What is Figurative Speech? Examples of Figurative Speech
Play with Words: Figurative Speaking
During communication, expressing ordinary situations or events in a different way affects that speech and expression. One type of different speech is to use figurative language. The meaning of figurative speech is to be able to present the meaning of a speech more effectively. This speech, which has a very different meaning by combining with ordinary words while alone, makes the information your expression will give stronger.
With figurative speech, you can say sentences that you can say directly more effectively, and differently. This language, which is used abundantly in fictional writings, is used to influence the other side and to intensify what is told. Figurative speech makes the language used stronger and more complex. In this way, a difference in expression is obtained.
Where to Use Figurative?
Figurative speech does not adhere to certain boundaries. It can adapt to all types of writing. It can be used in prose, poetry, story, songs, and any other place you can think of. Figurative speech, even in normal daily conversations, differentiates everywhere it is used. For example, the fact that long depictions in a novel contain figurative language and get rid of their boring state can make us experience the effect of this way of speaking. Or the figurative language that joins the conversation in a beautiful setting keeps the conversation alive.
How to Create a Figurative?
The commonly known form of figurative speech is the simile. Figurative speech, which can be done outside of simile, determines how effective the situation or event to be told will be with these forms. The performed types of figurative speech can also be used anywhere. But many figurative languages that everyone knows or uses without realizing it are common enough to come across all the time.
Familiar Figurative Samples
Hyperbole
A figurative speech done in this way reflects the meaning shown higher and more strongly. It differs according to the situation. So if it is done in a good situation, it makes it much better. If it is used in a bad situation, it makes the situation worse.
- You snore louder than a tractor!
- She is so thin that the wind can blow her.
- I burn this city for you!
- I have repeated the same thing a million times.
- Hellfire is out there.
Personification
When describing a situation, adding human qualities to non-human things is a structure of figurative language. It reflects these properties on things and even animals. It is also seen that it is used to reflect thoughts. It is generally figurative that we come across most in poems.
- This morning we greeted the white clouds in the sky.
- Luck knocked on the door.
- That night, all the stars in the sky were dancing in harmony.
- One by one, the leaves of the trees would commit suicide and let themselves fall.
- We had come to the cruelest hours of that unforgettable day.
Symbolism
We can say that the shortest and clearest way to create figurative symbolism. Using an icon or item with meaning in a way that reflects completely different meanings creates symbolic figurative values.
- Using the flag of the country found to show nationalism.
- Using the pencil icon to use the emphasis placed on education.
- Wearing black to reflect mourning when a death occurs.
- Using red heart to reflect love.
- The analogy of “stage” in the sentence “The life we live is a stage!” Is also a symbol.
Simile
In this style of figurative, two different things are compared to each other. To achieve this style, it is necessary to use words such as “like” and “as”.
- Strong like a lion.
- She worked like an ant all day.
- She ran fast like a cheetah to catch the bus from the house.
- They fought all night like cats and dogs.
- His bed was hard as a stone.
Metaphor
When a metaphor is used figuratively, unrelated things happen together. To understand the metaphor used, one must understand the bond between the two simulated things.
- You are an inedible cookie left at the end of the pack.
- You are my north star.
- Like a fish out of water, he didn’t know what to do.
- Your voice is the most beautiful song I’ve ever heard.
- We all know that she has a heart of stone.
