth ,
white and black.
''I'm back ," 1 say.
5 "Time to practice for my lesson."
1 order my fingers to do to their sca les,
watching as they obed ient ly march up and dow n the keys.
10
"What now?" 1 ask.
My piano waits quietly.
1 raise my hands over the keys again.
Now they are like flutter ing birds,
moving together and apart,
launchi ng a song.
The notes fill the air,
15 the song fill s my heart 'til it bursts,
and my piano beams.
Together, we make beautiful music.
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Hints
Use the Hints to answer the questions below. Circle the letter of each
correct answer, and provide supporting details from the passage.
Find lines where the
speaker describes or
addresses the piano.
What is the speaker's
attitude toward the
piano?
1
The poet's personification of the piano suggests that the spea ker
A enjoys practicing the pi ano.
B thinks the piano is pl aying a trick on her.
e wishes th e piano was in tune .
D wants to skip her nex t piano lesson.
Supporting Details: _ _ _ _ __ _ _ __ __ _ _ _ __
Locate the word
"fingers." Several words
nearby can help you
identify the unnamed
thing that is being
compared to fingers.
2
In stanza 1, the poet implies that her fin gers doing scales are like
A cooperative children.
B black and white keys.
e fluttering birds.
D marching soldiers.
Supporting Details: _ __ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
Reread stanza 3. What
do you picture as you
read?
3
'The song fill s my hea rt 'til it bursts" is an example of
A simile.
B metaphor.
e hyperbole.
D symbolism.
Supporting Details: _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
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share and discllss
your answe..-s and
supporting details .
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NGSSS LA.S.2.l.7
Read the poem "Daedalus and Icarus" before answering Numbers 1 through 6.
DAEDALUS AND ICARUS
BY HENRY FIELD
Daedalus, the old Greek, was smart.
He dealt in what were called the "unknown arts,"
Challenging laws of nature.
Unhappy on his lonely isle,
He conceived an idea that made him smile:
"Why should not a man fly high into the clear blue sky?"
Young Icarus stood by and watched his father
Gluing the feathers he had gathered,
with wax, onto wing-like spans.
Soon came the lesson, and father warning son,
"Keep to a middle path, fly not too close to the sun."
He kissed the boy, a tender rose,
And Icarus, like a fledgling bird, took off into thjn air.
Amazed at his new capacity, he gazed
at the quilted fields below.
Higher and higher in his joy he soared,
then felt the melting wax upon his arms
and saw his feathers loosened.
"Father!" he cried, and "Father! "
And flai led, fa lling downward
into the beckoning arm s of the dark blue sea.
A snowfall of fea thers drifted down to the waves
as Daedalus ca lied his son's name in vain,
and cursed his fatal art.
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NGSSS lA.B. 2.1.7
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Read this line from the poem.
He kissed the boy, a tender rose
What literary device is used in the line above?
A.
simile, comparing Icarus's pride to a tender rose
B.
personification, giv ing human cha racter istics to a rose
C.
hyperbole, exaggerating Icarus's weakness and timidity
D.
metaph01~
representing Icarus's innocence as a tender rose
. , Read th.is line from the poem.
And Icarus, like a fledgling bird, took off into thin air.
What literary dev ice is used in the line above?
•
F.
hyperbole, exaggera ting Icarus's adventurous sp irit
G.
H.
J.
personification, a ttributing human characteristics to a bird
metaphor, compari ng Icarus's love of flying to that of a bird
simile, comparing Icarus's lack of experience to a young bird
Read these lines from the poem.
JlFath er!" he cried, and "Father!"
And flailed, falling downward
into the beckoning arms of the dark blue sea.
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Wh at litera ry device is used in the lines above?
A.
simile, comparing Icarus to an injured bird
B.
hyperbole, exaggerating the darkness of the sea
C.
D.
symbolism, representing the sea as a place of safety
personification, attributing human characteristics to the sea
Answer Form
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NGSSS LA.8.2.1.7
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Daedalus's attemp t to fly symbolizes his
F.
fear.
G.
pride.
H.
shame.
I.
loneliness.
Read this line from the poem.
A snowfall of feathers drifted down to the waves
Which literary device is used in the line above?
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A.
metaphOl~
B.
simile, compari.ng the waves to fea thers
C
p ersonification, giving human qua lities to feathers
D.
h yperbo le, exaggerating the amOLmt of fea thers on Ica rus's wings
comparing the feathers to snow
The author uses the image of quilted fie lds to
F.
contrast with the dark blue sea.
G.
show where Icarus and Daeda lus live.
H.
explain tha t the fields are soft enough to land on.
I.
show how the field s appear to Icarus from the sky.
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NGSSS LA.S.2.I.?
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