Recently, I’ve come to realize that I tend to speak in simile
quite frequently. Phrases like “Picture
this…” or “It’s like…” or “Imagine being… this is kind of like that” are not at
all uncommon from my common speech.
Although this sometimes gets me into trouble (because no one understands
the referent that I’m comparing a particular situation to), unconsciously using
figurative language like simile has served me well on the job both as an
instructor and a technical writer.
Throughout this semester, I’ll be spending time teaching
ENGL 1302 (onsite at Tech) and tutoring in the University Writing Center and I
have plenty of opportunities to improve student understanding of their own
writing via simile. For example, I
caught myself in class the other day talking about how ENGL 1302 at Tech takes
some adjustment and students might struggle at times:
David: Look guys. I’m not
going to sugar-coat things for you. This class can be really tough. You’re going to struggle at times, but I’m
here to get you to the finish line.
Students: <blank stares>
David: You know it’s like if you fall off a horse, you’ve got to
pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and get right back on that sucker.
Students: <collectively nodding heads>
Student 1: Mr. Young, you ride horses?
David: <blank stare>
Do I look like I ride horses?
Relating unfamiliar concepts to familiar concepts has always
served me well as a pedagogical tool, but using figurative language like simile
comes from the need of ancient poets to effectively bring abstract concepts
into the physical realm of understanding.
When discussing simile, Aristotle stated that similes are able to immediately
convey information to an audience if the audience is familiar with the
referent. He also discussed how poets
often make use of similes to quickly provide mental images for their readers. For example, when discussing the might of
Achilles, a poet wrote that he “lept on the foes as a lion.” Rather than spend time detailing the specific
scene, the poet allows the reader’s own mind to visualize the scene based on
their own knowledge and experiences regarding lions.
Although simile and metaphor have origins in creative
writing, but the effectiveness of their ability to relate meaning to an
audience clearly has a place in both the classroom and technical communication.
