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’ve encountered. I write today about a simile from the TV show Chopped. I try not to watch too much television but I have one very guilty pleasure: the TV program, Chopped. A cooking show that runs on the Food […]
Do you want to be chopped? 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 1940 simile from Edward R. Murrow. When my husband and I were in Washington, DC earlier this month (in the rain, with all the public museums closed) we spent a
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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 metaphor by B.C. writer Tom Hawthorne. I used to work with Tom Hawthorne, an award-winning freelance journalist who was recently named Harvey Southam guest lecturer at the University of Victoria.
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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 metaphorical sentence by James Wolcott. American journalist James Wolcott produces elaborate, labyrinthine sentences, seeping with metaphors. The cultural critic for Vanity Fair magazine and a contributing writer for the New Yorker,
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Reading time: About 1 minute I like to share interesting figurative language I encounter in my reading. I write today about a piece of personification by novelist Ian McEwan I’ve recently become intrigued by the trick of personification. Why does giving a human characteristic to an inanimate object, such as a street lamp, make it so
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Word count: 318 words 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 trio of effective metaphors from novelist Tan Twan Eng. Malaysian writer Tan Twan Eng had his first novel, The Gift of Rain, long-listed for the Man Booker prize.
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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 last five years. Smartly written
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 TV show Chicago Hope but
Figurative language about Mandy Patinkin… 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 by Canadian author Don Gillmor. When I heard the title of the latest novel by Don Gillmor, Mount Pleasant, I immediately wanted to read it. Mount Pleasant is an
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 of one of my daughters
The figurative language of Michael Specter… Read More »
