Literary Term #3: Simile
The simile is perhaps the most easily understood literary term, and one of the first, if not the first, that you learn in elementary school. However, like most things, what you learn in elementary school just scratches the surface.
At its most basic level, a simile is the comparison of two unlike things using “like” or “as.” For instance, “My dog is dumb as a doorknob,” is a simile. Also, “My dogs is like a doorknob,” is a simile as well. In both cases, we use either “like” or “as” while comparing dog and doorknob, which are two very unlike things.
Unfortunately, English teachers tend to emphasize the “like” or “as” part rather than the comparison of two unlike things. This is very important as a simile does not necessarily need to contain “like” or “as.” For instance, “Joe is madder than a bull,” is a simile. Why? Because you are comparing two unlike things; in this case, Joe and bull. However, in most cases, a simile will have “like” or “as.”
Tomorrow I’ll go over metaphors. In the time being, can you come up with any funny similes?
August 4th, 2007 at 9:55 pm
Next weekend is about as far away as Tierra del Fuego.
Or does that not work because they’re both referencing timeframes?
August 8th, 2007 at 12:16 pm
[...] time, I covered similes and so it’s only fitting to go over metaphors this time [...]