The Tools of Poetry 2:Figures of Speech

English I HonorsMr. Popovich

• metaphor

A figure of speech compares one thing to another, seemingly unlike thing.

Three common figures of speech are

• simile

• personification

Figures of Speech

leaves twirled like dancers on the water

the leaves were dancers twirling down the stream

leaves danced on the water

Simile—comparison between two unlike things, using a word such as like, as, or than.

The dew on the leaves glistened as brilliantly as loose diamonds on silk.

That child’s eyes are warmer than the summer’s sandy beach.

A lone oak tree stood in the front yard like an aged but dedicated sentry.

Simile

Metaphors compare two unlike things without using the connective like, as, than, or resembles.

Direct Metaphors say something is something else.

Metaphor

My soul is an enchanted boat from “Prometheus Unbound” by Percy Bysshe Shelley

Implied metaphors suggest a comparison between two things instead of stating it directly.

These ideas spread their wings and soared freely.

Even single words can contain implied metaphors.

Tiger, tiger, burning brightIn the forests of the night

from “The Tiger” by William Blake

Metaphor

Extended metaphors are developed over several lines or even stanzas of a literary work.

All the world's a stage,And all the men and women merely players.They have their exits and their entrances;And one man in his time plays many parts,His acts being seven ages.

from As You Like It by William Shakespeare

Metaphor

Personification is a figure of speech in which a nonhuman thing or abstract idea is talked about as

if it were human.

Personification

Somewhere the wind-flowers fling their heads back,

Stirred by an impetuous wind. from “Study” by D. H. Lawrence

Example: “O Captain, my Captain” —Walt Whitman

Apostrophe is a direct address to an inanimate object, abstract quality, or person who is not there.

Other Figures of Speech

Hyperbole is an extreme exaggeration for effect.

Example: “Catch a falling star” —John Donne

Paradox is a statement that appears to be contradictory, but that on closer inspection may be true

Example: “Men work together who work apart” —Robert Frost

Identify each of the following as an example of simile, metaphor, or personification.

Desolate winds that beat the doors of Heavenfrom “A Cradle Song” by W. B. Yeats

And all hours long, the townRoars like a beast in a cave

from “Apprehension” by D. H. Lawrence

The field of cornflower yellow is a scarf at the neck of the copper sunburned woman

from “Autumn Movement” by Carl Sandburg

Review

Quick Check

Personification

Simile

Metaphor

The End