Why writers use figurative language
Language is literal when the words mean exactly what they say: "the room was cold". Language is figurative when the words mean something beyond their plain sense: "the room was a fridge". Nobody thinks there was a fridge in the room. We understand at once that it was freezing, and we feel it more sharply than if the writer had just told us the temperature.
That is the whole point of figurative language. It makes an idea vivid, compresses a lot of meaning into a few words, and steers how the reader feels. A literary device is simply any deliberate technique a writer uses to shape meaning and effect.
- Figurative language
- Words used to mean something different from, or richer than, their plain dictionary sense, usually to create an image or a feeling.
Spotting is only step one
Naming a device earns you very little on its own. The marks come from explaining the effect: what it makes the reader picture, think or feel. Keep asking yourself "so what?" after every device you find.
The core comparisons: metaphor, simile, personification
Three of the most common devices all work by comparison. They invite you to see one thing in terms of another.
- Metaphor
- A comparison that says one thing is another, without "like" or "as". Example: "her voice was silk".
- Simile
- A comparison using "like" or "as". Example: "her voice was as smooth as silk".
- Personification
- Giving human qualities to something non-human. Example: "the wind clawed at the shutters".
| Device | How to recognise it | Invented example |
|---|---|---|
| Metaphor | States that A is B directly | "The classroom was a zoo by the last lesson." |
| Simile | Uses "like" or "as" to compare | "The corridor was as silent as a held breath." |
| Personification | A non-human thing acts or feels like a person | "The old engine coughed, then died." |
Notice that the same idea can be dressed in any of the three. What changes is the strength and the feel. A metaphor is bolder because it collapses the two things into one; a simile keeps a little distance by admitting it is only "like"; personification pulls an object into the human world so we react to it as if it were alive.
Imagery, symbolism and hyperbole
Beyond direct comparison, three more devices do a lot of heavy lifting in prose and poetry.
- Imagery
- Language that appeals to the five senses to build a picture in the reader's mind. Not just sight: taste, touch, smell and sound all count.
- Symbolism
- When an object stands for a larger idea. A cracked mirror might stand for a broken identity; a locked door for a trapped life.
- Hyperbole
- Deliberate, obvious exaggeration for effect. "I have told you a thousand times" is hyperbole, not a lie.
These devices often work together. In the invented line "the kitchen breathed the warm smell of bread, and for a moment the whole grey week lifted", the smell is imagery (it appeals to the sense of smell), the bread quietly becomes a symbol of comfort and home, and "the whole grey week lifted" nudges towards gentle hyperbole. Good writing layers devices rather than using them one at a time.
Do not confuse symbol with imagery
Imagery makes you picture something. Symbolism makes an object mean something larger. A red rose you can smell and see is imagery; a red rose standing for love is symbolism. Many extracts have both at once, so say which you mean.
Name it, then explain the effect
The skill that separates a top response from a list of labels is the move from naming to explaining. A reliable sentence pattern is: the writer uses [device] in "[short quotation]", which suggests [meaning], creating [effect on the reader]. If you can fill that sentence honestly, you are analysing, not just spotting.
Analyse the effect of the device in this invented line: "The exam hall was a battlefield, and every pencil a loaded gun."
Note that the answer never stops at "this is a metaphor". Every step earns its place by moving closer to why the choice matters. That is exactly what MYP Criterion A rewards.
Where this is assessed
Identifying devices and, above all, analysing their effect is the heart of Criterion A (Analysing). Choosing precise words to write about those effects feeds Criterion D (Using language), and organising your points clearly supports Criterion B (Organizing).
Check yourself
1. Is "the fog crept in on quiet feet" a simile, a metaphor or personification? +
It is personification. Creeping "on quiet feet" gives the fog a human, animal-like way of moving, which makes it feel sneaky and alive. There is no "like" or "as", so it is not a simile.
2. A student writes: "The writer uses a simile here." Why is that not yet a full analytical point? +
Because it only names the device. A full point must add the effect: what the comparison makes the reader picture or feel, and why the writer chose it. Naming without "so what?" earns almost nothing.
3. Rewrite "I was very hungry" using hyperbole. +
Any obvious exaggeration works, for example "I was so hungry I could have eaten the entire fridge, shelves and all." The exaggeration is not meant to be believed; it makes the hunger feel dramatic and a little comic.
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