Metaphor+&+Simile

=Metaphor & Simile=

A simile is a figure of speech that compares one object to another, often with the words "like" or "as" preceding them. The two things being compared usually don't have much in common other than one trait. For example "James was as red as a beet." Although James may not be anything like a beet, he does have one factor in common that prompts the similie: his color. Many of today's idioms are also similes: "run like the wind!" Compares a person and the wind, both having speed in common, using the word "like." Similies are often used to illustrate a point clearly by giving listeners or readers mental images of a person or object. The similie "That car was black as pitch" is much more interesting and illustrative than "that car was black." ===   ===        ===<span style="font-size: 70%; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 200%; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"> Example in a Poem:   __ <span style="font-size: 50%; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 70%; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 200%; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"> Flint     __=== <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> <span style="font-size: 50%; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 70%; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 200%; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"> ====<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> <span style="font-size: 50%; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 70%; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 200%; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"> An emerald is     ** <span style="font-size: 50%; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 70%; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 200%; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"> as green as grass     ** <span style="font-size: 50%; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 70%; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 200%; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">,       <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">  <span style="font-size: 50%; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 70%; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 200%; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"> A ruby     ** <span style="font-size: 50%; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 70%; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 200%; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"> red as blood     ** <span style="font-size: 50%; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 70%; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 200%; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"> ;       <span style="font-size: 50%; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 70%; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 200%; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"> A sapphire shines     ** <span style="font-size: 50%; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 70%; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 200%; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"> as blue as heaven     ** <span style="font-size: 50%; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 70%; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 200%; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"> ;       <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">  <span style="font-size: 50%; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 70%; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 200%; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"> A flint lies in the mud. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> <span style="font-size: 50%; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 70%; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 200%; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">       ==== ====<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> <span style="font-size: 50%; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 70%; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 200%; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">    <span style="font-size: 70%; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 200%; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">      <span style="font-size: 50%; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 70%; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 200%; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"> A diamond is a brilliant stone,       <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">  <span style="font-size: 50%; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 70%; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 200%; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"> To catch the world's desire;       <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">  <span style="font-size: 50%; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 70%; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 200%; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"> An opal holds a fiery spark;       <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">  <span style="font-size: 50%; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 70%; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 200%; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"> But a flint holds a fire. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> <span style="font-size: 50%; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 70%; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 200%; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">       ==== ====<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> <span style="font-size: 50%; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 70%; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 200%; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">    <span style="font-size: 70%; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 200%; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">      <span style="font-size: 50%; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 70%; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 200%; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"> - Christina Rossetti       <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">  <span style="font-size: 50%; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 70%; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 200%; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">       ==== ==== <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> <span style="font-size: 50%; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 70%; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 200%; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">       ==== <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> <span style="font-size: 50%; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 70%; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 200%; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">   <span style="font-size: 70%; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 200%; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">     <span style="font-size: 50%; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 70%; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 200%; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"> <span style="font-size: 70%; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 200%; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">      <span style="font-size: 50%; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 70%; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 200%; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"> <span style="font-size: 70%; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 200%; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"> In Flint, Rossetti compares gems to other brilliantly colored items, a perfect example of a simile. Just as described in the definition, Rossetti uses the word "as" to show that she is using a similie. However, sometimes similar comparisons don't use "like" or "as." These comparisons are metaphors.

Metaphor
Metaphors are figures of speech like similies that demonstrate how two unalike things are alike in one important way. Unlike similies, metaphors actually don't use any connecting words like "like" or "as," instead explicitly stating that one thing is another thing. For example, instead of using a similie like "The night was as dark as pitch," an author using a metaphor might write, "The night was pitch," expecting the reader to infer that the darkness was why the two things are being compared. Metaphors are often used by authors to make their work more interesting, or to provide a mental image. In fact, metaphors provide an image just as clear, if not clearer, than similies, because they directly state that something is something else, leaving the reader to imagine what those two might have in common.

Example in a Poem: From __Spelling__ by Margaret Atwood
===<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">At the point where language falls away === ===<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">from the hot bones, at the point === ===<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">where the rock breaks open and darkness === ===<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">flows out of it like blood, at === ===<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">the melting point of granite when the bones know === ===<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">they are hollow & the word === ===<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">splits & doubles & speaks === ===<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">the truth & the body === ===<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">itself becomes a mouth. === ===<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"> === ===<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"> === ===<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"> === This description is a perfect example of a metaphor. Almost every line contains a metaphor of some sort, from "language [falling] away/ from the hot bones" to "the body/ itself [becoming] like a mouth. Of course, the body does not actually become a mouth, nor do rocks break open and gush blood. This poem shows the use of metaphors to create mental images, in this case of the process of creating words and language. In fact, Atwood goes on to say that "this is a metaphor" in the next stanza.