As you learned in the previous chapter that we could compare two things of the same proportion using As-As structure. Similes are something like As-As structures, but in similes, we compare two different things. We compare the attributes of one to another. In this lesson, we will learn about similes.
A formal definition of similes:
A simile is a speech figure that compares two different things or shows similarities between two different things using ‘as’ or ‘like.’
Metaphor v/s simile:
Most of the time, people think similes and metaphors are interchangeable. But that’s not correct. Unlike similes, metaphors draw a comparison between two things directly without using ‘as’ or ‘like.’ Whereas similes use ‘as’ or ‘like’ to draw a resemblance between two different things.
Example: she is as innocent as an angel.
Here we are using ‘as’ to compare the innocence of a girl with an angle. So because of the usage of ‘as,’ it is a smile.
Metaphor: she is an angel.
The purpose of using a simile is to project an interesting connection in a reader’s mind. Similes are used in our everyday life, from poems to songs or in conversations. We often use similes in our everyday speech.
Poets and singers use similes to convey their sentiments. Similes make our statements more powerful and vivid. The most commonly used idioms or expressions are similes.
For example: he is as brave as a lion.
Here we are comparing the attribute of a lion with a human. A human’s bravery is compared with the lion, or we are saying that the boy is brave like a lion. We are not interchanging a lion and human, but instead, we compare the similarities between two different things. Where in the case of As-As structures, we compare two things that belong to the same category.
As brave as a lion. | As cunning as a fox. |
As innocent as an angel. | As light as a feather |
As slow as a turtle. | As dark as night. |
As shiny as a star. | As slow as a snail. |
As cold as ice. | As red as a rose. |
As cheap as dirt. | As proud as a peacock |
As easy as pie. | As clever as a fox. |
As tough as nails. | As happy as Larry. |
As red as a beetroot. | As heavy as a brick. |
As happy as a dog. | As soft as wool. |
As sharp as a knife. | As white as a swan. |
As shiny as a diamond. | As different as night and day. |
Cuts like butter. | White like milk. |
Old like ice. | Slept like a baby |
Moves like a snail. | Clever like a fox. |
Soft like velvet. | Sharp like a knife. |
Ran like lightning. | Have eyes like a hawk. |
Sweet like sugar. | Brave like a lion. |
Slept like a baby | Shiny like a diamond. |
Clever like a fox. | Free like a bird. |
Like blots against the sky | Cunning like a fox. |
Busy like a bee. | Proud like a peacock. |
Like a warm laundry | Clever like a fox. |
Swim like a fish. | Happy like a Larry. |
Smell like a rose. | Red like a beetroot. |
Exploded like a volcano | Happy like a dog. |
Fast like a horse. | Heavy like a brick. |
Racing like a scared bunny. | Soft like wool. |
Similes can be used in literature too. Similes haven been used my some famous poets of English.
Examples of similes in literature can be seen in the poem “A Red, Red Rose” by Robert Burns.
“O my Love is like a red, red rose. That’s newly sprung in June; O my Love is like the melody That’s sweetly played in tune.”
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Another example of a simile can be found in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. :
“Is love a tender thing? It is too rough, too rude, too boisterous, and it pricks like thorn.” |
Some similes can be found in songs too because similes convey a deeper meaning in few words.
In this lesson, we learned that similes are almost the same like as-as structures. But the only difference is that in similes we compare the attributes of things. And we compare things of different proportions.
