THE POWER OF SIMILES AND METAPHORS Similes are

THE POWER OF SIMILES AND METAPHORS. Similes are like Tobasco sauce. Without them our writing is as bland as the Sahara’s dust.

THE SIMILE A figure of speech in which two essentially unlike things are compared, often in a phrase introduced by like, than or as, as in "How like the winter hath your absence been" or "So are you to my thoughts as food to life" (Billy Shakes). Ogres. are like onions!

Be original! � Boring and cliché = the impact of the simile is lost. � Sharp as a tack. � Blind as a bat. � Slower than a turtle. � Strong as an ox. � Life is like a box of chocolates. (or a bowl of cherries for that matter. )

THE METAPHOR The comparison of one thing to another without the use of like or as: “A man is but a weak reed”; “The road was a ribbon of moonlight. ” If it helps, think of a metaphor as a simile on a diet because it avoids the “extra” word(s).

Why use a simile or metaphor? � Speakers and writers use similes/metaphors to emphasize a certain characteristic of something. � The comparison made is often unusual, which allows the listener or reader to form a mental image of the comparison. � This adds impact and increases understanding of what the speaker or writer is trying to communicate.

Here are some beauties! Are they similes or metaphors? � Over at the east side of town the sky is a snotty handkerchief. � Human speech is like a cracked cauldron on which we bang out tunes to move the stars to pity. � Here comes the white-haired thistle seed stumbling past through the branches like a paper lantern carried by a blind man. � The rain came down in long knitting needles.