What Does Simile Mean
We explain what a simile is in language, its relationship with metaphor and some examples. Also, other literary figures.
What is a simile?
A simile or comparison is a rhetorical figure that consists of highlighting the similarity or similarity between one reference and another, to attribute to the first characteristics of the second . The notion of similarity comes from its name " simile ".
The comparison, unlike other rhetorical figures such as metaphor , is present in a comparative nexus : "how", "which", "what", "similar to", and so on.
The simile has existed since ancient times and was one of the main rhetorical figures used in the epic literature of antiquity . The Greek philosopher Aristotle himself (384-322 BC) attributed a "brilliance effect", especially to the "epic simile" created by Homer, in which he compared one compound action with another.
The simile has the task of aesthetically highlighting what has been said , through the effect produced by the comparison. The simile can also be considered as a formulated allegory, that is, as an extensive form of symbolic representation.
In fact, in the field of rhetoric , reasoning that is sustained in the analogy or similarity between subjects is called similes . Its use in everyday language is also common.
It can help you: Literary resources
Examples of simile
Some examples of similes are as follows (the link is in italics):
- Miguel is tall as a ladder.
- China is a country as big as a continent .
- His eyes were blacker than the night itself.
- The soup was hot which cast iron.
- My girlfriend has teeth similar to pearls.
- We arrived at a house very similar to a boat.
Simile and metaphor
The difference between simile and metaphor is traditionally that similes use comparative links, metaphors do not . So the latter can be considered a more direct or succinct form of comparison, which is why Aristotle preferred them in his rhetorical analyzes.
However, in contemporary literature there is usually little emphasis on this difference, and similes are used with more spontaneity and simplicity.
More in: Metaphor
Poems with similes
Next, we transcribe some fragments of poems by well-known authors, in which the use of the simile is appreciated:
From the poem “Los columpios” by Fabio Morábito :
The swings are not news , they are simple like a bone or a horizon.
From the poem "Litanies of the Dead Land" by Alfonsina Storni:
The day will come when the human race will have dried up like a vain plant,
And the old sun in space is useless Coal of dull tea.
From the poem "Autumn song in spring" by Rubén Darío:
It looked like the pure dawn; she was smiling like a flower. It was her dark hair made of night and pain.
From the poem "God wants it" by Gabriela Mistral :
See what thief to kiss her from the ground in her womb; that when you lift your face, you find my face with tears.
Other literary figures
Other well-known literary figures are:
- The metaphor. Similar to the simile but devoid of nexus, it is very common in poetry and song. Thus, it consists of comparing two terms directly, attributing properties of the other to one. For example: "He fixed on me the burning coals of his eyes."
- Humanization. Which can be understood as a form of metaphor, consists of attributing human characteristics to an inanimate object or an animal, to highlight its condition or action. For example: "The wind whispered as it passed through her hair."
- Alliteration. Rhetorical figure that consists of the repetition of certain sounds or cadences within the phrase itself. For example: "With the aleve wing of the slight fan."
- Hyperbole. Or exaggeration, a form of metaphor that attributes exaggerated elements to a term, thus enlarging the meaning to the extreme, to make clear what is being sought. For example: "I'm dying of thirst."
More in: Literary Figures