Hobbies And Interests
Making Implicit Comparisons
A metaphor is a figure of speech that compares two things and shows their similarities without using any specific comparison word, such as "like" or "as." For example: "Aunt Doris is the anchor in this family." Aunt Doris doesn't literally keep a boat in the port from blowing out to sea, but rather she's a source of stability. Many metaphors have come into everyday language as idiomatic expressions: "My new raise was the icing on the cake."
Using Comparison Words
When writers and speakers use words such as "like," "as," or "similar to" to make a comparison, the figure of speech is a simile. Here's an example using "like" as the comparison word: "He's like a pit bull. Once he gets hold of something, he never lets go." "As" is frequently used in similes with adjectives: "She was as red as a beet." Similar to metaphors, many similes have become tried-and-true idioms for daily conversation.
Stretching the Truth
The figure of speech that makes a gross exaggeration is called hyperbole. Hyperbole serves to express strong emotions or make a statement more emphatic. Examples include: "I died a thousand deaths," and "She was so frightened she jumped out of her skin." These statements are so extreme that no listener could take them at face value.
Minimizing the Facts
When an author or speaker says less than she actually means, she uses understatement, the opposite of hyperbole. For example: "Last week wasn't my best week. My car was stolen, and I got fired." Understatement often adds humor. In this case, it adds comic relief by making light of a situation that's not normally funny.
Making Things Come Alive
Personification is giving the attributes of human beings to something that's not alive. Because this figure of speech adds vividness to descriptions, it's often used in poetry. An example of personification for describing rain is: "The sky wept great falling tears." Personification can also make an everyday object, such as a doorbell, come alive: "The doorbell sang out loudly when I was still asleep in bed." In both of these examples, the personification comes through the verb.
Playing with Sounds
Some figures of speech use the sounds of language for special effects. In onomatopoeia, the sound of the word is the same as the meaning: "We heard the buzz of the saw." Animal sounds are common examples: "The cows mooed in their stalls." Another sound device is alliteration, or the repetition of consonants. The repeated sounds are usually, but not always, the first sounds of each word. Here's an example with the initial "s" repeated: "The boat sails swiftly in the sun." Alliteration adds musical interest and emphasizes the words with the repeated sound.