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 ...

Dependable as a dictionary, commentator Paula LaRocque explores the power of the simile. I recently read a simile that made me laugh aloud. A simile, as you know, is a comparison that uses the words ...

A simile describes something by comparing it to something else, using like or as. A simile is a useful way to describe something without using a long list of adjectives. It can create a vivid image in ...

"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 ...

Can ships and street signs ever mix? Source: iStock; Matthew Barra/Pexels English composition instructors tend to have strong opinions about how the language should be written. You may have been ...

Descriptive language is used to help the reader feel almost as if they are a part of the scene or event being described. Description is useful because it helps readers engage with the world of the ...