Imagery and Figurative Language

Imagery is when a verbal expressions appeals to any of the five senses.  By appealing to the five senses, imagery can help readers obtain a clear image of the surrounding. Figurative language, also known as metaphorical, explains or expands on ideas by comparing them to something else.  Figurative language can be further broken down into metaphor, simile, personification, analogy, hyperbole, understatement, paradox, and irony.  Metaphors make implied comparisons. Similes explicitly makes comparisons using like or as.  Personification is when an object or animal is given human characteristics.  Analogy is a figure of speech that helps explain something strange or complex by comparing it to something familiar or simple.  Hyperbole is when something is exaggerated, as opposed to an understatement.  A paradox is a statement that seems contradictory, but reveals a truth.  Lastly, irony is when a speaker says one thing, but actually means something else.  In Robert Frost's "Out, Out--," Frost personifies the buzz-saw, which transforms the simple tool to a monstrous, uncontrollable beast.