Figurative Language and Literary Devices
Determine the meaning of figurative and connotative language in context, analyse the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, and identify literary devices such as metaphor, simile, personification, allusion, and irony
What a learner can do afterwards
- Identify a metaphor or simile in a passage and explain its effect on the reader
- Explain how an author's word choice creates a particular tone (e.g., menacing, humorous, melancholic)
- Recognise an allusion to a myth, the Bible, or another text and explain what it adds to the meaning
The lesson
Writers often mean more than the literal words on the page. Figurative language uses words in a way that is not meant word-for-word, to make you picture something or feel a certain way.
A simile compares two things using 'like' or 'as': 'Her voice was as sharp as a knife.' A metaphor skips those words and says one thing IS another: 'Her voice was a knife.' Both make you picture something cutting and harsh, even though no real knife is there.
Word choice sets the mood. Two words can mean almost the same thing but feel very different. 'The dog crept toward me' feels tense. 'The dog trotted toward me' feels playful. Writers pick words on purpose to make you feel something specific.
When a story says someone has 'the patience of Job,' it points to a Bible story about a man who suffered a very long time without complaining. You do not need to know the whole story: the reference alone tells you the character is extremely patient.
When you spot figurative language, ask two questions: what does this literally say, and what is it really telling me about the character, mood, or scene? The gap between those two answers is where the meaning hides.
Figurative language and word choice work together to create a feeling, so look past the literal words to find what the author really means.
Watch it
Where it sits
Where this leads
8 questions wait behind this lesson, each with its answer explained. Every answer feeds the sky: stars light as they are learned, and dim when it is time to come back.