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: About 2 minutes I like to share interesting pieces of figurative language I encounter in my reading. I write today about a series of similes from Canadian writer Ian Brown. I don’t know Ian Brown personally. But I feel as if I do, from reading his writing. A […]
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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 metaphor from poet and novelist Jane Urquhart. I admire the writing of Jane Urquhart, even though I don’t like it very much. I’ve read three
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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 Rebecca Mead. Unlike many women, I have little interest in shoes except as vehicles that allow me to travel from one place to
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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 a simile from Garth Stein. I can’t remember who recommended the book The Art of Racing in the Rain to me. I knew it was about a dog
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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 Forrest Gander. Like an unexpected guest at a dinner party, the very brief novel, As a Friend, by Forrest Gander, is a surprising
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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
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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 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
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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
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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 Laura Shapiro… As you may have sensed from some of my previous blog entries, I’m a big believer in home cooking. Thus, when
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