Asimile(/ˈsɪməli/) is a type offigure of speechthat directlycomparestwo things.[1][2]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.[1][3][2][4]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).[5][6][7][8]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 wordsimilederives from the Latin wordsimilis( "similar, like" ), whilemetaphorderives from the Greek wordmetapherein( "to transfer" ).[3]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.[9] Author and lexicographerFrank J. Wilstachcompiled a dictionary of similes in 1916, with a second edition in 1924.
Uses
editIn literature
edit- "O My Luve's like a red, red rose." "A Red, Red Rose,"byRobert Burns.[1][10]
- John Milton,Paradise Lost,aHomeric simile:[11]
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[12]
- How far that little candle throws his beams!
- So shines a good deed in a naughty world.[13]
- Stopping her from going was like trying to catch a bullet with a pair of tweasers, impossible.[13]
- Learning to drive was like a deer learning how to walk for the first time. Stumbling until you get it right.[13]
In comedy
editSimiles are used extensively in British comedy, notably in theslapstickera 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.[14]The sitcomBlackadderfeatured 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?[15]
In languages other than English
editGiven that similes emphasize affinities between different objects, they occur in many cultures and languages.
Arabic
editSayf al-Din al-Amididiscussed Arabic similes in 1805:"On Substantiation Through Transitive Relations".
Vietnamese
editThuy Nga Nguyen andGhil'ad Zuckermann(2012) classify Vietnamese similes into two types: Meaning Similes and Rhyming Similes.
The following is an example:
Nghèo
/ŋɛu
như
ɲɯ
con
kɔn
mèo
mɛu/
"Poor as a cat"
Whereas the above Vietnamese example is of arhymingsimile, the English simile "(as) poor as a church mouse" is only asemanticsimile.[16]
InTelugu,simile is known asupamaalankaaramu(ఉపమాలంకారము). Based on the components of the sentence in which the comparison is made, they are classified into complete (పూర్ణోపమాలంకారము-puurnopamaalankaaramu) and incomplete (లుప్తోపమాలంకారము-lupthopamaalankaaramu) similes. The classic example of a complete simile is: ఆమె ముఖము చంద్రబింబము వలెనున్నది (Her face looks like a moon).
See also
edit
References
edit- ^abcThe Bedford Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms(2nd ed.). Bedford/St. Martins. 2003. pp.447–448.ISBN978-0312259105.
- ^ab"Simile".Literary Terms.22 June 2015.Retrieved6 April2016.
- ^ab"Metaphor Definition & Meaning: Simile vs. Metaphor".Merriam-Webster.Retrieved4 July2019.
- ^"LitCharts".
- ^McArthur, Tom, ed. (1992).The Oxford companion to the English language.Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press. p. 653.ISBN978-0-19-214183-5.
- ^"Simile vs. Metaphor: What's the Difference?".Simile vs. Metaphor: What’s the Difference? | Grammarly.2022-09-21.Retrieved2024-07-05.
- ^"What's the Difference Between Metaphor, Simile, and Analogy?".MasterClass.Aug 24, 2021.RetrievedJul 5,2024.
- ^"What is a Metaphor — Definition and Examples".StudioBinder.YouTube. Apr 2, 2023. 4:00 mark in the video.RetrievedJul 5,2024.
- ^"What Is A Simile?".English Like A Native.Retrieved2021-02-21.
- ^Burns, Robert."A Red Red Rose".Glen Collection of Printed Music, Vol. 5.National Library of Scotland. p. 415.Retrieved2016-04-06.
- ^Murfin, Ross; Ray, Supryia M. (2003).The Bedford Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms(2nd ed.). Bedford/St. Martins. pp.135.ISBN978-0312259105.
- ^Milton, John (1852). Henry John Todd (ed.).The Poetical Works of John Milton: With Notes of Various Authors; and with Some Account of the Life and Writings of Milton, Derived Principally from Original Documents in Her Majesty's State-paper Office.Rivingtons, Longman and Company. p. 62.
- ^abcWilliam Hall, ed. (1850).Encyclopædia of English Grammar: Designed for the Use of Schools, Academies, and Private Learners.Scott and Bascom. p. 352.
- ^"What Is A Simile?".Funny Similes!.Retrieved2016-04-06.[permanent dead link]
- ^Edmund_Blackadder (2016-05-02)."Blackadder Series 4 Episode 6 Goodbyeee Full Script".Blackadder Quotes.Archivedfrom the original on 8 January 2024.Retrieved2024-01-21.
- ^See p. 98 in Thuy Nga Nguyen andGhil'ad Zuckermann(2012), "Stupid as a Coin: Meaning and Rhyming Similes in Vietnamese",International Journal of Language Studies6 (4), pp. 97-118.
Further reading
edit- Beck, Deborah (2023).The stories of similes in Greek and Roman epic.Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press.ISBN9781108481793.