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Metaphor-A metaphor is a comparison of two things without using like or as. The two things could be related (like bacon and heaven), or they could be totally different (cough drops and shaving cream… I can actually find a metaphor for those two, surprisingly). Example: Her hair was a silky curtain, its soft and shiny folds draped over her shoulders. Extended metaphors are when you write an entire poem (or any piece of prose, really) sticking to one metaphor. For an example (because I really do NOT want to write out an entire poem for the sake of an example), see “Winter’s Cruelty”, which is an extended metaphor.

Simile-A simile is a comparison of two things USING the words like or as. As with the metaphor, they could be similar or totally unrelated. There are two kinds of similes, and they have a certain form. One: (subject 1) is like (subject 2). This kind of simile uses like. If you want to make it interesting, you can add an adjective somewhere in there. Adjectives always make things more awesome. Two: (subject 1) was as (adjective) as (subject 2). In this kind of simile, an adjective is always used. This is even confusing ME a little, so here are some examples to clear things up. Example 1 (using like): The dewdrops are like glitter on the grass. Example 2 (using as): He was as smooth as an oiled hinge. Many sayings we use in everyday language (quiet as a mouse, as easy as pie [it came from “as easy as eating pie, because pie is extremely difficult to make well], eats like a bird, etc.) are similes.

Personification-Personification is when you give an inanimate or non-human object human qualities. Have you ever said, “Aah! My printer hates me!”? That’s personification (actually that’s something called resistentialism, which is the thought that object that have no thoughts are out to get you. It’s a form of personification). Personification is often used in poetry and other forms of prose to give a certain human quality to things, therefore the reader relates to the subject of the poem more emotionally. Example: The tree stood, a tall figure in the clearing. Did you find the personification? It’s the word “stood”. Trees don’t stand! Standing would imply that they had feet, which they do not. If you’ve read The Giving Tree (which everyone in my English class has), you’ve probably noticed that the tree talks. That is personification as used throughout an entire story.

Alliteration-Alliteration is where every word or close to every word starts with the same letter or sound. Many humorous poets (Jack Prelutsky, Shel Silverstein [even his NAME is alliteration!], Piet Hein, Ogden Nash, etc.) use alliteration as a form of wit. If you come across a poem with alliteration, say it out loud, because it’s fun. Example: Totally torn-up telephones are terrible for transmission. It’s actually pretty fun to write.

Rhyme scheme-A rhyme scheme is a pattern of rhymes at the end of lines. The definition sounds much more complicated than it actually is. If you’ve ever read a nonsense poem, a limerick, or a children’s book, then you’ve probably heard a rhyme scheme. A popular rhyme scheme would be A-B-A-B, meaning rhyme A would be the first line, rhyme B would be the second line, so on and so forth. There are also A-A-B-B, A-A-A-B-C-C-C-B, and Shakespeare’s sonnets had A-B-A-B-C-D-C-D-E-F-E-F-G-G. For an example, you can see Where I Like to Be, which has a rhyme scheme of (I think) A-A-B-C-D/E-E-F-D (yeah, it’s weird. Deal with it). A limerick has a rhyme scheme of A-A-B-B-A

Imagery-Imagery is visually descriptive language. If you’ve ever read a book, which I assume everyone has, you’ve read imagery. Imagery is so commonly used that most people don’t even think of it as a form of figurative language, but it is. Agh, I’m really bad at explaining this, so I’ll just give an example. You have the sentence, “He walked down the hall.” It’s not a bad sentence, but it’s not very descriptive either. How did he walk? What does the hall look like? Who is he? Countless questions can be answered (or at least partly answered) with simple imagery. Now, look at this. I’ve taken “He walked down the hall” and turned it into imagery: “He sauntered down the stone corridor, his tarry black shoes clicking loudly on the slick floor.” I just created a character, setting, and mood, all in one sentence. Thanks, imagery!

Pun-A pun is a kind of figurative language, believe it or not. It’s a way of twisting the meaning of something for humorous purposes. I really don’t have that much to say on puns, only that they’re very punny (har har)!! A lot of people claim that puns are childish and silly, but I think they’re awesome. A type of pun that you’ve probably heard of is an oxymoron. Oxymorons are phrases in which the words are opposites, for example, “a true lie” is an oxymoron, along with “jumbo shrimp”, “alone together” and “deafening silence”. Another type of pun would be a play on words, such as “The optometrist made a spectacle of himself”. Yeah, I guess puns are a little childish… but that’s what makes them amazing!

Hyperbole-A hyperbole is an exaggerated claim or a statement that isn’t intended to be taken literally. Have you ever said, "This meal could feed an army"? It probably couldn't feed an entire army, but you say it anyways. That’s an example of a hyperbole. Another, cuter, example of a hyperbole is when (in the popular movie Despicable Me) the little girl looks at a stuffed unicorn and cries, “It’s so fluffy I’m gonna die!” She’s not actually going to die (that would be tragic, since she's so adorable). It’s a hyperbole.