Figurative Language
Simile, metaphor, and personification
Simile
A simile is a comparison between two dissimilar
objects using the words “like” or “as.”
– WHY? It creates an image/picture in the reader’s
mind.
EX: The room was as hot as a sauna.
EX: As I walked barefoot across the black asphalt,
it burned my feet like lava.
EX: My face turned as red as a fire engine when
my mom burst into my English class with my
retainer in hand.
Effective similes
Can someone draw what they pictured when
they read “As I walked barefoot across the black
asphalt, it burned my feet like lava.”
Simile: from “Scarlett Ibis”
• EX 1: “Trembling, he’d push himself up,
turning first red, then a soft purple, and finally
collapse back onto the bed like an old wornout doll.”
• EX from page 261:
• EX from page 261:
Draw what you imagined!
Metaphor
A metaphor is a comparison between two dissimilar
objects where the writer states that one of the
objects IS the other.
– WHY? When an author wants to create the strongest
mental image possible. This doesn’t say that the look
was LIKE a dagger…it WAS one. It was a look that
could kill!
EX: The stares of my ex-best friend were daggers
piercing my heart.
EX: The sun slanted through the clouds and the
autumn trees were suddenly made of fire.
Effective metaphors
Draw what you imagined when you read “The
sun slanted through the clouds and the autumn
trees were suddenly made of fire.”
Metaphor: from “Scarlett Ibis”
• EX 1: “Summer was dead, but autumn had not
yet been born.”
• EX from page 267:
Personification
Personification is when a non-human is given
traits, actions, or qualities that are usually only
assigned to humans.
– Why? To help the reader identify with or
understand forces that are not human in origin.
EX: The lonely chair sat in the corner.
EX: The waves whispered softly as they gently
kissed the shore, then retreated, only to return
and steal another kiss.
Personification: from “Scarlett Ibis”
• EX 1: “The last graveyard flowers were
blooming, and their smell drifted across the
cotton field and through every room of our
house, speaking softly the names of our dead.”
• EX from page 264: