1. From just Plain Jane, to Wild and Insane!

2. Key #1: Figurative Language -- Simile
Simile: A simile is a figure of speech that uses like or as to make a direct comparison between two unlike ideas.
Everyday speech often contains similes, such as “pale as a ghost,” “good as gold,” “spread like wildfire,” and “clever as a fox.”

3. Key #2: Figurative Language -- Metaphor
Metaphor: A metaphor is a figure of speech in which something is described as though it were something else. A metaphor, like a simile, works by pointing out a similarity between two unlike things.
Ex: The snow was a white blanket over the town.

4. Simile v. Metaphor: The Smack Down
“A simile uses like or as to connect things; a metaphor eschews [avoids] both words.
Simile: “My love for you is like old lunchmeat. Still here, but way past its expiration date.”
Metaphor: “My love for you is a zombie. Dead but still walking around.”
The simile creates a little distance; this is like that. Not same, but similar. A metaphor undercuts that distance. This is that. Not just similar, but absolutely (though abstractly) the same” (Wending, 2012).

5. Key #3: Figurative Language -- Personification
Personification: Personification is a type of figurative language in which a nonhuman subject is given human characteristics.
Ex: The sky was sad. It cried today.