How do you tell the literal meaning of a poem's words from their figurative meaning, and why does it matter?
Topic 5.2 Figurative language: distinguish between the literal and figurative meanings of words and phrases and explain how the figurative meaning shapes the poem.
A focused answer to AP English Literature Topic 5.2 (skill category FIG), covering the difference between literal and figurative meaning, how to recognize when language is being used figuratively, and how to read figurative meaning rather than paraphrase the literal sense.
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What this topic is asking
Topic 5.2 opens the deeper figurative-language work of Figurative Language (FIG). The College Board (skill FIG-5.A) asks you to distinguish between the literal and figurative meanings of words and phrases. Literal meaning is what the words say on the surface; figurative meaning is what they mean when not read literally. Recognizing when language is figurative, and reading the meaning the figure carries, is the foundation of every later figurative-language skill: metaphor, personification, symbol, and allusion all depend on it.
Literal and figurative meaning
The signal that language is figurative is usually that the literal reading produces nonsense or triviality. A heart is not literally a drawer; if you read the line literally you get furniture, so the line must be figurative, and the figurative meaning, emotions shut away, is the real one.
Recognizing the figurative
Two levels at once
A poem frequently runs two levels in parallel: a literal description that is also a figurative account of something else. A poem about winter may be, throughout, a poem about old age, so every frost is also an ageing. The richest reading holds both levels together, the literal scene and the figurative meaning, and shows how each enriches the other. Reading a sustained double meaning is a strong route to the higher rubric points.
Reading literal and figurative meaning
Why this matters for the exam
Distinguishing literal from figurative meaning appears on the multiple choice section (questions ask the figurative sense of a phrase) and underpins every figurative-language question on the poetry analysis essay (Free Response Question 2). The most common error is paraphrasing the literal words; the skill that earns marks is recognizing the figure and reading the meaning it carries, often across a whole poem.
Try this
Q1. How can you tell when language is being used figuratively? [Recall]
- Cue. When the literal reading produces nonsense or triviality given the context, the mismatch signals that the phrase is figurative and stands for something beyond its surface sense.
Q2. A speaker says "the years have sanded me smooth." What is the figurative meaning? [Short explanation]
- Cue. Read literally it is nonsense; figuratively, being "sanded smooth" by the years means time has worn away the speaker's roughness or sharp edges, perhaps their resistance or their pain, so an essay should read the meaning the figure carries rather than the literal image of sandpaper.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of College Board exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
AP 2024 (multiple choice, style)1 marksA speaker says 'my heart is a locked drawer no key will open.' Read figuratively, this most directly means (A) the speaker owns a literal drawer (B) the speaker keeps their feelings shut away and unreachable (C) the speaker has lost a key (D) the poem is about furniture (E) the speaker is a locksmith.Show worked answer →
Answer: (B). The skill is distinguishing literal from figurative meaning.
Literally a heart is not a drawer; read figuratively, the locked drawer stands for emotions the speaker keeps shut away and that no one can reach. The figurative meaning is the real one here.
Why not the others: (A), (C), (D), and (E) all take the line literally, which produces nonsense. The line is figurative, and its meaning is emotional inaccessibility.
Markers reward students who recognize when language is figurative and read the meaning the figure carries, rather than paraphrasing the literal words.
AP 2023 (poetry analysis, style)6 marksRead carefully the following original poem in which the speaker describes a winter that is plainly also a description of old age. Then write a well-developed essay analyzing how the poet uses figurative language to develop the poem's meaning.Show worked answer →
Free Response Question 2 (poetry analysis), 6-point rubric (1 thesis, 4 evidence and commentary, 1 sophistication).
Thesis (1 point): claim what the figurative layer means, e.g. "By describing winter so that every frost is also an ageing, the poet renders old age as a slow, beautiful cooling rather than a simple decline."
Evidence and commentary (4 points): tie literal images of winter to the figurative meaning of age they carry, explaining the effect of holding both.
Sophistication (1 point): show how the literal and figurative layers enrich each other, so winter is not just a symbol of age but a way of feeling it.
Related dot points
- Topic 5.4 Figurative language: identify and explain the function of a metaphor, including the extended metaphor or conceit sustained across a poem.
A focused answer to AP English Literature Topic 5.4 (skill category FIG), covering the function of metaphor in poetry, the extended metaphor or conceit, the tenor and vehicle of a comparison, and how to analyze what a metaphor contributes.
- Topic 5.5 Figurative language: identify and explain the function of personification, the attribution of human qualities to a non-human thing.
A focused answer to AP English Literature Topic 5.5 (skill category FIG), covering personification, how attributing human qualities to a non-human thing shapes meaning and attitude, and how to analyze personification rather than merely spot it.
- Topic 5.6 Figurative language: identify and explain the function of an allusion, a reference to a person, place, event, or text outside the poem.
A focused answer to AP English Literature Topic 5.6 (skill category FIG), covering what an allusion is, how a reference to something outside a poem imports meaning, and how to analyze the function of an allusion rather than just recognize it.
- Topic 5.3 Figurative language: explain the function of specific words and phrases in a poem, including their connotation, sound, and placement.
A focused answer to AP English Literature Topic 5.3 (skill category FIG), covering how specific words and phrases function in a poem through connotation, sound, and placement, and how to analyze word choice rather than merely identify it.
- Topic 2.6 Figurative language: identify simile and metaphor and explain the function of the comparison, including what each term of the comparison contributes to the poem's meaning.
A focused answer to AP English Literature Topic 2.6 (skill category FIG), covering simile and metaphor, the difference between literal and figurative meaning, how to read what a comparison contributes, and how to analyze a figure of speech rather than merely label it.
- Topic 5.1 Structure: explain the function of structure in a poem, including stanza patterns, form, and the arrangement of ideas across the whole poem.
A focused answer to AP English Literature Topic 5.1 (skill category STR), covering how the structure of a poem functions, the arrangement of ideas across stanzas and forms, and how to analyze poetic structure rather than just describe the layout.
Sources & how we know this
- AP English Literature and Composition Course and Exam Description — College Board (2024)