Both speakers and authors use figurative language for emphasis. If you saw a very small house, you might say, “Her house is like a shoebox.” or “Her house is a shoebox!” These sentences are examples of two different but equally common types of figurative language.
A simile is a comparison using like or as. For example, the sentence “Her house is like a shoebox" compares the house and the shoebox using the word like. The sentence “Her eyes are green as grass” compares her eyes and grass using the word as.
A metaphor is a very similar comparison between two things. In metaphors, though, speakers or writers simply say that something is something else. It's up to the reader to figure out that the expression is figurative, not literal. For example, the sentence “That man is a snake” compares a man to a snake by actually calling the man a snake. No reader or listener is likely to believe the man really is snake--most will understand that the man is “snake-like,” that he moves around silently, out of sight, while posing a real danger. If the man is a character in a story, he will take on some of the traits of a snake because he is equated with one in writing.
Similes and metaphors are the two most common figures of speech that use comparison for effect. Can you identify the difference between the two? (Here's a hint: Remember that similes include the word like or as while metaphors do not. In the following activity, drag the word simile or metaphor to the correct box.
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