ELA11, CSS, Cizeron

Figurative language creates its effect by suggesting meaning beyond the literal interpretation of the words. These words add impact and make both prose and poetry more vivid because they appeal to the reader's imagination. Here is a passage without figurative language, adapted from "The Painted Door" by Sinclair Ross:

She moved briskly, performing each little task with careful and exaggerated absorption, thinking carefully about it, using it to keep from thinking about the surrounding snow and silence. Above the quiet, steady sound of her paintbrush against the bedroom door, the sound of the clock became noticeable. Suddenly her movements became precise and deliberate . . . and she felt that she was not alone and that someone was watching her. It was the silence again, which seemed to be threatening, and always there.

Here is the same passage, with figurative language added in italics:

She moved briskly, performing each little task with careful and exaggerated absorption, binding her thoughts to it, making a screen between herself and the surrounding snow and silence. Above the quiet, steady swishing of her brush against the bedroom door, the clock began to tick. Suddenly her movements became precise, deliberate . . . as if someone had entered the room and were watching her. It was the silence again, aggressive, hovering.

Look closely at the figurative language that was used to heighten the impact of the story.

1. "binding her thoughts to it" is a metaphor showing how she used work to keep her mind occupied, to keep out unwelcome thoughts.

2. "making a screen between herself and the surrounding snow and silence" is another metaphor, showing how the character uses work to create a wall between her and both the silence inside and the dangerous weather outside.

3. "swishing" is onomatopoeia; it imitates the sound of a loaded paint brush spreading colour onto wood.

4. "as if someone had entered the room and were watching her" is a simile that makes the reader more vividly conscious of how uneasy the character feels.

5. ". . . the silence again, aggressive, hovering" is an example of personification, in which the reader easily shares the protagonist's fear of the invisible silence that is always with her.

6. "the surrounding snow and silence"  is an example of alliteration where the repetition of the "s" is repeated to enhance the isolation and silence of the setting.

---