Saint James High School

Curato St., Brgy. 5, Buenavista, Agusan del Norte

SEC Reg. No. PW00001134
Telefax (085) 343-4332 343-4834

Creative Writing
Information Sheet No.3

Topic: Figurative Language vs Figures of Speech

MELCs:
1. use imagery, diction, figures of speech, and specific experiences
HUMSS_CW/MP11/12-Ia-b-4

Objectives:
At the end of the module, students will be able to:
1. differentiate the salient features of the various figures of speech;
2. distinguish the differences between figures of speech and figurative
language; and
3. evaluate the figures of speech used in lines/ excerpts from literary pieces.

When you were asked to write academic type of writing during your first year of
Senior High, you are always asked to carefully choose words that are appropriate to the
type of writing and consider that it should be understood by most readers.
In this module, you’ll be able to understand the use of figurative languages which is
to build imagery and give words more power. It’s tempting to think that direct language is
the easiest for us to understand, but sometimes we respond better to more creative
wording.

What is Figurative Language?

This word originated from the Old French which is figuratif meaning metaphorical.
Figurative language refers to language that uses words in ways that deviate from their
literal interpretation to achieve a more complex or powerful effect. This language uses
figures of speech to achieve its purpose.

You might be wondering, is Figurative language the same with figures of speech or
do they differ? There's a lot of confusion about the difference between the terms "figures
of speech" and "figurative language." Most of the confusion stems from the fact that
different people often use "figurative language" to mean slightly different things. The two
most common definitions of figurative language are:

Figurative language refers to any language that contains figures of speech.

Based from what’s stated, figurative language and figures of speech are not quite the
same thing, but it's close enough. The only difference is that figures of speech refer to
each specific type of a figure of speech, while figurative language refers more generally
to any language that contains any kind of figures of speech.
Figurative language refers to words or expressions that have non-literal
meanings: This definition associates figurative language only with the category of
figures of speech.

To fully understand figurative language, it's helpful to have a basic understanding of

figures of speech. More specifically, it's helpful to understand the two main types of
figures of speech: tropes and schemes.

 Tropes are figures of speech that play with and shift the expected and literal
meaning of words.
 Schemes are figures of speech that involve a change from the typical mechanics of
a sentence, such as the order, pattern, or arrangement of words.

13
To put it simply; tropes play with the meaning of words, while schemes play with the
structure of words, phrases, and sentences.

What is the Function of Figurative Language?

The chief function of figurative language is to communicate the writer’s message as

clearly as possible.

 That might be by putting a foreign concept into familiar terms that a reader or
listener can easily grasp, or it might be by creating imagery that’s vivid and visceral.

 Some types of figurative language also have other uses unrelated to their role in
creating imagery. For example, writers use alliteration, consonance and assonance
alongside rhyme to give words rhythm and musicality.

Figures of Speech

A figure of speech is a literary device in which language is used in an unusual—or

"figured"—way in order to produce a stylistic effect. It can be broken into two main
groups: figures of speech that play with the ordinary meaning of words (such as
metaphor, simile, and hyperbole), and figures of speech that play with the ordinary
arrangement or pattern in which words are written (such as alliteration, ellipsis, and
antithesis).

Figures of speech can take many forms. A figure of speech can involve a single word, a
phrase, an omission of a word or phrase, a repetition of words or sounds, or specific
sentence structures.

Tropes

Generally, a trope uses comparison, association, or wordplay to play with the literal
meaning of words or to layer another meaning on top of a word's literal meaning. Here
are some of the commonly use figures of speech:

Metaphor: A metaphor is a figure of speech that makes a comparison between two

unrelated things by stating that one thing is another thing, even though this isn't literally
true.

For example, if someone says "it's raining cats and dogs," this obviously doesn't
literally mean what it says—it's a metaphor that makes a comparison between the weight
of "cats and dogs" and heavy rain.

Metaphors are tropes because their effect relies not on the mechanics of the sentence,
but rather on the association created by the use of the phrase "cats and dogs" in a non-
literal manner.

Simile: A simile, like a metaphor, makes a comparison between two unrelated things.
However, instead of stating that one thing is another thing (as in metaphor), a simile
states that one thing is like another thing. To stick with cats and dogs, an example of a
simile would be to say "they fought like cats and dogs."

