Similes and Metaphors
A Lesson for Aspiring
Writers
Descriptive Language
• Helps readers to imagine scenery, characters
and events.
• Uses the five senses:
Sight
Sound
Taste
Touch
Smell
It uses the 5 senses to make
comparisons:
Something looks like something else.
Something sounds like something else.
Something tastes like something else.
Something feels like something else.
Something smells like something else.
Similes
• A simile is a comparison between
two things with similar
characteristics using the word
“like” or “as.”
Examples: I ran like the wind.
The dog was as fat as a
sausage.
The dog
is like
a sausage
because he is so fat (similar characteristic).
Which is a simile?
A) Cold lemonade is as refreshing as a dip in the
pool.
B) We like to play computer games.
How do you know?
Metaphors
• A metaphor also compares two
things, but it does so more directly,
without using “like” or “as.”
Example: The sky was a painted
canvas.
What could be a reason for
comparing the sky to a painted
canvas?
The sky was a painted canvas.
The sky
colorful
a
painted
canvas
Which is Which?
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
The thief was as slippery as an eel.
Arnold was a mountain.
Her eyes were polished stones.
She is as pretty as a picture.
The basketball player was a machine.
The lightning was like a spider web.
One of the most important things to remember:
Similes and metaphors are imaginative
likenesses; they are not supposed to be
interpreted literally.
Ex: I zipped around the room like a
hummingbird.
I’m not actually a hummingbird, but I was
moving very fast, like a hummingbird would
move.
Ex: She is a firecracker.
“She” isn’t actually a firecracker, but she is
_________________.
My Favorite Villain: Maleficent
If I were to compare Maleficent to an
animal, I would compare her to a panther
because she is stealthy, majestic and
menacing.
If I were to compare Maleficent to a
food, I would compare her to a frappe
chino because she is reserved and her
smile is chilling.
If I were to compare Maleficent to a
piece of clothing, I would compare her to
a stiletto heel because she is dangerous
and difficult to deal with.
Time for a Simile and a Metaphor
Simile: Maleficient’s smile was as chilling as a frappe
chino.
Metaphor: Maleficient was a panther.
Maleficient was a panther in the center of the throne
room. Every person was watching her warily, waiting to
see what she would do. Raising her hands, she laughed at
the crowd and said “None of you can compare to my
power!” With that, she approached the startled king and
queen, her smile as chilling as a frappe chino.