I know I risk sounding like an English teacher when I use the words “figurative language.” The phrase may sound frightening but figurative language will make your writing more interesting evocative and memorable. And who doesn’t want that –even in non-fiction? Here are some examples of figurative language:
• allusion
• hyperbole
• metaphor
• oxymoron
• personification
• paradox
• simile
I read widely and follow many forms of media, keeping my eyes and ears attuned to figurative language so I can share a piece of it with you each week.
Reading time: Less than 1 minute I like to share interesting pieces of figurative language I encounter in my reading. I write today about some personification from writer Olive Senior… Despite having several rave reviews on Amazon, the novel Dancing Lessons, by Olive Senior, hasn’t yet persuaded me to finish it. I find it […]
The figurative language of Olive Senior Read More »
Reading time: Less than 1 minute I like to share interesting pieces of figurative language I encounter in my reading. I write today about a metaphor from Lori Lansens… I jokingly like to say I have a “lifetime to 10 list.” By this I mean that I have 10 books that so
The figurative language of Lori Lansens Read More »
Reading time: Less than 1 minute I like to share interesting pieces of figurative language I encounter in my reading. I write today about similes and metaphors from writer Ian McEwan’s new novel, Nutshell. As a longtime fan of British writer Ian McEwan (pictured above), I am always cheered when he produces
The figurative language of Ian McEwan Read More »
Reading time: Less than 1 minute I like to share interesting pieces of figurative language I encounter in my reading. I write today about figurative language from novelist Emma Donoghue… Born in Dublin, Emma Donoghue (pictured above) is an award-winning writer now living in Canada. Like thousands of other readers, I was impressed
The figurative language of Emma Donoghue Read More »
Reading time: Just over 1 minute I like to share interesting pieces of figurative language I encounter in my reading. I write today about a series of metaphors from novelist Elizabeth Hay… As a longtime fan of the Canadian novelist Elizabeth Hay, pictured above, I was delighted to learn this summer that
The figurative language of Elizabeth Hay Read More »
Reading time: Less than 1 minute I like to share interesting pieces of figurative language I encounter in my reading. I write today about a series of metaphors from Lauren Groff… Lauren Groff is a New York-born novelist who now lives in Gainesville, Florida. Her most recent book, Fates and Furies, won the 2015 American
The figurative language of Lauren Groff Read More »
Reading time: Just over 1 minute I like to share interesting pieces of figurative language I encounter in my reading. I write today about a series of similes and metaphors from Michael Crummy…. Michael Crummy was born in Buchans, a mining town in the interior of Newfoundland — “as far from the
The figurative language of Michael Crummy Read More »
Reading time: Less than 1 minute I like to share interesting pieces of figurative language I encounter in my reading. I write today about some figurative language from Jill Lepore… I am so profoundly tired of the American election that when I rediscovered a note I’d written to myself about it back in
The figurative language of Jill Lepore Read More »
Reading time: Less than 2 minutes I like to share interesting pieces of figurative language I encounter in my reading. I write today with a host of figurative language from Dominic Smith. Writer Dominic Smith (pictured above) grew up in Sydney, Australia and now lives in Austin, Texas. He is the author of
The figurative language of Dominic Smith Read More »
Reading time: Less than 1 minute I like to share interesting pieces of figurative language I encounter in my reading. I write today about a series of similes from Wesley Morris. Even while on holiday (as I was for much of the month of August), I read the New York Times on
Like buttah and satin… Read More »
