Poetry

Thursday, January 3, 2013

This Sentence Will Make You Smarter

They seem like errant body parts, the slug like a thick, albino lip gliding sideways down the sidewalk on the skim of its own glisten.
From "Wentletrap" by Barbara Hurd
Notice that this sentence paints a word picture of the snail that Hurd is describing.  The simile. comparing it to a white lip, helps the reader imagine the slug's strange appearance.  Notice also the alliteration; the S sounds help us imagine the snail sliding.  Also, the cumulative syntax serves the writer's purpose:  she sets the image "errant body parts" in the opening clause and then elaborates with more specific imagery and description.

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