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: Just over 1 minute I like to share interesting pieces of figurative language I encounter in my reading. I write today about an image from novelist Claire Messud. The novel The Emperor’s Children published in 2006 and written by Claire Messud was one of my favourite books of the […]
The figurative language of Claire Messud…. 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 couple of very funny metaphors about actor Mandy Patinkin. I’ve been a Mandy Patinkin fan for almost 20 years. I first saw the actor on the
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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 by Canadian author Don Gillmor. When I heard the title of the latest novel by Don Gillmor, Mount Pleasant, I immediately wanted to read
The figurative language of Don Gillmor… Read More »
Word count: 286 words Reading time: About 1 minute I like to share interesting pieces of figurative language I encounter in my reading. I write today about an article on Lyme Disease by Michael Specter, published recently in the New Yorker. I can remember pulling a tick from the leg
The figurative language of Michael Specter… 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 simile from the late Lucy Grealy. I first learned about the late poet Lucy Grealy several years ago when reading Ann Patchet’s book, Truth and
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Reading time: Just over 1 minute I like to share interesting pieces of figurative language I encounter in my reading. Today I present a simile from Canadian writer Will Ferguson. I often start my day with a pitchfork, cleaning out my spam folder. Too often, the junk mails come from
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Reading time: About 1 minute I like to share interesting pieces of figurative language I encounter in my reading. Today I discuss a metaphor that Jill Lepore offers in the New Yorker. I didn’t know that Benjamin Franklin had had seven sisters! Somehow, they faded into the dark recesses of
The figurative language of Jill Lepore… Read More »
Reading time: Less than 1 minute I like to share interesting pieces of figurative language I encounter in my reading. Today I present an image from novelist Linda Spaulding. I’m not sure I fully understand the bubble-bath of praise in which Linda Spalding is reclining. Her book, The Purchase, won
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Reading time: About 1 minute I like to share interesting pieces of figurative language I encounter in my reading. Today I present a metaphor from novelist Jess Walter. I first encountered the writing of Jess Walter thanks to a Valentine’s Day gift from my husband. (He knows enough to give
The figurative language of Jess Walter… Read More »
Reading time: Just over 1 minute I like to share interesting pieces of figurative language I encounter in my reading. Today’s comes from English novelist Jeanette Winterson. I’ve heard Jeanette Winterson interviewed on the radio several times. She’s so engaging that each interview has inspired me to pick up one
The figurative language of Jeanette Winterson… Read More »
