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Simile and Metaphor

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Majiel Mirabel-Perida
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8 views

Simile and Metaphor

Uploaded by

Majiel Mirabel-Perida
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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What is a simile?

A simile (pronounced SIM-i-lee) is figurative language that compares two things using the
words “like” or “as.” It is also known as an indirect comparison.

As a writer, similes give you the power to create vivid imagery and descriptions for your
reader.

If you write that someone is . . .

as thin as a rail.

as American as apple pie.

like an open book.

Then you’re writing in similes. The person you’re writing about does not literally have the
same width as a rail. The comparison between the character and a rail creates a better
image for your reader than saying, “She’s skinny.”

Similes have a simple structure: X is like Y. The comparison uses “like,” “as,” or another
connector. And that’s pretty much it.
What are some examples of similes?
Similes are everywhere: in poems, songs, novels, news reports, everyday conversation,
and any writing or speech using a creative comparison that involves the words like or as.
• There were rockets like a flight of scintillating birds singing with sweet voices.
(J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring)
You may kill me with your hatefulness, But still, like air, I’ll rise. (Maya Angelou,
“Still I Rise”)
• The man moved with exquisite calm, like a leaf drifting on the surface of a pond,
making its own way on gentle currents. (Colson Whitehead, The Underground
Railroad)
• You are like a hurricane/There’s calm in your eye (Neil Young, “Hurricane”)
• Then she looks up at us with a scowl, like we’re keeping something from her,
like we’re evil stepmothers keeping her rightful crown under lock and key.
(Celeste Ng, “Girls, at Play”)
• Your love is like a rollercoaster (Ohio Players, “Love Rollercoaster”)
• So you have no frame of reference here, Donny. You’re like a child who
wanders into the middle of a movie …. (Walter Sobchak, The Big Lebowski)

What is a metaphor?
A metaphor is a direct comparison between two things. Metaphors don’t suggest one thing
is like another; they declare that one thing is another: Love is a battlefield. He is the black
sheep of the family. You are my lucky star.

Metaphors are abundant in our language, and often you won’t even know you’re using
them.

If someone asks, “Do I make myself clear?”

And you answer, “Crystal.”

You’ve replied using a metaphor. Their request has the same clarity as a transparent
crystal.

What are some examples of metaphors?


Metaphors are especially common in creative writing, but they also appear in other art
forms and everyday speech.
• But that the dread of something after death, the undiscover’d country (William
Shakespeare, Hamlet)
• “Hope” is the thing with feathers / That perches in the soul (Emily Dickinson, “
‘Hope’ is the Thing with Feathers”)
• But my heart is a lonely hunter that hunts on a lonely hill. (William Sharp, “The
Lonely Hunter”)
• Your clothes were curtains hanging on the window of what had been your flesh
and now was glass. (Marge Piercy, “My Mother’s Body”)
• Life is your restaurant and I’m your maître d’. (Disney’s Aladdin, “Friend Like
Me”)
• I got a bowling ball in my stomach/I got a desert in my mouth. (Tori Amos,
“Crucify”)
• Love is a battlefield. (Pat Benetar, “Love Is a Battlefield”)
What are the similarities between simile and metaphor?

Similes and metaphors use language to achieve the same thing: Create a description by
using comparison. There are even some instances in which similes and metaphors are
interchangeable. To return to the father-daughter example, you could say they are like two
peas in a pod (simile) or they are two peas in a pod (metaphor). The message is the same
in both instances.

How to use simile vs. metaphor


Remember, a simile compares two two similar things using like or as. A metaphor, on the
other hand, makes the assertion that something is something else, as opposed to being
like something else.
Because of this directness, you might want to use a metaphor when you want a
description to be stronger or more forceful, whereas you might want to use a simile when
you want it to be clear that you’re making a comparison. Still, both can be used in a broad
range of situations and contexts.
Metaphor is also a broader term—many literary devices, creative descriptions, and
symbols can be considered types of metaphors.
Examples of simile and metaphor used in a sentence:
• His metaphor made no sense to her—what did “life is a textbook” even mean?
• Clean as a whistle is a commonly used simile whose original, literal meaning
isn’t entirely clear.
• Although the directness of a metaphor is more vivid, the fact that
a simile contains an explicit comparison can make it easier for readers to follow.

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