SIMILE
A simile is a figure of speech that directly compares two things through the explicit use of connecting words (such as like, as, so, than, or various verbs such as resemble). Although similes and metaphors
are sometimes considered to be interchangeable, similes acknowledge the
imperfections and limitations of the comparative relationship to a
greater extent than metaphors. Metaphors are subtler and therefore
rhetorically stronger in that metaphors equate two things rather than
simply compare them. Similes also safeguard the author against
outrageous, incomplete, or unfair comparison. Generally, metaphor is the
stronger and more encompassing of the two forms of rhetorical
analogies. While similes are mainly used in forms of poetry that compare
the inanimate and the living, there are also terms in which similes and
personifications are used for humorous purposes and comparison.
Function of Simile
From the above discussion, we can infer the function of similes both
in our everyday life as well as in literature. Using similes attracts
the attention and appeals directly to the senses of listeners or readers
encouraging their imagination to comprehend what is being communicated.
In addition, it inspires life-like quality in our daily talks and in
the characters of fiction or poetry. Simile allows readers to relate the feelings of a writer or a
poet to their personal experiences. Therefore, the use of similes makes
it easier for the readers to understand the subject matter of a
literary text, which may have been otherwise too demanding to be
comprehended. Like metaphors, similes also offer variety in our ways of
thinking and offers new perspectives of viewing the world.
We can find simile examples in our daily speech. We often hear comments
like “John is as slow as a snail.” Snails are notorious for their slow
pace and here the slowness of John is compared to that of a snail. The
use of “as” in the example helps to draw the resemblance. Some more
examples of common similes are given below.
Common Examples of Simile
- Our soldiers are as brave as lions.
- Her cheeks are red like a rose.
- He is as funny as a monkey.
- The water well was as dry as a bone.
- He is as cunning as a fox.
Simile inputs vividness into what we say. Authors and poets utilize
comparisons to convey their sentiments and thoughts through vivid word
pictures like a simile.
Simile Examples in Literature
Example
Written by Joseph Conrad,
“I would have given anything for the power to soothe her frail soul, tormenting itself in its invincible ignorance like a small bird beating about the cruel wires of a cage.”
The lines have been taken from Lord Jim. The helplessness of
the soul is being compared with a bird in a cage beating itself against
the merciless wires of the cage, to be free.
In her novel To the Lighthouse, Virginia Woolf compares the velocity of her thoughts about the two men with that of spoken words.
“. . . impressions poured in upon her of those two men, and to follow her thought was like following a voice which speaks too quickly to be taken down by one’s pencil . . .”
She says both are difficult to follow and cannot be copied in words by a pencil.
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