Figurative language, such as metaphor and simile, enriches a reader's understanding by drawing vivid comparisons that evoke emotions and create deeper connections to the concepts being described. In "The Cricket Sang," for instance, the comparison of twilight to strangers with "hat in hand" personifies the transition from day to night, illustrating the uncertainty and politeness of this time, thus enhancing the overall themes of change and contemplation.
Read "The Cricket Sang" by Emily Dickinson.
The cricket sang,
And set the sun,
And workmen finished, one by one,
Their seam the day upon.
The low grass loaded with the dew,
The twilight stood as strangers do
With hat in hand, polite and new,
To stay as if, or go.
A vastness, as a neighbor, came,—
A wisdom without face or name,
A peace, as hemispheres at home,—
And so the night became.
In 1-2 sentences, explain how figurative language such as use of metaphor and simile can help a reader create meaning.
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