Question

His eyes made out the shadowy outlines of a palatial chateau; it was set on a high bluff, and on three sides of it cliffs dived down to where the sea licked greedy lips in the shadows.
In about one hundred words, explain the figurative language in the italicized section of the passage above. What type of figurative language is it? In what ways does it function?

Answer 1

The author is using a type of figurative language called personification. Personification is when you give human characteristics or traits to something that is non human. When the author writes, "the sea licked greedy lips in the shadows." the author is giving the sea human characteristics. The sea does not actually have lips.