Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Would the phrase "ugly as sin" be personification?

No. "Ugly as sin" is a simile, which means it's a way to compare two things. You can also call "ugly as sin" a cliché, meaning it's a phrase that's been said so many times that now it's a little boring and unoriginal.


You can usually tell when something is a simile because it almost always uses the word "like" or "as."


Here are more examples of similes:


  • A smile like the sunrise

  • Laughter like music

  • Big as the ocean

  • Mean as a junkyard dog

Personification, on the other hand, is when the writer gives human characteristics to things that aren't human, such as objects or plants. "The tree whispered" and "the computer awoke from its long sleep" are two examples of personification. (Trees don't actually whisper, and computers don't actually fall asleep or wake up; those are actions that humans do.)


Both personification and similes are different ways to use language figuratively.


To help keep similes and personification straight in your mind, just look at how "simile" looks like the word "similar" because a simile shows how two different things are similar. Also, consider that "personification" has the word "person" inside it because personification shows how something is like a person.

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