Title: 5 Ways to Use Figurative Language in Your Writing
Headings: How to Use Figurative Language in Your Writing
How to Use Figurative Language in Your Writing
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Why Do Writers Use Figurative Language?
5 Ways to Use Figurative Language

Content: 5 Ways to Use Figurative Language in Your Writing
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How to Use Figurative Language in Your Writing
Written by the MasterClass staff
Last updated: May 5, 2021 • 3 min read
Improve your writing by using figurative language to describe a setting, convey a point of view, or reveal an important character trait. Jump To Section
Why Do Writers Use Figurative Language? 5 Ways to Use Figurative Language
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The purpose of figurative language is to go beyond the literal meaning of words to create vivid images in your readers’ minds. In Emily Dickinson’s “Hope Is a Thing With Feathers,” Dickinson famously compares hope to an endlessly singing bird that “perches in the soul.” Most examples of figurative language include literary devices like similes, metaphors, and hyperbole in order to express meaning, evoke emotion, and make direct comparisons with your words. Why Do Writers Use Figurative Language? Sometimes literal language isn’t enough to convey a message or intent, and more vivid imagery is necessary to help readers understand the scope of your narrative.