Figurative Language – Definition, Types, and Examples

Figurative language is language that goes beyond the literal meaning and conventional usage of words. It commonly appears in poetry, drama, prose, and speeches where it serves a variety of purposes  – describing complex emotions, providing evocative comparisons, eliciting an emotion, comparing two dissimilar ideas, making it easier to visualize descriptions, amplifying the intended message as well as for persuading and connecting with the audience. Creative writers often use figurative language by equating, comparing, or associating words with disparate meanings. The term “figurative” derives from the Old French “figuratif,” meaning “metaphorical.”

Figurative language is an overarching category that includes figures of speech, imagery, and sound devices. Let us take a look at them in detail.

What are Figures of Speech?

These are words or phrases that must be taken in a non-literal sense (as opposed to their dictionary definition) in order to understand their true meaning. Here are 10 commonly used figures of speech.

	Figure of Speech	Definition	Examples
1.	Simile	It is a comparison between two dissimilar things using the words “like,” “as,” or “than.”	My siblings fight like cats and dogs. He is as dangerous as a rattlesnake.
2.	Metaphor	It is a direct comparison of two or more things without using comparative words. A metaphor equates the things being compared in order to accentuate the comparison and achieve a deeper meaning.	She quit her job at the peak of her career. Life is but a dream. Her voice is music to my ears.
3.	Personification	It involves assigning an inanimate object or idea human attributes or feelings or speaking of it as if it were human in order to make it more relatable.	My phone died this morning. Books are our best friends. The door groaned in protest as I tried to open it.
4.	Oxymoron	It puts two contradictory ideas together to produce a poetic effect. Oxymorons often follow the adverb+adjective or adjective+noun format.	Everybody could hear the deafening silence. It was an open secret in the industry. The joke was seriously funny.
5.	Hyperbole	It exaggerates an emotion or description in order to emphasize or heighten its effect.	I’m so hungry I could eat an elephant. I put a million miles on that car. You could’ve knocked me over with a feather.
6.	Litotes	It affirms a statement by negating the opposite. Sarcasm and ironic understatement are also used to make a point.	She certainly isn’t the sharpest tool in the shed. He’s no Picasso. Ten thousand dollars is not an inconsiderable sum of money.
7.	Idiom	It is a commonly used expression that has acquired a non-literal meaning that is familiar to most people who speak the language.	We’ll cross the bridge when we come to it. Stop beating around the bush. I decided to call it a day and go home.
8.	Allusion	It is a reference to a famous person, place, thing, or event of historical, cultural, or literary importance. Readers must use their knowledge to catch the allusion.	His candy is the forbidden fruit that no one may touch. Mary is the Helen of Troy of our class. Stop being a grammar Nazi.
9.	Synecdoche	It is a literary device whereby a part of something is used to refer to the whole or the whole is used to refer to a part. It may also refer to a thing by the name of the material it is made of or to the container or packing it comes in.	The palace was built by thousands of hired hands. My father is the breadwinner of the family. Let’s go for a spin in my new ride.
10.	Irony	It is a literary device in which the literal meaning of a word or phrase is the opposite of its figurative meaning. Irony is often paired with sarcasm and largely relies on the readers’ intelligence to convey the underlying meaning of the words.	What nice weather we’re having! (In the middle of a storm) Your statement is as clear as mud.  I guess, today’s my lucky day. (after being involved in a fender bender)

What is Imagery?

In any kind of writing, imagery refers to descriptive language that involves one or more of the human senses of sight, smell, sound, touch, and taste. An important thing to remember is that while imagery is often enhanced by the use of figures of speech such as metaphors and similes, it can also be written without any figurative language at all.

Here are some examples of imagery:

• It was a bright and sunny afternoon.

The words bright and sunny provide visual (related to sight) imagery.

• The wolves were howling in the forest.

The word howling provides auditory (related to sound) imagery.

• She inhaled the aroma of freshly brewed coffee.

The words inhaled and aroma evoke the olfactory (smell) sense.

• Her damp, clammy fingers clutched at the window bars.

The words damp, clammy, and clutched appeal to the tactile (touch) sense.

• Jerry bit into the tart, juicy apple with obvious gusto.

The words tart and juicy when associated with apples arouse the gustatory (taste) sense.

What are Sound Devices?

Frequently used in poetry, sound devices are a subcategory of figurative language that are used to create a specific mood and/or to reinforce or add a deeper level of meaning to words. Below are 5 commonly used sound devices.

	Sound Device	Definition	Examples
1.	Alliteration	It refers to the repetition of the same consonant sound at the beginning of words that are placed near one another. It is often used to strengthen the description or to emphasize an emotion.	Peter Pan picked a pan of peppers. Can I come to clean the chaos in your closet? Lazy lizards lounged in a lake of leaves.
2.	Onomatopoeia	It uses words that mimic or sound like the noise they are describing.	The drink splattered all over the carpet. Thunder rumbled in the distance. The fly buzzed against the window.
3.	Assonance	It refers to the repetition of the same or similar vowel sounds in order to set the mood or reinforce the meanings of words.	“Those images that yet/Fresh images beget, /That dolphin-torn, that gong-tormented sea.”  (Byzantium by W.B. Yeats) Goodnight, sleep tight, don’t let the bedbugs bite. “Eagerly I wished the morrow; – vainly I had sought to borrow” (The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe)
4.	Consonance	It is the repetition of consonant sounds within or at the end of words to make them sound similar.	Mike likes to hitchhike. The black sack is on the rack. “He gives his harness bells a shake/ To ask if there is some mistake. /The only other sound’s the sweep/ Of easy wind and downy flake.” (Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost)
5.	End Rhyme	It is the rhyming of syllables or words at the end of two consecutive lines.	She sat beneath the apple tree, dreaming of things to be. “Tyger, tyger burning bright,In the forests of the night.” (The Tyger by William Blake) “A word is dead When it is said,” (A Word is Dead by Emily Dickinson)

Figurative language makes a piece of writing more effective by making readers look at the world through the eyes of the author. It heightens the senses and adds emphasis, expression, and depth to writing. Then maybe, instead of hearing the rain fall outside the window, readers will hear the rain sloshing against the window pane like intoxicating wine in a cup (Onomatopoeia and simile, respectively) or watch the moon play hide and seek with the clouds all night (personification).