For that reason, “She plays like a child” and “My grandpa was like a helicopter hovering
over are family” are not similes – at least not effective ones.

14
Be careful with like or as. Because each serves as different parts of speech, just
because you see like or as does not mean that there is a simile. For example, “I like M &
M’s” is not comparing anything; like is a verb in this example, and nothing is being
compared. Or, “My mom is more like a best friend than a mom” is a factual statement
and is not comparing two dissimilar things; therefore, it is not a simile.

Oxymoron: An oxymoron pairs contradictory words in order to express new or

complex meanings. In the phrase "parting is such sweet sorrow" from Romeo and
Juliet, "sweet sorrow" is an oxymoron that captures the complex and simultaneous
feelings of pain and pleasure associated with passionate love.

• “darkness visible” (Milton);

• “make haste slowly” (Suetonius)
• “loving hate” (Romeo and Juliet)

Oxymorons are tropes because their effect comes from a combination of the two words
that goes beyond the literal meanings of those words.

Hyperbole: A hyperbole is an intentional exaggeration of the truth, used to

emphasize the importance of something or to create a comic effect. An example of
a hyperbole is to say that a backpack "weighs a ton." No backpack literally weighs a
ton, but to say "my backpack weighs ten pounds" doesn't effectively communicate
how burdensome a heavy backpack feels.

Once again, this is a trope because its effect comes from understanding that the words
mean something different from what they literally say.

Personification - In this figure of speech, non-human things are described as

having human attributes, as in the sentence, "The rain poured down on the wedding
guests, indifferent to their plans." Describing the rain as "indifferent" is an example
of personification, because rain can't be "indifferent," nor can it feel any other
human emotion.

Personification can help writers to create more vivid descriptions, to make readers see
the world in new ways, and to more powerfully capture the human experience of the
world. Attributing a human emotion to something inanimate—as in the sentence about
"indifferent rain"—can make that thing easier to understand and more vivid in the
reader's imagination.

Onomatopoeia - It is a figure of speech in which words evoke the actual sound of

the thing they refer to or describe. The “boom” of a firework exploding, the “tick tock”
of a clock, and the “ding dong” of a doorbell are all examples of onomatopoeia.

Onomatopoeia can use real words, made-up words, or just letters used to represent raw
sounds (as “Zzzzzz” represents someone sleeping or snoring). Advertising, branding,
and slogans often use onomatopoeia: “Snap, crackle, pop.”

Onomatopoeia has a few distinct variants:

Real words that sound like real things: This type of onomatopoeia, which
we’ll call conventional onomatopoeia, uses words whose own sound evokes the
sound of real things. The word “meow,” which sounds just like the sound a cat
makes when it actually meows, is a classic example of conventional
onomatopoeia.

Real words made to evoke the sound of real things: In this rarer type of
onomatopoeia, a word or series of words is used to imitate a real-world sound,

15
 even though the words used don’t mimic that sound themselves. Perhaps the
most famous example of this type of onomatopoeia is Edgar Allen Poe’s poem
“The Bells,” in which Poe repeats the word “bell” 62 times to evoke the sound of
a bell ringing and tolling, even though the word “bell” itself does not itself sound
like a bell ringing.

Made-up words that sound like real things: Made-up words can fill the void
when no word exists to sufficiently capture the nuances of a real-world sound.
For example, when James Joyce needed a word to convey the sound of
someone knocking on a door, he invented “tattarrattat.” Today, almost a
hundred years after he coined it in writing his novel Ulysses, “tattarrattat” has
become a legit word

A series of letters that mimic a “raw” sound: Sometimes onomatopoeia

involves no words at all, as in examples like “Zzzzzz” to represent the sound of
sleeping or snoring, “hachoo” for a sneezing sound, or “tsk-tsk” or “tut-tut” to
convey the scolding sound we make to express disapproval.

Irony: It is a literary device or event in which how things seem to be is in fact very
different from how they actually are. If this seems like a loose definition, don't worry—
it is. Irony is a broad term that encompasses three different types of irony, each with
their own specific definition: verbal irony, dramatic irony, and situational irony.

