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FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE
Similes and Metaphors

Figurative language is way of saying things in a more creative way than you normally would.  Figurative language is not meant to be taken literally, meaning it is not meant to be taken word-for-word.  It is meant to get your attention and be memorable, but you must figure out what the speaker/writer is trying to say or imply.  You must figure out what that person means, the point that the person is trying to make.  There are several different popular forms of figurative language.  Some of these are…  

• Similes
• Metaphors
• Hyperbole
• Personification
• Onomatopoeia
• Idioms
• Imagery

A simile is a creative way of comparing things.  When you say that two things are similar by using the words like or as, you have created a simile.  A metaphor is also a creative way of comparing things, except with metaphors, you don’t say that two things are similar.  You say that two things are the same, even though what you really mean is that they are similar in some way.  Because you are claiming that two things are the same, not similar, you don’t use the words like or as.  There are examples of similes and metaphors in this poem. 

THE SUN, THE MOON AND THE STARS

 the moon is the world’s security guard

but he only works nights

the stars are like his employees

making sure everything goes right

the sun is like the boss

first to work, last to go

but where he goes when he gets off

the world will never know

• In line 3 of this poem, the poet says that stars and employees are similar.  He says that the stars work for the moon, similar to how employees work for their employer.  By comparing these two things using the word "like," the poet has created a simile.
  
  
• He also compares the sun to a boss in line 5.  They are similar because the boss is the first one to work everyday and the last one to leave work at night.  The sun has a similar job because it starts and ends the day for the whole world.  By using the word "like" to compare these two things, the poet has created a simile.
  
  
• The poet uses a metaphor in the first line of the poem.  He compares the moon to a security guard.  Security guards often watch over various places at night.  This is similar to the way the moon watches over the world at night.  Even though he says that the moon IS a security guard, the reader is supposed to know that he’s just making a comparison between the two things.  Therfore, the poet has created a metaphor.