Figures of speech used in the English language enhance the meaning of what’s being said and make the reader understand the text better. It brings out the creativity and imagination of the writer, making it more memorable. It enhances the writing, delivering a more graphic, clear, emphatic and interesting piece.
The few figures of speech that I will talk about here are Metaphors, Similies, personification, alliteration, onomatopoeia, hyperbole and imagery. I will be using my notes taken down from the various references over the years.
METAPHOR: Aristotle once wrote, “to be a master of metaphor is a sign of genius.” Keep reading metaphors and one day you’re sure to master it.
She is a sleepy bear. This sentence is a metaphor, where a human is being called a bear. A metaphor compares two things by saying that one thing IS the other. It is a direct comparison of two dissimilar things.
EXAMPLES:
- “Hope” is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul
And sings the tune without the words
And never stops at all
This is Emily Dickinson’s poem “Hope is a thing with feathers”. Here the poet compares hope with a bird, where the feeling lifts us up and soars like a bird.
- Now when someone says Its raining cats and dogs, it actually means that it is raining heavily. One would imagine that animals are falling off from the sky!! Though no one knows why and how this connection came about, it does conjure up the image of heavy rainfall in the reader’s mind.
- He was a fish out of water in his new school. It clearly tells us that he felt very uncomfortable in his new school. Obviously, he is not a fish.
- You are the apple of my eye, tells us that I am very fond of you.
- And now for the king of literary metaphors: “All the world’s a stage / And all the men and women merely players / They have their exits and their entrances / And one man in his time plays many parts / His act being seven ages.”
from ‘As You Like It’ William Shakespeare. - Katy Perry’s song Fireworks.
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Cause, baby, you‘re a firework / Come on, show ’em what you‘re worth / Make them go oh, oh, oh / As you shoot across the sky. A motivational song, where the singer calls her babe a firework who can light up the sky by showing the world what he/she’s got.
- Her tears were a river flowing down her cheeks. It is telling us the obvious, that she was crying a lot, and that it was not a river flowing out of her eyes.
- In Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, Romeo compares Juliet to the sun. The radiance and warmth are the qualities attributed to Juliet.
So metaphors paint a more relatable picture and give the writing a creative bend. Dull ideas can sparkle, bringing beauty to the written word, with the use of metaphors. Students should try and improve their writing skills by reading about metaphors and incorporating phrases. For example, “The heart of the city“; “The foot of the mountain“; ‘She is a star“; “He is in the sunset of his days“. Go ahead and try.
SIMILE: My love is like a red, red rose. Is it okay to compare love and a red rose? According to the writer, it sure is. A red rose, looks beautiful, is delicate, smells good and deserves to be loved. So the lover did feel it right to compare the rose and his love.
A simile is also a comparison, it compares two unlike things using the word “like” or ‘as’. It is another way of conveying what you want, in an impressive way.
EXAMPLES:
- I wandered lonely as a cloud. Wordsworth uses this simile in his poem Daffodils. He uses this simile describing how the speaker compares himself with a cloud, wandering around on hills when he chances upon a host of golden daffodils.
- We learned this nursery rhyme when we were small. “Twinkle Twinkle little star, How I wonder what you are, up above the world so high, Like a diamond in the sky.”
- Say “The dog is like a bear”. It will convey the message that the dog is huge.
- As busy as a bee. As cold as a cucumber. As sly as a fox. As light as a feather. As wise an owl. As slippery as an eel.
There are many many similes that we may have learned or read. Consider writing a poem with similes.
PERSONIFICATION: It gives human qualities to non-living things or ideas. For example, if I say that “the wind howled” I will be trying to say that the wind was fierce and loud.
EXAMPLES
- The alarm clock yelled at me, trying hard to wake me up. Here the alarm clock has been given a human quality of yelling.
- Ten thousand saw I at a glance, tossing their heads in sprightly dance. Here again, in the poem Daffodils, the quality of dancing has been applied to the flowers that are swaying in the breeze. Just another beautiful way of expression.
- And the dish
- ran away with the spoon!! Remember this nursery rhyme? Hey diddle diddle, the cat and the fiddle..
- That painting on the wall was shouting for attention. Now did this not bring the painting to life?
- The cracked vase conveyed endurance. Does this not boost the reader’s sensitivities?
- The fire swallowed the entire building. An effective way of sending across the message that the building was burnt to ashes.
- One of my favourites is by John Milton in Paradise Lost. Earth felt the wound, And nature from her seat, Sighing through all her works, gave signs of woe. The poet makes earth sigh.
These are three literary devises I have written about. More in the next post. Till then keep reading, keep noticing the expressions used by the authors/poets. Practice writing. Practice makes perfect.
MYSTORYMYWAY 