Verbal irony is a figure of speech in which the literal meaning of what someone
says is different from—and often opposite to—what they actually mean. For
example, if someone has a painful visit to the dentist and when it's over says,
"Well, that was pleasant," they are using verbal irony because the intended
meaning of their words (that it wasn't at all pleasant) is the opposite of the literal
meaning of the words. Verbal irony is the most common form of irony. In fact it is
so common that when people mention "irony," they often are actually referring to
verbal irony.

Dramatic irony Is a plot device that highlights the difference between a

character's understanding of a given situation, and that of the audience. When
the audience watching a movie know what's behind that door, but the character
in the movie has no idea... that's dramatic irony.

Situational irony refers to an unexpected, paradoxical, or perverse turn of

events. It is an example of situational irony when, in the O. Henry story "The
Gift of the Magi," a young wife cuts off her hair in order to buy her husband a
chain for his prized watch, but the husband sells his watch to buy his wife a
comb for her beautiful hair.

Pun: a figure of speech that plays with words that have multiple meanings, or that
plays with words that sound similar but mean different things. The comic novelist
Douglas Adams uses both types of pun when he writes: "You can tune a guitar,
but you can't tuna fish. Unless of course, you play bass."

In the first sentence, Adams puns on the similar sounds of "tune a" and "tuna," while in
the second he puns on the two meanings of the word "bass"—the musical instrument,
and the fish.

Synecdoche: is a figure of speech in which, most often, a part of something is used

to refer to its whole. For example, "The captain commands one hundred sails" is a
synecdoche that uses "sails" to refer to ships—ships being the thing of which a sail is
a part.

16
A less common form of synecdoche occurs when a whole is used to refer to a part. An
example of this is when the word "mortals" is used to mean humans—"mortals"
technically includes all animals and plants (anything that dies), so using "mortals" to
mean humans is a synecdoche that uses a category to stand in for one of its subsets.

A synecdoche occurs when a part stands in for a whole, or a whole stands in for a part.
To recognize synecdoche it's helpful to understand that there are different sorts of
wholes and parts. The most common types of wholes and parts are:

A physical structure and its parts: "All hands on deck!" is a part-to-whole

synecdoche of this sort because "hands" stand in for the sailors of which they
are physically a part.
An object and the material it is made of: In this sort of synecdoche, the whole
can be thought of as the thing's essence—what the thing truly is—while the part
is its matter, the physical material that makes it up but which doesn't define that
full essence. "Are you paying with plastic?" is a synecdoche in which plastic, a
material, stands in for a credit card, which, as a monetary device, is much more
than its material.

A container and what it contains: "Can I buy you a glass?" refers not to the
glass itself; it is a synecdoche in which "glass" refers to the drink inside it.

A category and the items in those categories: "America took home gold" is a
whole-to-part synecdoche in which the larger category of "America" is used to
stand in only for American olympians. This type of synecdoche can also be part-
to-whole. For example, "The citizens were all put to the sword" is a synecdoche
in which the term "sword" stands in for the entire category of weapons used to
kill.

Metonymy: is a type of figurative language in which an object or concept is referred

to not by its own name, but instead by the name of something closely associated with
it. For example, in "Wall Street prefers lower taxes," the New York City street that was
the original home of the New York Stock Exchange stands in for (or is a "metonym"
for) the entire American financial industry.

A common form of metonymy uses a place to stand in for an institution, industry, or

person. "Wall Street" is an example of this, as is "the White House" to mean the
President or Presidential administration of the United States, or "Hollywood" to mean the
American film industry.

Metonymy in literature often substitutes a concrete image for an abstract concept.

"Heart" can be used to mean "love," or "grave" to mean "death."

Metonymy vs. Synecdoche

Both metonymy and synecdoche create a relationship in which one thing or idea stands
in for another. But the specific relationship between the two objects is much more
precise and specific in synecdoche than it is in metonymy:

In synecdoche: Most synecdoches occur when a part of an object stands in for

the whole. For example, "ABCs" is a synecdoche, because A, B, and C are parts
of the alphabet, but the term "ABCs" stands in for the entire alphabet. A rarer
type of synecdoche occurs when a broader category stands in for a subset of
that category. An example of this is when the word "mortals" is used to mean
humans—"mortals" technically includes all animals and plants (anything that
dies), so using "mortals" to mean humans is a synecdoche that uses a category
to stand in for one of its subsets. Sometimes this type of synecdoche is
described as a whole standing in for a part, the inverse of a typical synecdoche
in which a part stands in for a whole.

