Figurative language uses words in a non-literal way to create a special effect, feeling, or image. It includes devices like:
* Metaphor: A comparison between two unlike things without using "like" or "as". (e.g., "Her eyes were stars.")
* Simile: A comparison between two unlike things using "like" or "as". (e.g., "He was as white as a sheet.")
* Personification: Giving human qualities to inanimate objects or animals. (e.g., "The wind whispered secrets.")
* Hyperbole: An exaggeration used for emphasis. (e.g., "I'm so hungry I could eat a horse.")
* Idiom: A phrase with a figurative meaning that is different from the literal meaning of the words. (e.g., "Let the cat out of the bag.")
* Onomatopoeia: Words that imitate the sound they represent. (e.g., "buzz", "hiss", "crash")
* Alliteration: The repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words. (e.g., "Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.")
* Assonance: The repetition of vowel sounds within words. (e.g., "The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain.")
Figurative language is often used in poetry, literature, and everyday speech to add vividness, emotion, and depth to language.