Making Sense of
Shakespeare’s Language

• Remember….
- If it’s yellow text , write it down!

• You probably already have some
‘similes’ and ‘metaphors’ memorized… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s
WDSxmMo9Z0&feature=related

• simile – a figure of speech
(literary device) that directly compares two (or more) unlike things, using ‘like’ or ‘as’.

“Wake up in the morning feeling like P.
Diddy*….”
– Tik Tok,
Ke$ha

“Shake it like a Polaroid picture….”
– Hey Ya, Outkast
“Last name ever, first name greatest,
like a sprain’ ankle boy
I ain’t nothin’ to play with…”
– Forever, by Drake

“The brightness of her cheek would shame those stars/
As daylight doth a lamp…”
- Romeo in Act II, Scene ii of Romeo and Juliet

Juliet’s beauty is greater than the stars, just like the sun is greater in light than a lantern.
(Greater than)
>

• metaphor – a comparison of two
(or more) unlike things without using the words ‘like’ or ‘as’; usually using the words ‘is’ or
‘are’

1. Provides an image our brains can process
2. Gives a much more direct comparison than simile.

Well, if I say someone is like a horse, that means they are only similar in some ways.
But…..
If I say someone is a horse, that means they are basically the exact same.

“…When it’s going good, it’s going great/ I’m [I am] Superman with the wind at his back, she’s Lois Lane…”
– Love the Way You
Lie, Eminem feat.
Rihanna

“It’s a matter of time before we all run out, when I thought he was mine she caught him by the mouth…”
– Misery Business, by Paramore
FAKE
Tease/
Dangerous

“I guess she’s an
Xbox, and
I’m more an Atari…”
– Forget
You, by
Cee Lo
Green
She =
NEW
AND
AWESOME
He =
OLD
FASHIONED
(NOT COOL IN
HER OPINION)

“Love is a smoke made with the fume of sighs:/ Being purged, a fire sparkling in lovers’ eyes;/
Being vexed, a sea nourished with loving tears...”
- Romeo, Act I Scene I of
Romeo and Juliet

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