Grade by Grade
C. Reading / D. Writing · Reading and Writing in French: Stories, Opinions and the Francophone World

Les figures de style: Reading Song Lyrics and Writing a Description

C1 C2 D1About 50 minutes
Learning goals
  • I can identify similes, metaphors, personification and repetition in a song or poem.
  • I can explain what picture or feeling a figure of speech creates for the reader.
  • I can form adverbs in -ment (lentement, doucement) and use them to describe how something happens.
  • I can write a descriptive paragraph using figures of speech and adverbs.

Words to know

une figure de style
A figure of speech: a special way of using words to create a picture or feeling.
une comparaison
A simile: compares two things with comme (rouges comme des braises).
une métaphore
A metaphor: says one thing is another, without comme (un manteau d'or).
une personnification
Personification: giving human actions to a thing or animal (le vent chante).
une répétition
Repeating a word or line for effect (Automne, automne).
un couplet / un refrain
A verse / a chorus.
un adverbe
A word that tells how, when or where (lentement = slowly).

Remember from Grade 6

In Grade 6 you read and wrote poems (and a cinquain) and learned words like vers (line) and strophe (stanza). Song lyrics work like poems set to music.

In Grade 7 you will look more closely at the style: the special tools writers use to make us see and feel things. These tools are called figures de style. Today's text is an original song about autumn in Ontario.

Maple trees with bright red, orange and yellow leaves stand beside a calm lake that reflects their colours.
L'automne en Ontario. A songwriter might use a comparison here: les érables brillent comme des flammes. What figure de style would you use? AI-generated image
Worked example

Let's read a song

Les feuilles qui dansent (chanson)

Couplet 1 Les érables sont en feu, rouges comme des braises, Le vent chante doucement dans les grands mélèzes. Les feuilles tombent lentement, une à une, Et elles dansent sous la lune.

Refrain Automne, automne, reste encore un peu ! Ton manteau d'or est si merveilleux !

Couplet 2 Les oies sauvages crient : « Au revoir ! » Elles s'envolent vers le sud avant le soir. Le soleil se couche rapidement, La nuit arrive silencieusement.

Refrain Automne, automne, reste encore un peu ! Ton manteau d'or est si merveilleux !

Glossaire: un érable = a maple tree · en feu = on fire · des braises = glowing embers · le vent = the wind · un mélèze = a tamarack / larch tree · une à une = one by one · la lune = the moon · un manteau d'or = a coat of gold · merveilleux = wonderful · les oies sauvages = wild geese · s'envoler = to fly away · le sud = the south · se coucher = to set (sun), go to bed

  1. Structure: two couplets (verses) and a refrain (chorus) that comes back. The lines rhyme in pairs: braises / mélèzes, une / lune, peu / merveilleux, revoir / soir, rapidement / silencieusement.
  2. Comparaison: rouges comme des braises: the maple leaves are compared to glowing embers, so we imagine bright, warm colours.
  3. Métaphores: Les érables sont en feu (the trees aren't really burning: their colours look like fire) and Ton manteau d'or (autumn's «coat» is the golden leaves covering everything).
  4. Personnification: Le vent chante, les feuilles dansent, les oies sauvages crient « Au revoir ! », and the singer talks to autumn as if it were a person: reste encore un peu !
  5. Répétition: Automne, automne and the repeated refrain show how much the singer wants autumn to stay.
  6. Adverbs: doucement, lentement, rapidement, silencieusement tell how things happen and set a calm, gentle mood.
  7. Mood and message: a gentle, slightly sad feeling: autumn is beautiful, but it passes quickly (the geese leave, the sun sets early).

The singer admires autumn's colours and asks it to stay a little longer, because it is beautiful but short.

comparaisoncomme des braisesmétaphoreun manteau d'orpersonnificationle vent chanterépétitionAutomne, automne
Four figures of speech from the song.

Adverbs in -ment

Many English adverbs end in -ly (slowly). Many French adverbs end in -ment.

Recipe: take the feminine form of the adjective + -ment.

  • lent → lente → lentement (slowly)
  • doux → douce → doucement (gently, softly)
  • silencieux → silencieuse → silencieusement (silently)
  • heureux → heureuse → heureusement (fortunately)

If the masculine adjective already ends in a vowel, add -ment to it: rapide → rapidement, vrai → vraiment, poli → poliment.

Two common irregular ones: bon → bien (well), mauvais → mal (badly).

