Lesson video

Hello and welcome to today's lesson.

My name is Mr. Young and it is lovely to see you again on another lesson in this malevolent characters fiction writing sequence.

So today's lesson is going to be all about using figurative language as effectively as we possibly can when creating our malevolent characters.

So let's get started.

So today's lesson has a very clear learning outcome.

So let's take a look at what it is.

So by the end of today's lesson, we should all be able to create effective similes and metaphors to describe a malevolent character.

And just as in any lesson, we have some really important words, our keywords.

So I do encourage you just to pause the video, spend some time with these words, particularly if they are new to you, because we're gonna be using them quite a bit.

Let's take a look at what they are.

Figurative language, a way of expressing ideas by using words or phrases that go beyond their literal meaning.

And we're gonna really kind of focus on using our figurative language when creating characters today.

A simile, a comparison of two things using the words 'like' or 'as'.

A metaphor, a direct comparison of two things using the verb 'to be'.

A cliche, a phrase or opinion that is overused.

And we generally want to avoid using cliches where possible.

And finally, original, the quality of being different or new.

So we want our writing to be as original as it can possibly be.

And we've got two learning cycles today.

Super excited to go through both of them with you today.

So learning cycle one is going to be all about using similes and metaphors and particularly how we can use them in a really kind of creative and original way.

And we're gonna look at a really kind of really fantastic piece of writing from "The Picture Of Dorian Grey," that really shows those things being used well, particularly in relation to character.

And then we're gonna have a go ourselves in learning cycle two, and we're gonna work on crafting our own powerful similes and metaphors, particularly when creating our own characters.

So let's get started with learning cycle one.

So similes and metaphors are a type of figurative language, and this means that they describe things in a way that is not literal.

So for example, 'Her smile beamed as brightly as the sun,' works as a simile.

If we wanted to change this into a metaphor, we would need to make a direct comparison between the smile and what we are comparing it to.

So for example, 'Her smile was a ray of sunshine' works as a metaphor.

And crucially, these are pieces of figurative language because her smile is not literally as bright as the sun and it is not literally a ray of sunshine.

That's what makes it figurative language in this context.

So, quick discussion question for me then please.

Why do you think it's important for writers to use a range of similes and metaphors in their descriptive writing? Why don't we just keep everything kind of super literal, say exactly what everything is factually and literally, why would we use this kind of figurative language in our writing? So hit that Pause button, have a quick discussion, dot down some ideas if you're working independently, and then do push Play when you'd like to continue.

(no audio) Okay, fantastic.

Start there.

Some really fantastic discussions taking a place across the classroom, which I love to see.

So let's keep that energy, let's keep that enthusiasm going throughout today's learning.

So some of the things we could have said are as follows, we might have said that it gives the reader more detail about a character or event.

It helps create vivid images for the reader.

It helps to show a character's emotion.

And finally, it allows the writer to be more specific about the details they want to convey about a character or event.

So that will maybe be achieved better by using figurative language over say more typical literal language.

So let's look at an example of simile and metaphor in action.

So the following example is taken from Oscar Wilde to "The Picture Of Dorian Grey," a really fantastic novel.

And in this part of the story, Dorian Grey, someone who is obsessed with his youth and his looks, has just seen a portrait of himself for the first time.

He's impressed by how good he looks in the portrait, but this only reminds him that he won't be young and good looking forever.

So let's take a look.

"As he fought a bit, a sharp pang of pain struck through him like a knife, and made each delicate fibre of his nature quiver.

His eyes deepened into amethyst and across them came a mist of tears.

He felt as if a hand of ice had been laid upon his heart." So quick discussion for me then please, what emotion do you think Grey is feeling here and how do you know? So hit that Pause button, have a quick discussion, push Play when you'd like to proceed.

(no audio) Okay, great job to everybody who spoke about the following things.

So potentially "pain," you know, he is possibly feeling distressed or hurt in some way.

Again, we've also got this word, "delicate," which can suggest potentially that he's easily upset.

We've also got this reference to "tears," haven't we? Which emphasises that he's upset or emotional in some way.

And we've got this kind of double hit of the word, "ice" and then "heart." So he might be feeling a sense of dread that is certainly communicated to us right at the end, isn't it? So quick check for understanding for me then please.

Why do writers include similes and metaphors in their writing? Is it A, to allow them to use more sophisticated vocabulary? Is it B, to allow them to be more specific in the details they offer? Or is it C, to help create vivid images for the reader? So hit that Pause button, complete the task, and then do push Play when you'd like to see which is correct.

(no audio) Okay, great job if you identified B and C.

I think these are both really kind of valid answers to that question.

