Figurative language | Literary Term | English Literature | Major English | Plus Two Level
Language
that uses nonliteral figures of speech (such as simile, hyperbole,
and metaphor)
to convey an idea in an imaginative way. It is a type of language that varies
from the norms of literal language, in which words mean exactly what they say.
Also known as the ornaments of language, figurative language does not mean
exactly what it says, but instead forces the reader to make an imaginative leap
in order to comprehend an author's point. It usually involves a comparison
between two things that may not, at first, seem to relate to one another. In a simile,
for example, an author may compare a person to an animal: 'He ran like a hare
down the street' is the figurative way to describe the man running and 'He ran
very quickly down the street' is the literal way to describe him. Figurative
language facilitates understanding because it relates something unfamiliar to
something familiar.
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