From just Plain Jane, to Wild and Insane! Adding Descriptive/Figurative Language

Key #1: Figurative Language -- Simile Simile: A simile is a figure of speech that uses like or as to make a direct comparison between two unlike ideas. Everyday speech often contains similes, such as “pale as a ghost,” “good as gold,” “spread like wildfire,” and “clever as a fox.”

Key #2: Figurative Language -- Metaphor Metaphor: A metaphor is a figure of speech in which something is described as though it were something else. A metaphor, like a simile, works by pointing out a similarity between two unlike things. Ex: The snow was a white blanket over the town.

Simile v. Metaphor: The Smack Down “A simile uses like or as to connect things; a metaphor eschews [avoids] both words. Simile: “My love for you is like old lunchmeat. Still here, but way past its expiration date.” Metaphor: “My love for you is a zombie. Dead but still walking around.” The simile creates a little distance; this is like that. Not same, but similar. A metaphor undercuts that distance. This is that. Not just similar, but absolutely (though abstractly) the same” (Wending, 2012).

Key #3: Figurative Language -- Personification Personification: Personification is a type of figurative language in which a nonhuman subject is given human characteristics. Ex: The sky was sad. It cried today.

A Word for Every Occasion http://www.kisd.org/khs/english/help%20page/Descriptive%20Words.htm