A simile () is a type of
figure of speech
A figure of speech or rhetorical figure is a word or phrase that intentionally deviates from straightforward language use or Denotation, literal meaning to produce a rhetorical or intensified effect (emotionally, aesthetically, intellectually, et ...
that directly ''compares'' two things.
Similes are often contrasted with metaphors, where similes necessarily compare two things using words such as "like", "as", while metaphors often create an implicit comparison (i.e. saying something "is" something else). However, there are two schools of thought regarding the relationship between similes and metaphors. The first defines them as opposites, such that a statement cannot be both a simile and a metaphor — if it uses a comparison word such as "like" then it is a simile; if not, it is a metaphor.
The second school considers metaphor to be the broader category, in which similes are a subcategory — according to which every simile is also a metaphor (but not vice-versa). These two schools reflect differing definitions and usages of the word "metaphor" and regardless of whether it encompasses similes, but both agree that similes always involve a direct comparison word such as "like" or "as".
The word ''simile'' derives from the Latin word ''similis'' ("similar, like"), while ''metaphor'' derives from the Greek word ''metapherein'' ("to transfer").
As in the case of metaphors, the thing that is being compared is called the tenor, and the thing it is being compared to is called the vehicle.
Author and lexicographer
Frank J. Wilstach compiled a dictionary of similes in 1916, with a second edition in 1924.
Uses
In literature
* "O My like a red, red rose." "
A Red, Red Rose," by
Robert Burns.
*
John Milton, ''
Paradise Lost'', a
Homeric simile:
::As when a prowling Wolf,
::Whom hunger drives to seek new haunt for prey,
::Watching where Shepherds pen their Flocks at eve
::In hurdl'd Cotes amid the field secure,
::Leaps o'er the fence with ease into the Fold:
::. . . . . . .
::So clomb this first grand Thief into God's Fold
*
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
, ''
The Merchant of Venice'':
::How far that little candle throws his beams!
::So shines a good deed in a naughty world.
::Stopping her from going was like trying to catch a bullet with a pair of tweasers, impossible.
::Learning to drive was like a deer learning how to walk for the first time. Stumbling until you get it right.
In comedy
Similes are used extensively in British comedy, notably in the
slapstick era of the 1960s and 1970s. In comedy, the simile is often used in negative style: "he was as daft as a brush." They are also used in a comedic context where a sensitive subject is broached, and the comedian will test the audience with a response to a subtle implicit simile before going deeper. The sitcom ''
Blackadder'' featured the use of extended similes, normally said by the title character. For example:
::Baldrick: I have a plan, sir.
::Blackadder: Really, Baldrick? A cunning and subtle one?
::Baldrick: Yes, sir.
::Blackadder: As cunning as a fox who's just been appointed Professor of Cunning at Oxford University?
In languages other than English
Given that similes emphasize affinities between different objects, they occur in many cultures and languages.
Arabic
Sayf al-Din al-Amidi discussed Arabic similes in 1805
"On Substantiation Through Transitive Relations"
Vietnamese
Thuy Nga Nguyen and
Ghil'ad Zuckermann (2012) classify Vietnamese similes into two types: Meaning Similes and Rhyming Similes.
The following is an example:
Whereas the above Vietnamese example is of a rhyming simile, the English simile "(as) poor as a church mouse" is only a semantic simile.
[See p. 98 in Thuy Nga Nguyen and Ghil'ad Zuckermann (2012), "Stupid as a Coin: Meaning and Rhyming Similes in Vietnamese", ''International Journal of Language Studies'' 6 (4), pp. 97-118.]
See also
*
Alliteration
Alliteration is the repetition of syllable-initial consonant sounds between nearby words, or of syllable-initial vowels if the syllables in question do not start with a consonant. It is often used as a literary device. A common example is " Pe ...
*
Analogy
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Description
*
Figure of speech
A figure of speech or rhetorical figure is a word or phrase that intentionally deviates from straightforward language use or Denotation, literal meaning to produce a rhetorical or intensified effect (emotionally, aesthetically, intellectually, et ...
*
Homeric simile
*
Hyperbole
*
Hypocatastasis
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Like (as a preposition used in comparisons)
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Metaphor
A metaphor is a figure of speech that, for rhetorical effect, directly refers to one thing by mentioning another. It may provide, or obscure, clarity or identify hidden similarities between two different ideas. Metaphors are usually meant to cr ...
*
Metonymy
Metonymy () is a figure of speech in which a concept is referred to by the name of something associated with that thing or concept. For example, the word " suit" may refer to a person from groups commonly wearing business attire, such as sales ...
*
Personification
*
Phono-semantic matching
Phono-semantic matching (PSM) is the incorporation of a word into one language from another, often creating a neologism, where the word's non-native quality is hidden by replacing it with phonetically and semantically similar words or roots f ...
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Tautology (language)
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Simile aria
References
Further reading
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External links
Examples of Simile in Literature
{{Authority control
Figures of speech
Narrative techniques
Descriptive technique
Comparisons