Title: Figurative Language in Literature: Definition & Examples | SuperSummary
Headings: FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE
FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE
What Is Figurative Language? Definition, Usage, and Literary Examples
Figurative Language Definition
Figurative Language and Figures of Speech
Types of Figurative Language
Alliteration
Allusion
Hyperbole
Metaphor
Metonymy
Onomatopoeia
Parallelism
Personification
Pun
Simile
Synecdoche
Figurative Language and Imagery
Linguistic Semantics and Figurative Language
Figurative Language in Pop Culture
Examples of Figurative Language in Literature
2. F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby
3. Dante Alighieri, Inferno
5. Toni Morrison, Jazz
Further Resources on Figurative Language

Content: Figurative Language and Imagery
People often use the term imagery interchangeably with figurative language, but these concepts are not the same. Imagery is a literary device that allows the author to create pictures in readers’ minds so they can better imagine the situation, characters, emotions, and settings of the narrative. Imagery can be created using literal or figurative language. If an author is creating literal imagery, also called descriptive imagery, they describe things exactly as they are. Writers tend to use adjectives to create literal/descriptive imagery. For example, they might describe a maple tree in autumn by saying, “The tall maple tree was covered in bright red leaves.” Here, the image is created through adjectives that accurately describe the tree without embellishment. The same tree could be described using figurative language: “ The maple tree soared tall as a skyscraper and was covered with leaves as bright red as lipstick kisses.” This second image uses similes to create an image that conveys the same idea as the literal example, but it does so in a way that is more poetic.