Metaphors, similes, hyperbole, alliteration and wordplay are all techniques that, used judiciously, can liven up your writing. I’ll tackle each one of them over the coming weeks but let’s start with metaphors.
You’ll be familiar with expressions such as “It’s raining cats and dogs”, “My son is a couch potato”, “The boss is a dragon”, “His teacher planted the seeds of wisdom” and so on. A metaphor describes something by using an analogy with something completely different. If we hear someone has “egg on their face” we’re expected to know they haven’t been the victim of a random egg thrower but have been caught in an embarrassing situation.
The beauty of a metaphor is its ability to bring a dull sentence to life and explain a complex concept with startling clarity. The danger is that metaphors do their job so brilliantly that they tend to become overused, which can make your writing appear clichéd or corny. The trick is to use them sparingly. Better still, invent your own – something that is easier said than done. After all, we still use Charles Dickens’ “The law is an ass”because we have yet to come up with something better to describe the often illogical decisions made in our courts. But that’s a whole different “kettle of fish”…
Next time, similes!
