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Figurative Languages including Hyperbole and Personification: The ABC of creative writing

Updated on May 1, 2012
"Shoes are girls’ best friend".
"Shoes are girls’ best friend".

Figurative language makes us view the world differently, it enhances our senses. They can be added to fiction to add colour and depth to a character, author uses it to help the reader visualize what is happening in a poem or story, speaker make the indescribable describable when explaining an event. It compares two things in such a way that you find the comparison interesting or even a bit surprising. In order words, it could be a foundation towards creative writing.

Smile, Metaphor, Alliteration, Onomatopoeia, Repetition, Personification, Hyperbole, Idioms,Clichés are major types of figurative speeches.

Simile is when you compare two nouns that are unlike with 'like' and 'as': An example of Smile:

"The dress is as beautiful as Miss World".

Metaphor is when you use two nouns and compare or contrast them to another. You don't use "like" or "as" for comparison. An example of Metaphor:

“My life is a dream”

Alliteration: when two or more words in a poem begin with same letter. An example of Alliteration:

"Fabulous fashion makes this world colourful"

Repetition is when you have a word and use it more than once. An example of Repetition:

"Row row row a boat"

Personification: when you make a thing or animal do something only human can do. An example of Personification:

"Shoes are girls’ best friend".

Onomatopoeia are words that sound like objects, the name or the sound these objects make. An example of Onomatopoeia:

"Zip goes the jacket"

Hyperbole is an outrageous exaggeration that emphasizes a point, and can be ridiculous or funny. An example of a Hyperbole:

“Those shoes are higher than the sky".

Cliché refers to an overly used expression that has lost meaning and impact over time. These are common expressions that you hear frequently. An example of a Cliché:

"What goes around comes around."

An idiom is a phrase that means something different than its literal meaning, it stands for something else. Idioms can vary within social classes, generations and region. An example of an idiom is:

“Feast Your Eyes” Meaning is to have a good look at something.

“Stitch in time saves nine” Meaning is doing something before hand, meaning in time, saves having to do much more work later.


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