What's the difference between literal and figurative language?

Figurative language flows and allows you to use your senses and using metaphors and similes, they can mean different things than what they say. Literal language means you say exactly what mean in a formal way.

Figurative language is language that has a meaning that isn't literal ... It means that he has something inside him, in his mind, that feels deserted and alone. Poets often use figurative language because it allows them to give multiple possible meanings to their poems.