In metonymy: The relationship between the two things is not part-to-whole or

whole-to-part, but is simply one of being closely conceptually related, as in a

17
 phrase like "The pen is mightier than the sword," in which "pen" stands in for
writing and "sword" stands in for physical power.

Litotes: is a figure of speech and a form of understatement in which a sentiment is

expressed ironically by negating its contrary. For example, saying "It's not the best
weather today" during a hurricane would be an example of litotes, implying through
ironic understatement that the weather is, in fact, horrible.

Litotes is pretty simple in the way it works: instead of stating something directly, you
state that the contrary statement is not true.Typically, the contrary statement will be
phrased as some sort of superlative (for example, "he's not the sharpest tool in the
shed"). This is part of what makes litotes an example of understatement, since what's
actually being expressed is "He's far from the sharpest tool in the shed."

Litotes must contain a negative statement (as in, "not the best weather"). Litotes is a
form of understatement, the intentional presentation of something as smaller, worse, or
lesser than it really is.
Here are other tropes that are used in literature:
 Antanaclasis
 Anthimeria
 Paradox
 Periphrasis
 Rhetorical Question

Schemes

Schemes are mechanical—they're figures of speech that tinker with words, sounds, and
structures (as opposed to meanings) in order to achieve an effect. Schemes can
themselves be broken down in helpful ways that define the sort of tinkering they employ.

Repetition: Repeating words, phrases, or even sounds in a particular way.

Omission: Leaving out certain words or punctuation that would normally be expected.
Changes of word order: Shifting around words or phrases in atypical ways.
Balance: Creating sentences or phrases with equal parts, often through the use of
identical grammatical structures.

Some of the most commonly used schemes are explained briefly below:

Alliteration is a figure of speech in which the same sound repeats in a group of

words, such as the “b” sound in: “Bob brought the box of bricks to the basement.”
The repeating sound must occur either in the first letter of each word, or in the
stressed syllables of those words.

Here are some of the key points that you have to take note:

 Alliteration is the repetition of sounds, not just letters. Alliteration isn’t just about
repeated letters. It’s about repeated sounds:
Crooks conspire with the kind king.
This example is alliterative because the “c” and “k” produce the same sound even
though they are different letters.
 Alliterative words don’t have to be right next to each other. The repeated
sounds of alliteration do not have to appear in sequential words, one immediately

18
 after another. A phrase can still contain alliteration if the repeated sounds are
separated by other words. For instance, the example below is alliterative despite the
“a” and “of”.

Assonance is a figure of speech in which the same vowel sound repeats within a
group of words. An example of assonance is: "Who gave Newt and Scooter the blue
tuna? It was too soon!"

 Assonance occurs when sounds, not letters, repeat. In the example

above, the "oo" sound is what matters, not the different letters used to produce
that sound.
 Assonance does not require that words with the same vowel sounds
be directly next to each other.
 Assonance occurs so long as identical vowel-sounds are relatively
close together.
 Assonant vowel sounds can occur anywhere (at the beginning or end,
on stressed or unstressed syllables) within any of the words in the group.

Consonance is a figure of speech in which the same consonant sound repeats

within a group of words. An example of consonance is: "Traffic figures, on July
Fourth, to be tough."

 Consonance occurs when sounds, not letters, repeat. In the example

above, the "f" sound is what matters, not the different letters (such as "ph") used
to produce that sound.
 Consonance does not require that words with the same consonant
sounds be directly next to each other. Consonance occurs so long as
identical consonant sounds are relatively close together.
 The repeated consonant sounds can occur anywhere within the words
—at the beginning, middle, or end, and in stressed or unstressed syllables.

Assonance vs. Alliteration

Alliteration is another figure of speech that involves the repetition of sounds and
is related to assonance. Assonance and alliteration differ in two key respects.

Types of repeating sounds: Assonance involves the repetition of only vowel

sounds, whereas alliteration can involve the repetition of either vowel sounds or
consonant sounds.
Position of repeating sounds: The repeating sounds of assonance can occur
anywhere in a word. The repeating sounds of alliteration, in contrast, must occur
either in the first syllables of words or on the stressed syllables of words.

In practical terms, these rules mean that assonance can sometimes also be alliteration,
but isn't always.

