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 a simile from Forrest Gander. Like an unexpected guest at a dinner party, the very brief novel, As a Friend, by Forrest Gander, is a surprising […]
The figurative language of Forrest Gander… Read More »
Reading time: About 2 minutes I like to share interesting pieces of figurative language I encounter in my reading. I write today about a series of metaphors written by Jennifer Egan. Jennifer Egan, author of the 2011 book Look at Me, is a master of metaphor. I’ve developed the habit of
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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 simile from Alan Lightman. I’m not certain I can say I truly understood the novel Einstein’s Dreams by Alan Lightman. I mostly avoided sciences in
The figurative language of Alan Lightman… 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 Adam Gopnik. I’m not sure I care enough about the Beatles to want to read a three-volume history about them, (frankly, I’m more
The figurative language of Adam Gopnik Read More »
Reading time: About 1.5 minutes I like to share interesting pieces of figurative language I encounter in my reading. I write today about two similes from American writer and psychologist Dan Shapiro…. I recently finished the marvellous non-fiction book Delivering Doctor Amelia by Dan Shapiro. A psychologist, the author describes
The figurative language of Dan Shapiro… 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 simile from Laura Shapiro… As you may have sensed from some of my previous blog entries, I’m a big believer in home cooking. Thus, when
The figurative language of Laura Shapiro… Read More »
Reading time: About 1 minute I like to share interesting pieces of figurative language I encounter in my reading. I write today about a simile from food writer Michael Pollan. My family of origin is famous for its obsession with food. Many guests have told us we’re the only people
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Reading time: About 1 minute I like to share interesting pieces of figurative language I encounter in my reading. I write today about an extended metaphor from Tabatha Southey. A friend and I have been sharing our admiration for Canadian journalist Tabatha Southey. A Saturday columnist for the Globe and
The figurative language of Tabatha Southey… Read More »
Reading time: About 1.5 minutes I like to share interesting pieces of figurative language I encounter in my reading. I write today about a New Yorker article on the driverless car written by Burkhard Bilger. I’d heard of cars that parked themselves. But I hadn’t heard of driverless cars. Well,
The driverless car and other images 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 simile from novelist Stephen Gauer. This weekend I read the book Hold Me Now, by Stephen Gauer. A crime fiction novel — not a genre
The figurative language of Stephen Gauer… Read More »