It definitely allows 'em to be more specific.

And we're gonna look again at that "Picture Of Dorian Grey" example and show how Oscar Wilde has been really specific in the characterization of Dorian Grey.

And it also helps create vivid images for the reader, doesn't it? Really well done if he picked up on those.

So let's take a look at that again as part of our practise task.

So I would like you to reread the paragraph taken from Wilde to the "Picture Of Dorian Grey," which can be found on the worksheet for today's lesson.

And then firstly, I would like you to identify the similes and the metaphors that have been used.

And secondly, choose two identified examples and annotate them to explain what you think they're trying to show about the character.

So really, really excited to see how you get on with this one, how you kind of look at these fantastic similes and metaphors that Oscar Wilde has used and kind of really applying your insight and your intelligence to working out what they tell us about this character.

So hit that Pause button, complete the task, and then do push Play when you'd like to move on to some feedback.

(no audio) Okay, fantastic work on that task.

I really hope you enjoyed kind of reading that extract.

It really is a really excellent example of how we can characterise a character successfully using similes and metaphors.

So here's how you might have approached this task.

So let's just reacquaint ourselves one more time with this extract.

"As he thought of it a sharp pang of pain struck through him like a knife, and made each delicate fibre of his nature quiver.

His eyes deepened into amethyst and across them came a mist of tears.

He felt as if a hand of ice had been laid upon his heart." So we could have said the following, couldn't we? We've got a simile here, "A sharp pang of pain struck through him like a knife." And this compares his emotion to being struck by a knife to emphasise the sharpness of this emotion.

And again, we've got a metaphor here, which is, "His eyes deepening into amethyst." So amethyst is a precious stone, a kind of precious stone that's a bit kind of yellow or orange.

So it doesn't mean his eyes are literally turning to amethyst 'cause it's a metaphor.

So it describes the darkness coming over his eyes as his emotion grows.

Amethyst is a very deep colour, and again, we've got this simile here.

"He felt as if a hand of ice." So again, this reinforces the chilling sensation Grey feels as he realises he will grow old one day.

Really fantastic effort if you picked up on these in your own discussions.

Okay then we have now reached learning cycle two, where we're gonna get a great opportunity to create our own powerful similes and metaphors in the context of creating our own character.

So let's get started.

So it is not enough to just simply use kind of any old simile or metaphor when we're creating a character.

You know, we want them to be really effective ones, they're not all created equal.

And in particular we want to avoid using examples that are too cliche.

So this means any which are unoriginal or overused.

So if you've heard a simile before or you've heard a metaphor before, that might indicate that it is a little bit cliche.

So my first discussion question for you is as follows, can you think of any cliched similes or metaphors, ones that you may have heard several times before? So hit that Pause button, complete the task, and then do push Play when you'd like to continue.

(no audio) Okay, fantastic effort on that first discussion question.

We're hearing lots of really good examples of cliched similes and metaphors that we want to avoid in our writing.

You know, some of the ones that I hear quite a lot and that really jump out to me are as follows.

So we could say as busy as a bee, we could say as cold as ice.

We could say a heart of stone or potentially the world is your oyster.

These are all similes and metaphors that are really quite tired, aren't they? We don't really want to them in our own writing because they're not very original.

They're not very kind of powerful.

So Laura thinks back to the 'Dorian Grey' extract and says, "Some of the similes and metaphors used in the extract seem a bit cliche though, don't they?" And I think Laura is correct here.

They could be seen as a little bit cliche, but Wilde does interesting things with them that makes them much more powerful and effective.

Let's take a look.

So let's remind ourselves of that extract.

So the extract of 'Dorian Grey' reads as follows.

"As he thought of it, a sharp pang of pain struck through him like a knife, and made each delicate fibre of his nature quiver.

His eyes deepened into amethyst and across them came a mist of tears.

He felt as if a hand of ice had been laid upon his heart." So let's take a look at that in a bit more detail.

Well, firstly, we've got this example here.

So, "A sharp pang of pain struck through him like a knife, and made each delicate fibre of his nature quiver." So this uses a specific and extended image, which adds extra detail about the effect of the pain that made each delicate fibre bit, for example.

So we could say it is potentially a little bit cliche, talking about like a knife with a pain.

But what Oscar Wilde does to it makes it much more powerful and effective.

Again, we've also got this idea of here of, "His eyes deepened into amethyst." And we could say this uses a colour to represent an emotion which creates a vivid image for the reader and links the metaphor to the feelings of the character.

He's feeling a deep upset and is distressed at his realisation.

This is personal to his character.

And finally we've got this one here.

