Introduction
A simile is a figure of speech in which two dissimilar things are shown to be similar. The use of similes is not just limited to literature and poetry but they are also widely used in everyday language. In this post, we will discuss what exactly a simile is and how it can be used effectively.
What is a Simile?
A simile compares two things directly. It can be as simple as "the stars shone like diamonds" or more complicated, like this one: "The sun was a red ring around the Earth, its light filtered through smoke and ash."
Similes are often used to add color and vividness to writing, but they also have other purposes--to make a point or create a mood. In this example from Romeo and Juliet (by William Shakespeare), Mercutio uses similes to both describe Romeo's appearance and mock him:
Romeo! What man are you who, cloaked in darkness and stumbling like a blind person, has come to interfere with my plans? Be merciful - I'll set thee in thy right wits again if thou doest but speak I think it is the melancholy of mine eye thats deformed thy shape. Thou hast been pity'd since thy first hour: Pluck out those eyeballs! For their impudence deserves death. What's done cannot be undone. And pardon mercy - what's past help? Forgive me these transgressions! Let's meet each other halfway.
(Read More: Understand Simile! Learn from these list of examples)
Examples of Simile in Literature
A simile is a type of metaphor in which two unlike things are explicitly compared, generally using the words like or as. It's not a metaphor, but it can be used to make a point or describe something in more detail than if you just said what the thing was.
Here are some examples from the literature:
That night, the moon rose over the horizon and bathed my face in light. -Charlotte Bronte, Jane Eyre (1847)
"She wore a white dress with a ruffled blue silk scarf tied around her neck." - Edith Wharton, The House of Mireau (1910).
How to Use a Simile?
A simile is a figures of speech that compares two things by using the words "like" or "as." They can be used to describe a person, place or thing by comparing it to another object or person. For example: "The moon was as bright as the sun." The moon is compared to the sun here because they both give off light and are bright sources of light in our sky.
Uses of Simile in Literature
Similes are used to make a description more vivid or interesting. They can also be used to add humor, profoundness, and drama.
Let's look at some examples from literature:
Simile vs. metaphor
Simile: A simile is a way of describing something by saying that it's like another thing. For example:
- When the sun rises, it looks like a golden ball as it breaks through the surface of the water.
Metaphor: A metaphor also compares two unrelated things, but instead of using the word like or as to make the comparison, it describes one thing using words from another (e.g., describing an apple as red). For instance:
- My passion for her burns brightly within me. It can also be used for emphasis or descriptive purposes (e.g., I feel empty inside; I'm going through some tough times right now).
Similes and Exaggeration
Similes and metaphors are similar, but similes are more specific. A metaphor is a figure of speech in which one object or idea is compared to another (for example, "she was a rose"). A simile uses like or as to make the comparison (for example, "Her cheeks were like roses"). The difference between these two devices can be hard to distinguish sometimes--especially when you're reading poetry or literature--but there are some key differences, which are mandatory to learn while preparing to IELTS kinds of tests:
- Similes use words such as "like" or "as," whereas metaphors do not.
- While metaphors are often open-ended and can be interpreted in many ways, they leave little room for confusion.
- In similes, the comparison is specific rather than general. This means that when making a claim about what makes one thing equal another today, it refers back into history."
Conclusion
Similes compare two different things indirectly, by comparing them to a third thing—usually something well-known. As you can see from the examples above, similes are often used in literature because they help us understand what something is like by comparing it to something else that we already know. For example, when someone says "I feel like I'm walking on the moon," they aren't actually saying that they're on the moon--they just mean that their feeling is similar in some way (maybe because both things involve being far away from Earth).
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