a phrase that uses the words like or as to describe someone or something by comparing it with someone or something else that is similar handrails on stairs, steps, or a balconyįigurative – adj. a city in the US state of California near Los Angelesīanisters – n. Then, play with the words! We think learning to use figurative language in English is always more fun with a soundtrack!įaith Pirlo wrote this lesson for VOA Learning English. Search for examples of similes, metaphors, or appositives and write them down. Listen closely to some favorite songs in English. Let us end this report with some homework. This song is filled with other similes that use the adverb “as” and preposition “like,” metaphors using the linking verb “to be,” and appositive structures. Today, we looked at several kinds of figurative language in Arcadia. We know throughout many of Lana’s lyrics that “Americana” or American cultural ideas, is very important to her music. Here the appositive of her heart and America act as a metaphor. The appositive structure is not as clear based on the line structure, but from Lana singing the lyrics, we can understand that she is also comparing her heart to America. She uses the adverb, “as” to describe that the roads are just as important to keeping her alive as the system of her heart and her arteries. The simile, “All roads that lead to you as integral to me as arteries,” compares the roads that she travels on to the arteries that keep the blood moving in her body. That pump the blood that flows straight to the heart of me These two lines are connected because Los Angeles is known as the “city of angels."Īnd finally, we have another simile and an appositive as a metaphor.Īll roads that lead to you as integral to me as arteries
Lana is comparing her posture, standing straight up, to an angel. “I stand straight like an angel, with a halo…” In the next line, we can see that there is another structure we know, a simile. Note the linking verb “is.” It connects the subject to the rest of the metaphor. Lana compares herself to a map of Los Angeles, a city in California where she lives. The first line of the song is a metaphor! I stand straight like an angel, with a halo…” Now let us look at the beginning of Del Rey’s song Arcadia, from her Blue Banisters album for metaphors, similes and appositives as metaphors.
It is giving more information in a metaphorical way about the vacation. The vacation is our subject, and the dream is the appositive. Here the metaphor is still the same, but we are using an appositive structure. Let us use our previous metaphor to create an appositive metaphor structure: Sometimes we can use the appositive structure to create a metaphor. In this sentence, we need the appositive, Lana Del Rey, to know who the singer is. The singer Lana Del Rey has sold millions of albums. We need it to understand the sentence fully. If we do not use commas, the information is necessary. If we use commas around the appositive, the information is not necessary, but it creates more meaning. The appositive in this sentence is “the famous singer,” and it describes the subject, Lana Del Rey. Lana Del Rey, the famous singer, released two albums last year.
This metaphor means that the vacation was really pleasurable or relaxing.Īppositives are nouns or noun phrases that go beside another noun (sometimes the subject) in a sentence to describe it. We know that the vacation was not a dream it happened. We use the linking verb “to be” in the past tense. In this example, we are comparing the vacation to a dream. Metaphors are still considered figurative language, so the meaning is not literal, even though there is a direct comparison. Metaphors are comparisons using the linking verb “to be.” Since there is no preposition or adverb, the comparison between the two nouns is more direct. We use the adverb “as” to make the comparison of the amount or level to which something is as something else. We could also use “as” for this sentence, but the meaning and structure is different. In this example we use “is” as our linking verb and “like” as our preposition to describe her hair, comparing it to the golden color of the sun. Similes can use linking verbs such as “to be.” Similes can also use the preposition “like” or the adverb “as” to make the comparison. You might have learned in an earlier report of Everyday Grammar that similes use the words “like” or “as” to describe an indirect comparison between two nouns. singer Lana del Rey performs in the Miles Davis Hall during the 46th Montreux Jazz Festival July 4, 2012.
0 kommentar(er)
