Figurative Language: Imagery, Simile, Metaphor, and Personification
Across most genres, writers use figurative language to enhance and enrich their work. Figurative language is language which is not meant to be taken literally but is used by a writer to achieve a special meaning in a work. In poetry, poets use figurative language like imagery, simile, metaphor, and personification.
Imagery
Poets use imagery to make the reader “see” a certain image or have a certain feeling. Imagery is language that includes descriptive words and details that impact the senses. Effective imagery can create wonderful and pleasant feelings. It can also invoke horrific and terrible images.
Some of the most beautiful uses of language in poetry are for the sake of imagery. In this interactivity, listen to and read the poem "To Melancholy" by Charlotte Smith. As you do so, concentrate on the language that the poet uses to make you feel a certain way. Then, you can analyze the poem using the interactivity. Click the player button to begin.
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Simile
Sometimes, poets compare one thing to something completely different in order to draw a comparison. A simile is a statement which compares two unlike things using the words "like" or "as." For example: Jacque swam like a fish in the relay race and won first place. In this statement, a comparison is created between Jacque and the fish using the word "like," even though Jacque is a human, and a fish is a fish! Why would the poet compare Jacque to a fish? Fish swim well, and Jacque swims well, too. This allows the reader to infer that Jacque is a great swimmer, without the poet having to tell the reader.
Poets use similes in a variety of ways. In this interactivity, read the poem "Flint" by Christina Rissotti. While you read the poem, try to identify all of the similes in it. You will have an opportunity to see if you can find them all and check your responses. Click the player button to begin.
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Metaphor
Carl Sandburg
Other times, poets use a statement which directly compares one thing to another by saying that one thing is another thing. This is called a metaphor. For example: The star is a sparkling diamond in the dark November sky. In this example, the writer is comparing a star and a diamond. Because it is a metaphor, the poet wrote that the star IS the diamond; it is a direct comparison. If it was a simile, the author would have used "like" or "as."
Carl Sandburg was an America writer throughout the 20th century. He wrote poetry, a biography of Abraham Lincoln, and several children's books. Some of his poetry was about the city of Chicago in Illinois, where he worked as a reporter. Carl Sandburg is considered one of the greatest American poets, and he was the recipient of three Pulitzer prizes. Sandburg used metaphor in his poem "Fog." Read the poem below and try to identify the metaphor that the poet uses throughout the poem.
"Fog" by Carl Sandburg
The fog comes
on little cat feet.
It sits looking
over harbor and city
on silent haunches
and then moves on.
In this poem, Sandburg compares the fog to a cat by saying it comes in on "little cat feet" and it "sits on silent haunches." Notice how this shows us the idea of fog rather than tells us. You can picture the fog slinking into the city, hanging around, and then slinking out - just like a cat moving in and out of a room.
Personification
Personification occurs when a poet gives human characteristics to non-human things. For example: The trees stretched out their arms in the cool afternoon breeze. In this statement, human characteristics are given to the trees. While you know that trees do not have arms, it is easy to picture the trees swaying in the wind just like a person would.
Emily Dickinson
Emily Dickinson was an American poet who wrote during the 1800s. She was born in Amherst, Massachusetts and lived most of here life there. She was regarded as a recluse because she rarely left her house and did not see many people face to face, other than her family. Only a few of her poems were published while she was alive; most of them were published after she passed away in 1886. Throughout her life, many of her family members and close friends died, and so death was a common theme in the poetry that she wrote.
Now, read "Because I Could Not Stop for Death" by Emily Dickinson. As you read, look for evidence of personification. To which non-human thing is Dickinson giving human characteristics?
In this poem, Dickinson uses personification. She gives death human form by calling him a "he." She also gives death human attributes when she says, "...he kindly stopped for me." Dickinson paints the picture of the speaker taking a carriage ride with the personified form of death; they even see children playing in a school yard as they pass by. Notice how this poem describes for the reader that no matter what is going on in life, death will come and "kindly" stop for everyone.
Figurative Language Review
Now that you have learned about several of the different types of figurative language that poets use, review your knowledge in this non-graded activity. Read each sample text and determine which type of figurative language the poet is using. Then, click SUBMIT to check your response. Click the player button to get started.