Figurative Language

Comparing two unlike things by saying something is something else

My alarm clock screams at me every morning!

Martin looked out at the blizzard. He said "I may need a light jacket."

When an author uses exaggeration for emphasis or effect

As Bill looked for his sister's phone, he saw a knife in her drawer.

Before our picnic, it was raining cats and dogs.

John walked onto the field and was taken back to the year before when he missed the field goal.

The author drops hints about plot developments to come later in the story.

Giving human qualities to non-living, inanimate objects

An expression that means something different than what the word actually say

Comparing two unlike things by using like or as

Her lovely voice was music to his ears.

When they saw the movie star, the paparazzi circled like vultures.

The new iPhone costs a bazillion dollars!

Presenting events that occurred earlier than the current time in the story

The author means less that what is intended