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 metaphor from scientist Hope Jahren… As a person who completed an honours degree in political science in 1979 — at a time when my department lacked a single […]
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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 some similes and metaphors from Nicholson Baker… I had never heard of the writer Nicholson Baker until my late friend Lloyd Dykk urged me to read
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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 Colm Toibin… I almost didn’t read the novel Brooklyn, by Colm Toibin (pictured above). I’d seen the Academy-Award-nominated movie and found it a bit dull. “Meh, that
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Reading time: Less than 2 minutes I like to share interesting pieces of figurative language I encounter in my reading. I write today about a series of brilliant similes and metaphors from Helen Macdonald…. I wrote yesterday about a new word I learned from Helen Macdonald, author of H is for Hawk. More
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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 series of similes from Abigail Thomas… When I heard about the memoir What Comes Next and How to Like It by Abigail Thomas, I knew I had to read it.
The figurative language of Abigail Thomas… 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 series of metaphors from Anne Enright…. I zipped through the marvellous novel The Green Road, by Anne Enright (pictured above), late last year. But my end-of-the-year finish meant it
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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 Kim Severson… When we renovated our house six years ago we spent a lot of effort on our kitchen. I’m a serious cook, as is
The figurative language of Kim Severson… 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 several striking metaphors from novelist Ayelet Waldman… I read Ayelet Waldman’s affecting 2014 novel, Love and Treasure, last fall. It told the story of the Hungarian Gold Train,
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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 — and a simile — from Guy Lawson. I read a New York Times Magazine piece about new Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, some time
The figurative language of Guy Lawson… Read More »
Reading time: Less than 2 minutes I like to share interesting pieces of figurative language I encounter in my reading. I write today about a series of metaphors and similes from Anthony Doerr. One of my favourite books of the last five years, the novel All The Light We Cannot See, by
The figurative language of Anthony Doerr.. Read More »