"He felt as if a hand of ice had been laid upon his heart." So arguably this is quite a cliche thing to say to talk about a hand of ice on your heart certainly seems like an idea we may have seen before.

However, Wilde though does several things to make this powerful and effective.

So for example, he combines simile and metaphor.

He talks about as if a hand and then a hand of ice.

That makes it quite powerful.

Again, he specifies hand and heart creating a vivid and less used image.

And finally, he combines the physical with the emotional.

So he takes a reasonably cliche thing to say, and by doing these things, he makes it much more powerful as a result.

So quick check for understanding for me then please.

How does Wilde avoid using cliche in "The Picture Of Dorian Grey?" Is it A, he combines the physical with the emotional? Is it B, he adds extra detail to the comparison he's making? Or is it C? He uses advanced vocabulary to change the image.

So hit that Pause button, complete the task, and then do push Play when you'd like to continue.

(no audio) Okay, excellent work if you identified A and B as the correct answer.

So Wilde takes these reasonably cliched ideas and he combines the physical with the emotional and he adds extra detail to the comparison he's making to make them much more powerful and much more effective.

So just like Oscar Wilde, we can add extra details to the similes and metaphors that we create to make them more original, imaginative, and exciting.

Let's take a look at an example.

So we could say "Her smile was as bright as the sun." And I would say that is definitely quite a cliched simile, isn't it? It feels like something we definitely could have heard before and it feels quite kind of tired just to compare someone's smile to the sun.

But we could make that more original in the following way.

We could say, "Her smile was as bright as the first morning light breaking through the mist." And we could say this example is still comparing her smile to the sun, but it uses specific details about the morning light and more references to the weather through the mist.

So overall taken together, it becomes much, much more powerful.

So let's take a look at another cliched metaphor.

He had a heart of stone.

Again, that feels like something we could have read many, many times, doesn't it? So how could you make this more original by adding extra detail? Quick discussion question for me.

So hit that Pause button, discuss some ideas, and then do push Play when you'd like to proceed.

(no audio) Okay, fantastic work on that, I'm hearing some really interesting ways that we could actually develop that we could make that more powerful, more effective, and more original.

Something that really jumped out to me was as follows.

We could have said potentially, "His heart was a locked chest hiding its secrets away from the world." So this example still conveys that the character doesn't share their emotions, but it does use a more original way of doing that.

So taking the heart of stone and making it a locked chest, hiding its secrets away from the world.

We get the same sentiment, but it's just significantly more original, isn't it? So we have reached our final practise task of today's lesson.

So let's make this one count.

I would like you to complete the sentences below to craft imaginative and original similes and metaphors about a malevolent character.

And your sentence starters are as follows.

His anger was like.

Her laugh was a.

His presence was like.

Her eyes were as.

And crucially, I've given you some things to avoid there.

Some things that could be considered cliched ways to finish that.

So for example, comparing his anger to a volcano, comparing her laugh to a hyena's, comparing his presence to a storm and comparing her eyes to be like as cold as ice are really kind of cliche things that we want to avoid.

So consider these.

When you are completing this task.

You could consider combining emotion with physical description.

You consider adding extra detail to the comparison.

And finally using specific ideas related to your character.

So this is a fantastic skill in English that can really, really enhance our creative writing.

So super excited to see how you get on with this one.

So hit that Pause button, complete the task, and then do push Play when you'd like to proceed.

(no audio) Okay, fantastic effort on that task.

Being able to craft and create really original similes and metaphors is a great skill in English that will really elevate your creative writing.

So it's absolutely fantastic to see you doing that.

So I would like you now to self-assess your work.

And in particular, ask yourself the following questions.

Did you combine emotion with physical description? Did you add extra detail to the comparisons you made? And finally, did you use specific related to your character? So in this case, them being malevolent.

And in particular, I would like you to identify your strongest example and explain to a partner why this is your most effective example of figurative language.

What does this really kind of add and enhance to your piece of writing? So pause the video, complete that task, and then do push Play when you'd like to continue.

(no audio) Okay, then we have reached the end of today's lesson and we have worked incredibly hard today.

You have worked incredibly well throughout today's lesson crafting these original examples of figurative language.

So let's just recap those things that we've looked at today.

So firstly, figurative language is non-literal language.

Examples of methods which are figurative include simile and metaphor.

Using figurative language can help enhance your descriptions as it creates more vivid detail for the reader.

You should avoid using cliched examples when crafting similes and metaphors.

It's better to be original in thoughts.

And finally, one way to avoid cliches is to add additional detail to make it specific to your character.

It's been an absolute pleasure to teach you today, and I really look forward to teaching you on another lesson in this sequence.

So thank you very much and goodbye.