Simile

Simile

Definition

1.       A simile is a figure of speech that makes a comparison, showing similarities between two different things. Unlike a metaphor, a simile draws resemblance with the help of the words “like” or “as”. Therefore, it is a direct comparison.

2.      A simile (/ˈsɪməli/) is a figure of speech that directly compares two things. Although similes and metaphors are similar, similes explicitly use connecting words (such as like, as, so, than, or various verbs such as resemble), though these specific words are not always necessary.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.

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.

Simile Examples in Literature

Example #1

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.

Example #2

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

Reference

http://literarydevices.net/simile/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simile