"Narcissus" by Caravaggio (c. 1598). Source: Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain What is an allegory? An allegory (Greek, "a speaking about something else") is a complete and cohesive narrative, for ...

Jan. 14-20 is Idiom Week, and today we thought we’d have a heart-to-heart about some strange phrases we use. Idioms, metaphors and similes are all types of figurative language. According to ...

Samuel Taylor Coleridge called metaphor “an act of the imagination,” whereas he relegated simile to “an act of fancy.” Photo from National Portrait Gallery, 1795. Public Domain Samuel Taylor Coleridge ...

JANINE: Big crowd in tonight, Jeff. JEFF: Including Bob the superfan. Bob here has never actually seen Jess perform. JANINE: Let’s help him picture her in his head - we can use metaphors and similes.

A metaphor is a figure of speech that describes something by saying it is something else. It's not actually true but it gives the reader a clearer idea of what it is like. Extended metaphors are ...

"You have to win the battle against depression", "what counts is not surrendering" and "this is not a short road" are examples of conceptual metaphors typically used ...

Joy Clarkson peels back the veil of overfamiliarity from commonplace expressions and images. I’m afraid these men would only slow me down,” says a cocksure Benedict Cumberbatch in the role of the ...

If we brighten our writing and delight a reader, we can feel more confident that our message is getting through. Many of you responded to my invitation to submit samples, from any source, of writing ...