Figurative Language Rap lyrics

Chorus

Sometimes what you mean is not exactly what you say

That’s figurative language, using words in different ways

Personification, alliteration, assonance, hyperbole

Onomatopoeia, metaphor, and simile

Verse I

When Sally seems to sit somewhere separate from Sonia,

Or Caleb calls Chris ‘cause he’s coming to California

It’s called alliteration: that’s what occurs

When you got the same sound at the start of every word

But when you’ve got a vowel sound that keeps sounding the same

That’s a figure called assonance, yeah, that’s its name

It’s what I’m trying to define by providing this example

But I cannot deny that assonance can be a handful

Chorus

Verse II

A simile is something that you use to compare

Two unrelated things with an element that’s shared

My mind is like an ocean; it’s as smooth as jazz

But it’s only a simile if it uses “like” or “as”

A metaphor is similar, but watch out!

Be careful ’cause you’ve got to leave “like” and “as” out

My mind is an ocean; my words are a river,

So keep your ears open as I continue to deliver

Chorus

Verse III

Now if the sun’s smiling down, or the boat hugged the shore

That’s personification, nothing less, nothing more

But with a buzz or a ding or a hiss or a roar

That’s onomatopoeia that we’re using for sure

Hyperbole: man, that’s like a million times harder!

Take something true, then exaggerate it way farther

Now you’ve heard this song from beginning to the finish

Now you’ve got some tools to draw your literary image