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A 'simile' is a comparison of two unlike things, typically marked by use of "like", "as", "than", or "resembles". Examples may include "the snow was as thick as a blanket", or "she was as smart as a crow", or the usage of emotions similes like "madder than a bull" "fast like a cheetah".
Similes are widely used in literature, both modern and ancient.
Aristotle said that good similes give an "effect of brilliance", but he preferred the use of metaphor, as it was shorter, and therefore more attractive in creative usage.
Homer made famous the use of 'epic simile', one from which a whole tradition of European extended simile was born. A true epic simile involves comparison of one composite action with or in relation with another composite action.
Virgil and Dante refined the epic simile in order to develop with precision a multiplicity of comparisons with a single extensive image or action.
John Keats shows his craft manlike use of skill in Hyperion where he compares the fallen gods to the Stonehenge.
William Shakespeare uses similes, frequently involving historical references, for example in the play ''Julius Caesar''.
Similes are also widely used in modern literature. However, unlike the slightly scholarly usage of references as in ancient texts, they tend to be more spontaneous and expressive. Similes can also be read as a formulated allegory.
Day to day language also incorporates similes, such as 'He's as sly as a fox' or 'She's as dumb as a doorknob'.
In rap music, Chino XL is often regarded as one of the best in terms of incorporating similes into his songs.
Similes are marked by use of the words "like" or "as". However, "The snow blanketed the earth" is also a simile and not a metaphor because the verb "blanketed" is a shortened form of the phrase "covered like a blanket". Metaphors differ from similes in that the two objects are not compared, but treated as identical: The phrase "The snow was a blanket over the earth" is a metaphor. Some would argue that a simile is actually a specific type of metaphor.[1]
However, only some similes can be contracted into metaphors, and some metaphors can be expanded into similes. It is said to blend with the 'prosaic' metaphor of comparison.
★ Figures of speech
★ Metaphor
1. See Joseph Kelly's ''The Seagull Reader'' (2005), pages 377-379
★ Similepedia, a searchable wiki of similes from literary sources
★ Audio illustrations of simile as figure of speech
★ [1]
| Contents |
| Usage of a simile |
| Simile vs Metaphor |
| See also |
| References |
| External links |
Usage of a simile
Similes are widely used in literature, both modern and ancient.
Aristotle said that good similes give an "effect of brilliance", but he preferred the use of metaphor, as it was shorter, and therefore more attractive in creative usage.
Homer made famous the use of 'epic simile', one from which a whole tradition of European extended simile was born. A true epic simile involves comparison of one composite action with or in relation with another composite action.
Virgil and Dante refined the epic simile in order to develop with precision a multiplicity of comparisons with a single extensive image or action.
John Keats shows his craft manlike use of skill in Hyperion where he compares the fallen gods to the Stonehenge.
William Shakespeare uses similes, frequently involving historical references, for example in the play ''Julius Caesar''.
Similes are also widely used in modern literature. However, unlike the slightly scholarly usage of references as in ancient texts, they tend to be more spontaneous and expressive. Similes can also be read as a formulated allegory.
Day to day language also incorporates similes, such as 'He's as sly as a fox' or 'She's as dumb as a doorknob'.
In rap music, Chino XL is often regarded as one of the best in terms of incorporating similes into his songs.
Simile vs Metaphor
Similes are marked by use of the words "like" or "as". However, "The snow blanketed the earth" is also a simile and not a metaphor because the verb "blanketed" is a shortened form of the phrase "covered like a blanket". Metaphors differ from similes in that the two objects are not compared, but treated as identical: The phrase "The snow was a blanket over the earth" is a metaphor. Some would argue that a simile is actually a specific type of metaphor.[1]
However, only some similes can be contracted into metaphors, and some metaphors can be expanded into similes. It is said to blend with the 'prosaic' metaphor of comparison.
See also
★ Figures of speech
★ Metaphor
References
1. See Joseph Kelly's ''The Seagull Reader'' (2005), pages 377-379
External links
★ Similepedia, a searchable wiki of similes from literary sources
★ Audio illustrations of simile as figure of speech
★ [1]
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