Language is a powerful tool. It allows us to communicate complex ideas and emotions with one another. An important aspect of language is figurative language. It allows us to convey particular ideas without directly stating them. This can make our speech more interesting and simplify complicated concepts. Figurative language is used all of the time, especially in popular media. Let’s take a look at a few examples of figurative language and how they are used in everyday speech.

Metaphor: Boy Meets World

Metaphors are used to draw comparisons between two seemingly different things. By highlighting the similarities between these two things complicated situations can be made clearer. In this clip, we can see that the garden metaphor helped Cory better understand his problem.

Paradox: The Simpsons

A paradox is a phrase or statement that contradicts itself. Even though the paradox is contradictory it is oftentimes true. In this clip from The Simpsons, the students list examples of paradoxes that exist in our lives. A paradox can be used to point out some profound truth that exists in the world.

Onomatopoeia: The Amanda Show

An onomatopoeia is a word that is made from the sound connected to the subject. These words perfectly capture the tone of what they are describing because their pronunciation matches the sound. In the clip from The Amanda Show, we see that the cereal makes the same sounds as the name attached to it. Onomatopoeia is used when you want to more accurately reflect the sounds we experience.

Personification: Toy Story

Personification is when human-like qualities are attributed to nonhuman things. The film, Toy Story is filled with personification. The toys are given human personalities and emotions that they would not have in real life. From the clip, we can see that they can walk and talk like actual people. Personifying objects and ideas can make it much easier to relate and understand things that might seem foreign at first.

There are many different types of figurative language; the ones listed above are just a handful. We use figurative language every day, and if you pay close attention, you’ll notice that it’s used often in television and films as well.

Looking for more examples of figurative language? Check out the hundreds of curated videos from popular TV shows and movies at ClassHook.