The adverb usually goes right after the verb: Les feuilles tombent lentement.

masculinefeminineadverblentlente+ mentlentementslowlydouxdouce+ mentdoucementgentlysilencieuxsilencieuse+ mentsilencieusementsilentlyrapide+ mentrapidementends in a vowel:add -ment directly
Making adverbs in -ment: start from the feminine adjective and add -ment. If the adjective already ends in a vowel, add -ment directly.
Adjective (m. / f.)AdverbExample
lent / lentelentementLa neige tombe lentement.
doux / doucedoucementLe vent souffle doucement.
rapiderapidementLe soleil se couche rapidement.
silencieux / silencieusesilencieusementLa nuit arrive silencieusement.
joyeux / joyeusejoyeusementLes enfants crient joyeusement.
bonbienIl chante bien.
Adjectives become adverbs. An adjective describes a noun; an adverb describes a verb.

Why use figures of speech?

Compare:

  • Les feuilles sont rouges. (plain)
  • Les érables sont en feu, rouges comme des braises. (we see bright colours and almost feel warmth)

When you find a figure of speech, ask: What two things are being connected? What picture or feeling does it create? That's what your teacher means by analyzing the author's style.

Worked example

Let's write a winter description

Write 4 sentences about a winter morning using a simile, a metaphor, a personification and two adverbs in -ment.

  1. Simile with comme: La neige est blanche comme du sucre.
  2. Metaphor (no comme): Le lac est un grand miroir gelé.
  3. Personification + adverb: Le vent siffle doucement à ma fenêtre. (siffler = to whistle)
  4. Adverb with an action: Je marche lentement pour ne pas glisser sur la glace.
  5. Check: each adverb is made from the feminine adjective (douce → doucement, lente → lentement) and comes after its verb.

La neige est blanche comme du sucre. Le lac est un grand miroir gelé. Le vent siffle doucement à ma fenêtre. Je marche lentement pour ne pas glisser sur la glace.

Just for fun

Q: What did the maple tree say in October?

A: « Je suis en feu ! » Don't worry, it's only a metaphor.

Hands-on activity

Write a new verse

You need: paper, a pencil; optional: a window, a walk outside with a grown-up, or a photo of a season.

  1. Look outside (or at a photo) for 2 minutes. List 5 things you see or hear, in French.
  2. Write a new couplet (4 lines) for Les feuilles qui dansent, or for a winter version: Les flocons qui dansent.
  3. Include at least one simile (comme), one metaphor or personification, and two adverbs in -ment.
  4. Try to make lines 1–2 and 3–4 rhyme.
  5. Read or sing your verse to your family to any tune you like. Ask them to spot your figures of speech.

Your turn

1

Find the simile (comparaison) in the song. What are the two things compared?

2

Find two examples of personification.

3

What does Ton manteau d'or refer to?

4

Why is the refrain repeated?

5

Make an adverb from lent.

6

Find the 4 adverbs in -ment in the song.

7

What do the geese do in verse 2, and what does this tell us about the season?

More practice: warm-up

1

Which word signals a simile in French?

2

Translate: doucement

3

What is a refrain?

4

Adverb from rapide?

5

Simile or metaphor? La lune est une lampe.

More practice: on your own

1

Make an adverb from heureux. Show the steps.

2

Name the figure: Le soleil sourit aux enfants.

3

Name the figure: Mon frère est rapide comme une fusée.

4

Complete with an adverb: Le chat dort ___ (calme).

5

Adjective or adverb? Choose: Elle chante (bon / bien).

Challenge

1

Turn this plain sentence into one with a metaphor: La neige couvre le jardin.

2

Explain the effect of the four adverbs in the song. What mood do they create together?

3

Write a 4-line verse about spring with one simile, one personification and one adverb in -ment.

Check your understanding

Quiz

1.

Rouges comme des braises is a...

2.

Le vent chante is an example of...

3.

Which is a metaphor?

4.

The adverb from doux is...

5.

The adverb from bon is...

6.

What is the main feeling of the song?

7.

Where does the adverb usually go?

For parents and teachers

Big idea: Your child identifies figures of speech and explains their effect, which is part of analyzing an author's style (C2), uses them to understand mood and message (C1), and uses them in their own descriptive writing (D1). Adverbs in -ment help make writing more precise.

How to help:

  • Listen to a song you like (in any language) and hunt for similes and personification together.
  • On a walk, take turns making French similes: Le ciel est gris comme ...

Common difficulties:

  • Confusing simile and metaphor: remember comme = simile.
  • Building adverbs from the masculine form (douxment). Always start from the feminine.
  • Using bon instead of bien after a verb.

Canadian context: maple trees (érables), tamaracks (mélèzes) and wild geese flying south are familiar sights of an Ontario autumn.