Using metaphors and similes in your writing
Posted in Arts and Crafts on January 27th, 2011 by Jim – Comments OffJust about all forms of creative writing can be livened up by the use of similes and metaphors. Whether you are writing a short story, a poem, song lyrics, or even an essay, using figurative language can help make your descriptions vivid and memorable.
If you have trouble writing descriptively, suffer from writer’s block, or are simply looking for inspiration, practice writing using metaphors and similes. These often-confused literary devices both function by making the reader think of one thing in terms of another.
If it uses the words “is like” or “is as,” it’s a simile. Similes tend to make you think harder about the two things being compared. Metaphors are more likely to be instantly understood and require little thought to see why the two things are being treated as if they were the same. Commonly used similes in everyday conversation include:
She’s like a breath of fresh air
Getting an answer from him is like pulling teeth
Some examples of famous similes:
“My love is like a red, red rose” (poet Robert Burns)
“Like a rolling stone” (or Bob Dylan)
Quite an impact can also be made by turning a popular simile on its head, as Shakespeare did when he wrote,
“My mistress’s eyes are nothing like the sun.”
A simile compares two things as similar but not identical. A metaphor is like a simile (that’s a simile), but it speaks of two things as if they were identical. It’s is a description that is powerfully evocative, though not necessarily accurate.
The pen is mightier than the sword
An extended metaphor is when the comparison is drawn out and expanded upon over several sentences. A famous example is in this passage from Shakespeare’s Hamlet:
“You would play upon me; you would seem to know my stops; you would pluck out the heart of my mystery; you would sound me from my lowest note to the top of my compass; and there is much music, excellent voice, in this little organ, yet cannot you make it speak. ’Sblood, do you think I am easier to be played on than a pipe? Call me what instrument you will, though you can fret me, you cannot play upon me.”
Not all metaphors are quite so poetic. Common metaphors used in everyday language include:
My biological clock is ticking
My face is on fire
He has a heart of gold
You’re a sight for sore eyes
If you’re looking to include more imagery in your writing, spend some time reading and writing texts that use figurative language. If you do this on a consistent basis, you will probably surprise yourself with how much more creative you become in your writing.