English: Literal and figurative language

• Literal language is used to mean what it is exactly said or written
• Figurative language uses words that are not meant literally, but rather as comparisons.
• Simile - An indirect comparison of unlike objects with the use of “as” or “like”
• Metaphor - the direct comparison of dissimilar things to create more vivid imagery or understanding
• • Personification - assigning human attributes to nonhuman things
• Hyperbole - deliberate exaggeration that adds emphasis, urgency, or excitement to a statement
• • Litotes - phrase that uses negation to create an affirmative understatement
• Metonymy - replaces the name of a thing with the name of something else that is closely related to it.
• Synecdoche - part of something is used to stand for the whole thing
• • Oxymoron - opposing words that is placed side by side
• Paradox - a statement appears to contradict itself.
• • Onomatopoeia - a word that sounds like what it means
• • Alliteration - repetition of similar sounds or consonants
• • Consonance - repetition of consonant sounds right next to each other, creating a memorable or melodic effect.
• He thrusts his fists against the posts and still insists he sees the ghosts. example of consonance.
• My father brought to conversations a cavernous capacity for caring that dismayed strangers. example of Alliteration
• The clanging pots and pans awoke the baby. example of onomatopoeia
• This is the beginning of the end. example of paradox
• The couple felt alone together in their hometown they never called home. example of Oxymoron
• The thief has been behind bars for years. example of synechdoche
• The crown was passed on to the next heir, who was said to be the most unworthy. example of metonymy
• I wouldn’t say no. example of litotes
• When she gives me that gaze, the world turns upside down. example of Hyperbole
• The truck going to the countryside was screaming down the road. example of personification
• Life is a rollercoaster. example of metaphor
• It was the first real day of summer, and by the time she came back indoors, she was as red as a tomato. example of Simile
• The newly crowned prince decides to join the army to protect his kingdom. Literal language
• It's raining cats and dogs outside. Example of hyperbole.