For example: His feet were as big as boats. We are comparing the size of feet to boats

figurative language (fig-YOOR-a-tive LAN-gwije): a type of language that varies from the norms of literal language, in which words mean exactly what they say. Also known as the “ornaments of language,” figurative language does not mean exactly what it says, but instead forces the reader to make an imaginative leap in order to comprehend an author’s point. It usually involves a comparison between two things that may not, at first, seem to relate to one another. In a simile, for example, an author may compare a person to an animal: “He ran like a hare down the street” is the figurative way to describe the man running and “He ran very quickly down the street” is the literal way to describe him. Figurative language facilitates understanding because it relates something unfamiliar to something familiar. Some popular examples of figurative language include a simile and metaphor. See A Handbook to Literature, A Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory, and A Glossary of Literary Terms. Charla Cobbler, Student, University of North Carolina at Pembroke

yes, figurative language is a part of literary terms. It is included in the glossary of literary terms located here: http://www.uncp.edu/home/canada/work/allam/general/glossary.htm

Simile is a comparison of two unlike things using like or as. It is directly stated. “Fleece as white as snow”

Metaphor is an implied comparison. Her icy look told me I was in trouble.

Personification gives human characteristics to non-human things. My shoes looked exhausted after the marathon.

they both uses “figures of speech” – a way of saying something other than the literal meaning of the words