19
Consonance vs. Assonance
Consonance is nearly identical to another figure of speech called assonance,
with one critical difference: consonance has to do with repeated consonant sounds (i.e.,
non-vowel sounds), whereas assonance has to do with repeated vowel sounds.

Consonance is repetition of consonant sounds: "Zach sneezed when he

heard jazz music."
Assonance is repetition of vowel sounds: "Hey, wait! Don't blame me! Nate
and James are the perpetrators!"

Consonance vs. Alliteration

Alliteration, like consonance, is a figure of speech that involves the repetition of
sounds. Consonance and alliteration differ, however, in two key respects.

Types of repeating sounds: Consonance involves the repetition of only

consonant sounds, whereas alliteration can involve the repetition of either vowel
sounds or consonant sounds.
Position of repeating sounds: The repeating sounds of consonance can occur
anywhere in a word, whereas the repeating sounds of alliteration must occur
either in the first syllables of words or in the stressed syllables of words.

In practical terms, these rules mean that consonance can sometimes be a form of
alliteration, but isn't always.

Parallelism is a figure of speech in which two or more elements of a sentence (or

series of sentences) have the same grammatical structure. These "parallel" elements
can be used to intensify the rhythm of language, or to draw a comparison,
emphasize, or elaborate on an idea.

The following well-known adage is an example of parallelism: "Give a man a fish, and
you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime." The
grammatical structures of the first and second sentences parallel each other.

 Parallelism can be as simple as choosing grammatically similar

elements when writing a list, as in "First do X, second do Y, third do Z."

 In some cases, parallelism involves the exact repetition of words, but

all that is required to fit the definition of parallelism is the repetition of
grammatical elements.

 Parallelism is a prominent feature of Hebrew and Middle Eastern

poetry, and it appears frequently in both the Old and New Testaments of the
Bible.

20
Parallelism in Grammar
In grammar, parallelism is the principle that using similar grammatical elements
in certain contexts—when making a list, for example—leads to sentences that flow in a
more natural way. In the following sets of sentences, the first version is parallel while the
second is not. Note how the examples without parallelism are awkward and a little
confusing.

In this first set of sentences, the first sentence contains a list of three parallel nouns,
while the second combines two nouns with a verb.

Parallelism: Their son loved playing chess, video games, and soccer.
No parallelism: Their son loved chess, video games, and to play soccer.

In the second set of sentences, the first contains parallel adjectives, while the second
combines two adjectives with a verb.

Parallelism (adjectives): The Bach Sonata was beautiful, moving, and

inspiring.
No parallelism: The Bach Sonata was beautiful, moving, and it inspired.

Parallelism in Rhetoric and Literature

In contrast to the strictly grammatical view of parallelism, in rhetoric and
literature parallelism can do much more than just create a pleasing and grammatical
sentence structure. Writers use parallel grammatical elements within one sentence or,
more broadly, between and among different sentences in a paragraph, for effect: to
emphasize ideas or themes, suggest connections, or highlight contrasts, all while adding
rhythm to the structure of their expression.
Here are other schemes that are used in literature:

 Anaphora  Antithesis  Epistrophe

 Anastrophe  Apostrophe
 Antanaclasis  Appositive

21
 Self-Check No. 3

Name: ____________________________ Section:

_____________________

Teacher: ___________________________

I. Identify and Explain

Read the statements carefully and identify the figures of speech used. Provide an
explanation as to how the given example is that type of figure of speech. You may
use another 1 whole sheet of paper for your answers.

Example: 1. My father bought me new wheels. Synecdoche

In the sentence, the phrase “new wheels” refers to a car in which the sentence
tells us that it’s a part of a whole.

1. Many are called, but few are

chosen.__________________________________________

2. The righteous shall flourish as the palm tree.

____________________________________

3. The camel is the ship of the

desert.____________________________________________

4. Here is the smell of blood still; all the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little

hand._______________________________

5. “A black bug bit a black bear, but where is the black bear that the black bug bit?”

___________________________________

6. You can order anything online with the click of a mouse.

___________________________

7. I had so much homework last night that I needed a pickup truck to carry all my books

home! ___________________________________

8. You have a lot of work to do, so I’ll lend you a

hand._______________________________

9. Malacanang palace declared its holiday today.

__________________________________

22
10. Death lays his icy hands on

kings.___________________________________________

23