Figurative Language (Poetry)
Writing is all about showing, not telling. By using figurative language, you can express details without bogging down your poem.
The Three Categories of Figurative Language
Describing
These figurative language devices help you describe how something looks, smells, tastes, feels or sounds quickly.
Repetitious
These devices make your point clearer through emphasis on phrases.
Immersive
These figurative techniques make your poems have meaning.
Describing
Metaphors
The comparison of two or more things without using the words “like” or “as.” It helps the author draw comparisons assuredly.
She was a deer on roller skates
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Similes
The comparison of two or more things using the words “like” or “as.” It helps the author express a single similar characteristic that two things have.
She was as clumsy as a deer on roller skates.
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WHEN TO USE WHICH?
Smiles are used when you want to acknowledge the imperfections of the comparison. Metaphors are used when you want to equate the two things.
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Imagery
Describing a subject using sight, sound, touch, smell, or taste.
She looked like a baby deer on roller skates
Symbolism
Using a concrete thing to represent an abstract concept. Symbolism helps you remain subtle.
The Grim Reaper stands in for death; a clock for time
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Onomatopoeia
Using sounds.
BOOM! Creak. Snap
Personification
Describing a non-human using human characteristics.
The flowers waved hello
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Hyperbole
An exaggeration. Opposite of an understatement
That baseball hit me so hard I almost died
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Understatement
When you deny the actual effect of something. Opposite of hyperbole.
I’m fine, I only got hit by a truck
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Repetitious
Alliteration
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Using words that begin with the same letter repeatedly. Selecting the correct letter helps to establish your tone.
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Sally swiped Samantha’s sandwich
Anaphora
Repeating a phrase at the beginning of successive lines. It appeals to the emotions of the audience.
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I do think she woke up.
I do think she saw him.
I do think she killed that man.
Epistrophe
Repeating a phrase at the end of successive lines. Helps emphasize an idea.
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I walked downstairs, and he didn’t look at me.
I put on my coat, and he didn’t look at me.
I left for the last time, and he didn’t look at me.
Anadiplosis
The final word in a sentence begins the next. When used well, it makes your work sound more natural by presenting a logical progression of words.
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For you have seen what has been done here.
Here, the site of our new nation!
Immersive
Motif
When a subject is repeatedly mentioned in the story to help reinforce a point.
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You could have a character be associated with/keep noticing bees, only for them to realize that they’ve been controlled by others their whole life.
Anthropomorphization
Anthropomorphization is similar to personification, but the subjects actually have those human characteristics. It helps make non-human things more impactful.
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A talking sword.
Extended metaphors
A metaphor (The comparison of two or more things without using the words “like” or “as") that lasts over multiple lines. It allows you to draw more similarities between the subjects.
She was a bird in my cage.
When I opened that door,
when I set that bird free,
it flew away,
leaving me with only feathered memories.
Unsure of what to say in your figurative language?
One effortless way to improve your descriptive figurative language and develop your narrator is to use what the storyteller knows.
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For instance, if I was writing a poem and my narrator is a goblin, I would use words relating to gold, bartering, and thievery.
If my narrator was a child, I would use things like glitter glue, recess, and falling down for my metaphors.
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While seeming simple, this technique is astonishingly effective and will seriously improve your writing.