Activity 17 Literary Analysis: Figurative Language
Emerson used various types of figurative language to express his meaning and make his
abstract ideas seem more concrete.
DIRECTIONS: Read these passages from Emerson's work. Then, on the lines provided,
analyze the underlined sections and identify them as imagery, metaphor, personification,
or synecdoche. Look back at the previous pages for definitions of these types of figurative
language, if needed.
1. "In good health, the air is a cordial of incredible virtue."
2. "I become a transparent eyeball."
3. "Crossing a bare common, in snow puddles, at twilight, under a clouded sky. . . I have
enjoyed a perfect exhilaration."
4. "Society is a joint-stock company in which the members agree for the better securing
of his bread to each shareholder."
5. "For nature is not always tricked in holiday attire...
6. "Down the dark stream which seaward creeps."
7. "Here once the embattled farmers stood / And fired the shot heard round the world."
8. "Nature always wears the colors of the spirit."