SIMILE, METAPHOR, AND PERSONIFICATION Or, how to identify the three most common figures of speech.

WHAT DO YOU KNOW?  In your notes, take a guess at what the following three things mean: Simile Metaphor Personification

SIMILE  A figure of speech that compares two seemingly unlike things using like or as.  Examples: She grew on him like she was a colony of E. Coli, and he was room- temperature Canadian beef. She had a deep, throaty, genuine laugh, like that sound a dog makes just before it throws up. The plan was simple, like my brother-in-law Phil. But unlike Phil, this plan just might work. Superman is not as fast as a speeding bullet, he is faster!

METAPHOR  A figure of speech comparing two seemingly unlike things without using like or as.  Examples: Even in his last years, Granddad’s mind was a steel trap, only one that had been left out so long it had rusted shut. She was a couch potato in the gravy boat of life, flopping dejectedly on the sofa. When the mom grabbed the child, he became a struggling fish caught on the end of a fisherman’s hook.

PERSONIFICATION  A figure of speech in which human qualities are given to an animal, an object, or an idea.  A more specific type of metaphor. Never uses like or as.  Example: You're in good hands with Allstate. Nothing hugs like Huggies. The camera loves me. The elephant waved its trunk in my direction. The wind whispered in my ear. As the woman neared the blackjack table, the gambling monster reared its ugly head and encouraged her on.

YOUR TURN  In groups of four, you will receive six noun cards. It is your job to come up with 4 similes and 4 metaphors using the cards. Combine any two, and write out the sentence with an explanation of their connection.  For example, if I received the cards DISNEYLAND and HEAVEN, I could write: Metaphor: Disneyland is heaven on earth because it is where all dreams come true. Simile: Disneyland is like heaven because it is where all dreams come true.  YOU CANNOT USE A PAIRING TWICE.