Simile
Encyclopedia
A simile is a figure of speech
that directly compares two different things, usually by employing the words "like", "as". Even though both similes and metaphor
s are forms of comparison, similes indirectly compare the two ideas and allow them to remain distinct in spite of their similarities, whereas metaphors compare two things directly. For instance, a simile that compares a person with a bullet would go as follows: "Chris was a record-setting runner as fast as a speeding bullet." A metaphor might read something like, "When Chris ran, he was a speeding bullet racing along the track."
A mnemonic
for a simile is that "a simile is similar or alike."
Dickens, in the opening to 'A Christmas Carol', says "But the wisdom of our ancestors is in the simile."
Like
A simile can explicitly provide the basis of a comparison or leave this basis implicit. For instance, the following similes are implicit, leaving an audience to determine for themselves which features are being predicated of a target:
More detail is present in the following similes, but it is still a matter of inference as to what features are actually predicated of the target:
Unlike a metaphor
, a simile can be as precise as the user needs it to be, to explicitly predicate a single feature of a target or to vaguely predicate an under-determined and open-ended body of features. Empirical research supports the observation that similes are more likely to be used with explicit explanations of their intended meaning; this offers some support to the claim that similes are preferred if a user wants to associate an unusual or out-of-the-ordinary property with a target.
Figure of speech
A figure of speech is the use of a word or words diverging from its usual meaning. It can also be a special repetition, arrangement or omission of words with literal meaning, or a phrase with a specialized meaning not based on the literal meaning of the words in it, as in idiom, metaphor, simile,...
that directly compares two different things, usually by employing the words "like", "as". Even though both similes and metaphor
Metaphor
A metaphor is a literary figure of speech that uses an image, story or tangible thing to represent a less tangible thing or some intangible quality or idea; e.g., "Her eyes were glistening jewels." Metaphor may also be used for any rhetorical figures of speech that achieve their effects via...
s are forms of comparison, similes indirectly compare the two ideas and allow them to remain distinct in spite of their similarities, whereas metaphors compare two things directly. For instance, a simile that compares a person with a bullet would go as follows: "Chris was a record-setting runner as fast as a speeding bullet." A metaphor might read something like, "When Chris ran, he was a speeding bullet racing along the track."
A mnemonic
Mnemonic
A mnemonic , or mnemonic device, is any learning technique that aids memory. To improve long term memory, mnemonic systems are used to make memorization easier. Commonly encountered mnemonics are often verbal, such as a very short poem or a special word used to help a person remember something,...
for a simile is that "a simile is similar or alike."
In literature
Similes have been widely used in literature for their expressiveness as a figure of speech:- Curley was flopping like a fish on a line.
- The very mist on the Essex marshes was like a gauzy and radiant fabric.
- Why, man, he doth bestride the narrow world like a Colossus.
Dickens, in the opening to 'A Christmas Carol', says "But the wisdom of our ancestors is in the simile."
Like
A simile can explicitly provide the basis of a comparison or leave this basis implicit. For instance, the following similes are implicit, leaving an audience to determine for themselves which features are being predicated of a target:
- She is like a dynamo.
- For he is like a refiner's fire.
More detail is present in the following similes, but it is still a matter of inference as to what features are actually predicated of the target:
- He fights like a lion.
- She swims like a dolphin.
- He slithers like a snake.
- He runs like a cheetah.
- He drinks like a fish.
- She kicks like a mule.
- He flopped like a fish out of water
As
In contrast, the following similes explicitly state the features that are predicated of each target:- When he got the tools out, he was as precise and thorough as a surgeon.
- She walks as gracefully and elegantly as a cat.
- He was as brave as a lion in the fight.
- He was as tough as a bull.
- She was as bendy as a snake.
- She danced as gracefully as a swan.
Unlike a metaphor
Metaphor
A metaphor is a literary figure of speech that uses an image, story or tangible thing to represent a less tangible thing or some intangible quality or idea; e.g., "Her eyes were glistening jewels." Metaphor may also be used for any rhetorical figures of speech that achieve their effects via...
, a simile can be as precise as the user needs it to be, to explicitly predicate a single feature of a target or to vaguely predicate an under-determined and open-ended body of features. Empirical research supports the observation that similes are more likely to be used with explicit explanations of their intended meaning; this offers some support to the claim that similes are preferred if a user wants to associate an unusual or out-of-the-ordinary property with a target.
Without 'like' or 'as'
Similes are sometimes made without using the words "like" or "as". This often occurs when making comparisons of differing values.- "Norman was more anxious to leave the area than Herman MilquetoastMilquetoastA milquetoast is a weak, ineffectual or bland person. The word is derived from the character Caspar Milquetoast from the 1924 comic strip The Timid Soul.Milquetoast may also refer to:...
after seeing ten abominable snowmen charging his way with hunger in their eyes." - "But this truth is more obvious than the sun--here it is; look at it; its brightness blinds you."
- "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate:" - William ShakespeareWilliam ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
, Sonnet 18Sonnet 18Sonnet 18, often alternately titled Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?, is one of the best-known of 154 sonnets written by the English playwright and poet William Shakespeare... - "I'm happier than a tornado in a trailer park." - MaterMater (Cars)Sir Tow Mater or better known as Mater is the deuteragonist in the 2006 animated Pixar film Cars and the main protagonist in its sequel...
, CarsCars (film)Cars is a 2006 American animated family film produced by Pixar and directed by John Lasseter and co-directed by Joe Ranft. It is the seventh Disney·Pixar feature film, and Pixar's final, independently-produced motion picture before its purchase by Disney... - "We're in the stickiest situation since Sticky the stick insect got stuck on a sticky bun." - Captain Edmund BlackadderCaptain BlackadderCaptain Edmund Blackadder is the main fictional character in the fourth and final series of the popular BBC sitcom Blackadder, Blackadder Goes Forth...
, Blackadder Goes ForthBlackadder Goes ForthBlackadder Goes Forth is the fourth and final series of the BBC situation comedy Blackadder, written by Richard Curtis and Ben Elton, which aired from 28 September to 2 November 1989 on BBC One....
See also
- AnalogyAnalogyAnalogy is a cognitive process of transferring information or meaning from a particular subject to another particular subject , and a linguistic expression corresponding to such a process...
- DescriptionDescriptionDescription is one of four rhetorical modes , along with exposition, argumentation, and narration. Each of the rhetorical modes is present in a variety of forms and each has its own purpose and conventions....
- MetaphorMetaphorA metaphor is a literary figure of speech that uses an image, story or tangible thing to represent a less tangible thing or some intangible quality or idea; e.g., "Her eyes were glistening jewels." Metaphor may also be used for any rhetorical figures of speech that achieve their effects via...
- HypocatastasisHypocatastasisHypocatastasis is a figure of speech that declares or implies a resemblance, representation or comparison. It differs from a metaphor, because in a metaphor the two nouns are both named and given; while, in hypocatastasis, only one is named and the other is implied, or as it were, is put down...
- Figure of speechFigure of speechA figure of speech is the use of a word or words diverging from its usual meaning. It can also be a special repetition, arrangement or omission of words with literal meaning, or a phrase with a specialized meaning not based on the literal meaning of the words in it, as in idiom, metaphor, simile,...